Bentley University Master of Science in Accounting, Taxation Major in 2027

Bentley University's Master of Science in Accounting with a Taxation major is the tax master's Bentley offers today, and it replaced the stand-alone Master of Science in Taxation (MST) that Bentley's program guides list through the 2023-24 entering class. You study 30 credits in Waltham, Massachusetts, in live hybrid classes.

A quick note on the name, because you may have seen Bentley's older degree. Bentley's program guides list a Master of Science in Taxation for students who started in 2023-24, and from the 2024-25 guide onward they list a Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) with a Taxation major instead.

Bentley says the Taxation concentration became available starting in January 2025. The two share four tax courses, but the current degree is an accounting master's with tax as its major, so you'll also take accounting courses alongside the tax ones.

The MSA is one of five concentrations: Assurance, Advisory, Corporate Financial Reporting, Analytics and Taxation. A December 2025 article from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) reports that each of those majors was designed in response to employer needs. Accounting runs deep here: Bentley was founded in 1917 as the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance.

You need a completed bachelor's degree before you start, plus a resume, a letter of recommendation, an essay and transcripts. Submitting a test score isn't required. Bentley's program page says the MSA is designed to prepare you for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam and for the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certifications, meeting the educational requirements for these credentials.

Bentley lists job titles of recent MSA graduates that include Tax Analyst, Tax Associate, Transfer Pricing Associate and Senior Manager, Tax Reporting & Strategy. Bentley's accounting program was the first in Massachusetts to earn separate accounting accreditation.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Recent accounting graduates: the one-year full-time path ends in eleven months, and the program is built to prepare you for the CPA exam.
• Working professionals: classes meet live at scheduled times over Zoom, so you can sit in the Waltham classroom or join remotely while you keep your job, and part-time students take two to five years.
• Career changers: you need a completed bachelor's degree, and the two foundation courses, Managerial Statistics and Accounting for Decision-Making, are waived if you earned a B or better in equivalent undergraduate courses.
• People aiming at a large firm: the MSA's latest employment record, as GMAC describes it, lists Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG among the organizations hiring recent graduates.

You take 30 credits, and your Taxation major is 18 of them. The tax core is four courses. Professional Tax Practice (TX 600) covers developing and implementing tax strategies and applying alternative tax laws to different fact situations. Federal Taxation of Income (TX 601) studies federal tax law as it applies to individual taxpayers, from gross income and deductions to credits and timing principles.

Corporations and Shareholders (TX 603) follows a corporation through formation, reorganization, dividends, stock redemptions and liquidations. Multi-Jurisdictional Taxation (TX 604) introduces nexus, geographic allocation of income and avoidance of double taxation. The accounting core adds Financial Reporting and Analysis (AC 611) and Business Processes and Controls Assessment (AC 730).

It also has Data Analytics for Accountants (AC 770) and Professional Judgment, Ethics and Decision Making (AC 793). Then you'll choose two electives. Pass-Through Entities and Closely Held Businesses (TX 707) digs into choice of entity. Accounting for Income Taxes (AC 754) covers tax provisions in the financial statements.

Courses the School Names

• Professional Tax Practice (TX 600)
• Federal Taxation of Income (TX 601)
• Corporations and Shareholders (TX 603)
• Multi-Jurisdictional Taxation (TX 604)
• Pass-Through Entities and Closely Held Businesses (TX 707)
• Tax Factors in Business Decisions (AC 753)
• Accounting for Income Taxes (AC 754)

Standout Features

• Accounting Advisory Board of firm and industry leaders meets with faculty every six months
• Collaboration with KPMG's Data and Analytics program
• Every applicant is considered for merit scholarships
• Hybrid format with live scheduled class times, in person or online
• Master's in Accounting Fellowship gives full tuition remission in the one-year MSA
• Taxation concentration available since January 2025

Bentley says full-time students can finish in eleven months, and part-time students generally take two to five years. The degree is a minimum of 10 courses, which is 30 credits, and Bentley expects you to finish within five years of your start date with at least a 2.7 cumulative grade point average (GPA).

If you need the two foundation courses, Managerial Statistics (GR 521) and Accounting for Decision-Making (GR 524), they add six credits before the program proper, and every applicant is evaluated for a waiver. Bentley starts students in January and in August, so you can begin in spring or fall.

Bentley bills by the course, and the 2026-27 tuition is $6,335 per course of three credits. Ten courses make the 30-credit degree, which comes to $63,350 at that rate. Bentley also lists an annual total of $57,015 for nine courses in a full-time year and $38,010 for six courses in a part-time year.

Every applicant is considered for a merit scholarship, and awards arrive with the admission decision. Bentley also runs a Master's in Accounting Fellowship that gives full tuition remission in the one-year MSA, with a faculty mentor and help navigating CPA requirements.

This is a hybrid program, run in the format Bentley uses for its Master of Science degrees. Classes meet live at scheduled times over Zoom, and each week it's your choice whether to sit in the Waltham classroom or join the session remotely. Because meetings are at fixed times, you'll plan your week around them and ask your questions in real time. Some executive-format classes meet on weekends.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

A tax and accounting associate quoted on the MSA page says classes were tied to the real world and to what's happening in the industry right now. Another graduate, now headed to an audit role at Deloitte, says the job offers came three deep a few weeks into the first semester because firms knew the value of a Bentley degree.

A staff accountant quoted by the school credits Bentley's partnership with KPMG for regular case studies and for classes where professionals came in to talk about industry dynamics. A fellowship recipient says it sharpened both tax and auditing skills.

The program director, in GMAC's 2025 article, describes many faculty as experiential teachers who have done what they teach. And in 2020, CPA Practice Advisor reported that Bentley used a KPMG and Thomson Reuters tax provision case study in its tax courses.

• Which two electives fit the tax work you want, and do you want a tax elective or one from accounting or finance?
• Do you qualify for a waiver of the two foundation courses, and how does that change your start date and total cost?
• Should you start in January or August, given how many courses you plan to take each term?
• How do the live Zoom meeting times fit your work schedule, and would you attend in Waltham or join remotely?

A private business university in Waltham, Massachusetts.

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 73 of 78, master's
• On-Campus Master's in Taxation Rank 34 of 37, master's
• Part-Time Programs Rank 38 of 39, master's
• Best for Working Professionals Rank 44 of 46, master's
• Best for Parents Rank 44 of 46, master's
• Private University Programs Rank 40 of 43, master's
• Accounting and Taxation Rank 11 of 13, master's
• Taxation and Data Analytics Rank 8 of 8, master's
• Best Programs in Massachusetts Rank 3 of 4, master's

• University of Colorado Boulder

  Master of Science in Taxation

  Colorado Score 37.5

• University of Miami

  Master of Science in Taxation

  Florida $2,255 per credit Score 37.8

• Widener University

  Taxation & Financial Planning, MS

  Pennsylvania $1,240 per credit Score 36.3

• Texas A&M University-Kingsville

  Master of Science in Taxation

  Texas Score 38.6