DePaul University Master of Science in Taxation & Analytics (Online) in 2027

DePaul pairs a long-running tax master's with a data and technology core, and you can take it fully online on your own schedule while still drawing on Chicago's tax community.

The Master of Science in Taxation & Analytics (MSTAX) at DePaul University is a 48-credit degree from the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business in Chicago. The school says the program has graduated more than 2000 students in a history of over 50 years, and it has reworked the degree so that you can take up to six of its twelve courses with a deep focus on data analytics and technology.

The online version is asynchronous, so you'll work through on-demand course content and projects built for working professionals. DePaul also describes a Flex format with in-person sessions and the option to join remotely. The program carries a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) designation, and it starts each fall.

DePaul says the program prepares you for credentials employers value, like the Certified Public Accountant (CPA), the Enrolled Agent (EA) and other advanced tax certifications. The faculty come from tax firms and government, and the catalog names professionals from RSM, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Deloitte, PwC, EY, Grant Thornton and KPMG.

The school reports strong industry relationships with Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and EY, and it describes career paths such as tax management. It also states that the program has been placed among the top 10 tax programs in the nation in a survey of employers run by TaxTalent.

College Factual placed DePaul ninth nationally for a taxation master's in its current list and first among Illinois schools for a master's in taxation, and it reports that taxation graduates from DePaul generally earn around $102,309 soon after graduation.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Working tax and accounting professionals: the online asynchronous format lets you learn at your own pace, and the school says students can take a quarter off during busy seasons such as the winter tax season.
• Accountants who want data skills: required courses in data analytics in tax and in data mining and analytics give you hands-on practice with real business data sets.
• Future CPAs: the school says the program prepares you for credentials such as the CPA and the EA designation, and students who need additional credits to sit for the CPA exam are one of the groups it was built for.
• Career changers who want a full tax degree: DePaul calls this a fully accredited tax degree and not a concentration inside another master's, with introductory courses that vary according to your prior coursework.
• Chicago-area job seekers: the school points to the city's tax firms, industry events and professionals who teach, mentor and hire, plus a biannual job fair called Meet the Firms.

You complete a minimum of 48 credits, normally 12 courses, and DePaul counts them in quarter hours. Eight courses are required and four are electives. Core tax courses include Tax Treatment of Corporations and Partnerships, which covers federal income tax for those entities along with ethics in tax practice and a look at estate and gift taxation.

Tax Research teaches you to work through the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations, rulings and court decisions, and to weigh the authority of each. Tax Accounting, Periods, and Methods covers the installment method, accounting method changes, and accounting periods. The Seminar on Current Problems in Taxation follows new legislation, regulations and case law.

The analytics side adds Data Analytics in Tax, Data Mining and Analytics, and a tax technology and research course on applying artificial intelligence to specific tax problems. Forensic and Investigative Accounting is also required, though with approval you can swap it and the data mining course for more tax courses. Electives let you add corporations and shareholders, partnerships, S corporations, international taxation, individual income tax, or accounting for income taxes.

A capstone project then brings together what you've learned.

Courses the School Names

• Tax Research
• Tax Accounting, Periods, and Methods
• Data Analytics in Tax
• Tax Technology and Research: AI and More
• Seminar on Current Problems in Taxation

Standout Features

• Relationships with top accounting firms including Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and EY
• STEM-designated MS in Taxation and Analytics

Full-time students can finish in as little as 12 months, and part-time students take 18 to 24 months. DePaul requires that all degree credit be completed within six calendar years of your first term, so you've got room to slow down if work gets busy. The program starts in the fall.

Before you begin, the school expects you to have completed Principles of Accounting (ACC 500) and one introductory tax course (ACC 548), and the introductory credits you still need, from none to eight, depend on your prior coursework.

A school article also notes that students can take a quarter off in a busy season such as the winter tax season, so a heavy filing stretch at work doesn't have to collide with coursework.

DePaul lists $1,252 per credit for the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, and those credits are quarter hours. Across the 48 credits, that comes to $60,096 in tuition. Introductory courses, if you need them, add credits beyond the 48. To weigh that against the payoff, the College Scorecard lists $129,565 as the median earnings of DePaul's taxation master's graduates.

48 quarter credits at $1,252 a credit comes to $60,096 in tuition, before fees.

The online version is asynchronous. You'll get on-demand course content and projects, so you don't log in at fixed class times, and the school built the format for working professionals. You're not on your own, though.

The Career Management Center offers one-on-one work with career coaches on job searches, resumes and interviews, and the school says you join a business community of more than 74,000 DePaul business graduates, including 16,000 in Chicago.

If you want some face time, DePaul's program page also lists a Flex option, where traditional in-person sessions come with the choice to attend remotely, and the school says more courses are being offered in flex mode so students have more ways to attend in person.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

People who have been through the program lean on two things, the instructors and the network. A 2017 alumnus quoted by the school said the best part was the professors' knowledge of taxation and the network built in class. A current student quoted by the school in 2025 said tax is bigger and has more options than he expected, and that he hasn't stopped learning since he started.

On Reddit in 2020, a commenter described DePaul as a great school with excellent networking and career opportunities in Chicago, with excellent instruction at the master's level. The school adds that its courses are taught by people working in the field who bring real-world experience into the classroom.

• Which introductory courses will you need, and how many of the zero to eight introductory credits apply to your background?
• How does the online asynchronous format work week to week, and how are projects and deadlines scheduled around tax season?
• Can you swap the forensic accounting and data mining courses for additional tax courses, and what approval do you need?
• Which electives best fit your goal, whether that is corporate, partnership, international or individual tax work?
• How does the Flex format work if you'd like to attend some sessions in person in downtown Chicago?

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 50 of 78, master's
• Online Master's in Taxation Rank 26 of 41, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 25 of 40, master's
• Accelerated Programs Rank 20 of 33, master's
• Part-Time Programs Rank 27 of 39, master's
• Best for Working Professionals Rank 32 of 46, master's
• Best for Parents Rank 32 of 46, master's
• Private University Programs Rank 27 of 43, master's
• Master of Science in Taxation Rank 13 of 21, master's
• Taxation and Data Analytics Rank 5 of 8, master's

• Rutgers University-Newark

  Master of Accountancy in Taxation

  New Jersey $2,389 per credit Score 49.2

• University of Hartford

  Master of Science in Accounting and Taxation

  Connecticut $916 per credit Score 48.9

• University of San Francisco

  Master of Legal Studies in Taxation (MLST)

  California $1,905 per credit Score 50.5

• Bryant University

  Master of Science in Taxation

  Rhode Island Score 47.8