Florida Gulf Coast University Master of Science in Accounting and Taxation in 2027

Florida Gulf Coast University gives you a 30-credit blend of accounting and tax that you can take in a classroom, through live-streamed online sessions, or as a mix of both, at a Florida-resident price that stays low.

The Master of Science in Accounting and Taxation (MSA&T) sits in the Lutgert College of Business at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Fort Myers. The college holds accreditation from AACSB. The school describes the program as a balanced approach to accounting and taxation, so you build audit, reporting and systems skills next to your tax training.

You can finish the degree in the traditional face-to-face format or the synchronous online format, and you can switch between the two from course to course. Courses are delivered in the classroom and also streamed live, which means you choose how you attend based on your schedule. If you've earned an accounting degree, the whole program can take just 30 credit hours.

The catalog says completing the M.S. in Accounting and Taxation satisfies the State of Florida Certified Public Accountant (CPA) educational licensure requirements. You've also got hands-on tax practice through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, where interested students in the Accounting Society and Beta Alpha Psi prepare returns after about 20 hours of tax prep training.

In a tax year the university reported on, eleven students prepared about 330 tax returns and generated about $95,000 in tax prep savings and $44,000 in refunds. The accounting department chair said many students hope to work with a CPA firm, and that this volunteer work enhances their resumes and positions them well for future job opportunities.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Accounting graduates who want tax depth: students with an undergraduate accounting degree can complete the degree in 30 credits, and up to 12 credits of foundation courses can be waived.
• Working students who like choices: the school says you can take some or all courses face-to-face or in synchronous online format, based on your preferences and schedule.
• Florida residents watching costs: the 2026-27 graduate rate for residents is $373.38 per credit hour, and the college awards a limited number of tuition waivers and assistantships each fall and spring.
• Data-minded accountants: an optional analytics concentration adds courses in business analytics, big data and data mining, and business intelligence and visualization.
• Future Florida CPAs: the university says completing the program satisfies the State of Florida CPA educational licensure requirements.

The catalog splits the program into 12 credits of foundation courses and 18 credits of required courses in the major. It adds 3 credits of restricted electives and 9 credits of concentration courses. The foundation block (Graduate Financial Accounting, Graduate Cost Accounting, Systems Auditing and Graduate Taxation I) is the part an accounting degree lets you waive.

Graduate Taxation I surveys federal income tax with a focus on individual taxpayers and corporations, along with the ethics of tax accounting. The six required courses in the major are Accounting Theory, Advanced Accounting, Advanced Accounting Information Systems, Independent Audit II, Law and Business II, and Tax Research and Planning.

Advanced Accounting deals with consolidated statements for corporations that hold subsidiaries, and Tax Research and Planning teaches you to spot the tax issues, find the right authority and communicate what you found. For the restricted elective you can pick Corporate Tax Issues, Estate and Gift Issues, International Tax Issues, Global Reporting and Audit (which sets Generally Accepted Accounting Principles beside International Financial Reporting Standards), or an accounting internship.

Your last nine credits go one of two ways. The analytics grouping pairs Advanced Accounting Analytics with Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning, where you build models with decision trees and neural networks, and Data Driven Decision-Making.

The tax grouping gives you Flow Through Entities, which follows partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations through their life cycle, and Contemporary Tax Topics on pending legislation and reform, plus one approved business course outside accounting, tax and law.

Courses the School Names

• Tax Research & Planning
• Flow Through Entities
• Corporate Tax Issues
• Estate and Gift Issues
• International Tax Issues
• Contemporary Tax Topics

Standout Features

• Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)/Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) requirement waived for qualified applicants
• Optional concentration in analytics with courses in Business Analytics, Big Data and Data Mining, and Business Intelligence (BI) and Visualization
• Analytics concentration includes Business Analytics, Big Data and Data Mining, and Business Intelligence and Visualization courses
• Students can complete some or all courses in either face-to-face or synchronous online formats

The program is delivered in only 30 credit hours if you hold an accounting degree. Students with other undergraduate business degrees may need up to 42 credits. Full-time students take two courses in their first semester. You have seven years from admission to meet all degree requirements, and you may transfer up to six credits of approved graduate coursework.

The school also offers a highly selective combined bachelor's and master's path that can be completed in five years. In that path you take 12 graduate credits from an approved list while you're still an undergraduate, so the master's portion shortens once you finish your bachelor's degree. The GMAT and GRE requirement is waived for qualified applicants.

FGCU lists graduate tuition and fees for 2026-27 at $373.38 per credit hour for Florida residents and $1,439.75 for non-residents. Across the 30 credits, that comes to $11,201.40 for residents and $43,192.50 for non-residents. These aren't special online prices. They're the university's graduate rates, so you pay the same per credit whether you sit in the classroom or join the live stream.

The Lutgert College of Business also awards a limited number of graduate tuition waivers and assistantships each fall and spring semester, which can lower your cost further. Foundation courses you waive with an accounting degree reduce both credits and cost.

30 credits at $1,439.75 a credit comes to $43,193 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $373.38, the same 30 credits come to $11,201.

The online option is synchronous, so you attend by live streaming at scheduled class times and not on your own clock. The classroom version still runs as usual, and it's the same courses delivered both ways at once.

You can mix them, finishing some courses face-to-face and others online, whichever fits a given semester. The college also runs a career fair where it says you can meet with employers seeking students from across all business disciplines, and the Accounting Society and Beta Alpha Psi student groups offer ways to get involved outside class.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Most of the voices come from the university's own news coverage of its tax volunteers, and they're upbeat. A student volunteer quoted by the university called practice outside the classroom invaluable. The accounting department chair said students benefit enormously from the tax volunteer program, which serves clients while giving students real returns to prepare.

CourseAdvisor, an outside ranking site, included FGCU in its 2023 lists of best value schools and best schools for an accounting master's in Florida.

• Which foundation courses can you waive given your undergraduate degree, and does that bring you down to 30 credits?
• How do the synchronous online sessions work, and can you switch formats between semesters?
• Is the analytics concentration worth adding, and which nine credits would you take?
• What's the process for applying for the graduate tuition waivers and assistantships each fall and spring?
• Could the combined bachelor's and master's path fit your timeline, and what are its selection standards?

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 54 of 78, master's
• Online Master's in Taxation Rank 29 of 41, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 28 of 40, master's
• No-GRE Programs Rank 8 of 17, master's
• Public University Programs Rank 25 of 35, master's
• AACSB Accredited Programs Rank 13 of 16, master's
• Accounting and Taxation Rank 6 of 13, master's
• Taxation and Data Analytics Rank 6 of 8, master's
• Best Programs in Florida Rank 4 of 6, master's

• University of San Francisco

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