Franklin University M.S. in Accounting, Taxation Specialization in 2027

Franklin University's M.S. in Accounting with a Taxation Specialization is a 32-credit, 100% online degree. You can finish it in as few as 17 months, and the price is a flat $690 per credit with a tuition guarantee.

Franklin is a private nonprofit university in Columbus, Ohio, and this degree lives entirely online with three start dates a year. The coursework is built around the work tax staff do every day: preparing returns, researching tax authorities, writing memos and planning for clients.

Classes are small and led by professors who are in-field practitioners, and the school says you don't need to send a Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score. If you hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.50, you meet the admission standard the school lists.

Franklin also publishes a business advisory board for each discipline, so industry leaders have a say in what the courses cover.

Standard tuition is $690 per credit hour, and across the 32 credits that adds up to $22,080. Franklin's Tuition Guarantee fixes the rate you pay from first term through graduation as long as you remain actively enrolled, so your per-credit price won't climb while you study. Students reviewing Franklin on Niche in 2026 mention no hidden fees and call it more affordable than many other universities.

32 credits at $690 a credit comes to $22,080 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• Working accountants and staff who want a tax specialty: the degree is entirely online, and Franklin designs its master's programs for busy, working adults.
• Applicants without a test score: the school states that the GMAT or GRE isn't required for admission.
• Students who want to finish early: you can complete the degree in as few as 17 months, and transferring up to 12 credits shortens that further.
• Budget-minded students: the standard tuition is $690 per credit, and the Tuition Guarantee locks in your rate from your first term through graduation as long as you stay enrolled.
• Future Certified Public Accountant (CPA) candidates: Franklin says the degree gives you the hours and foundational knowledge to sit for professional accounting certification exams.

Your degree totals 32 credits, and the courses are four credits each. The core starts with Introduction to Research in Accounting and Taxation, where you analyze accounting and tax issues using the proper authorities and write up your conclusions. Financial Accounting Theory covers revenue recognition, leases, income taxes and business combinations, and Management Control Processes and Systems looks at how organizations make sure strategies get carried out.

The taxation specialization then moves through Advanced Personal Income Taxation, C-Corporation Taxation and Pass-Through Entity Taxation. Advanced Personal Income Taxation covers loss limitation rules and the alternative minimum tax, and has you complete tax forms and run tax research. C-Corporation Taxation takes you from formation and stock redemptions to mergers and reorganizations.

Pass-Through Entity Taxation covers partnerships, S-corporations, exempt entities and family tax planning, including gift and estate taxes. Federal Tax Practice and Procedure is one choice course (the other is a graduate experiential learning course built around an internship or similar role), and it covers dealing with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on examinations, appeals, collections and refund claims.

You finish with the four-credit Accounting Graduate Capstone, which pulls research, professional judgment and communication together. Along the way you work with tools such as the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification database and RIA Checkpoint.

Courses the School Names

• Advanced Personal Income Taxation, C-Corporation Taxation, Pass-Through Entity Taxation, Federal Tax Practice & Procedure

Standout Features

• Hands-on work with tax returns, tax research, tax memos and tax planning
• International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE)-accredited
• Practice with tools including the FASB Accounting Standards Codification database and RIA Checkpoint
• Transfer up to 12 credits
• Tuition Guarantee locks in the tuition rate from day one

Franklin lists 17 months as the shortest completion time. You can start in August, January or May, so you don't wait long for a term to open. Because credit transfer is allowed up to 12 credits, you can bring in earlier graduate work and finish faster.

An optional internship is available if you want to add hands-on experience, and you arrange it yourself with support and academic review from the university.

The program is 100% online, and Franklin builds its master's programs for busy, working adults. You can start in August, January or May, and you learn in small classes led by professors who practice in the field. The software is the same kind you'll use on the job: the FASB Accounting Standards Codification database and RIA Checkpoint.

Each academic year, the program's advisory board of business and industry leaders meets with division chairs and faculty, which keeps the course content tied to current practice. If you want experience beyond the virtual classroom, the optional internship can open doors with a new employer or lead to a bigger role with your current one.

Students on Niche in 2026 describe the classes as well paced for people who work, and one working parent said the pace made it possible to balance many responsibilities without feeling overwhelmed.

Franklin says the degree prepares you to seek professional certification such as the CPA, Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) or Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and that you'll have the required hours and foundational knowledge to sit for exams like the CPA.

The school lists accreditation by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). Coursework and assignments prepare you to assist taxpayers in dealing with the IRS on examinations, collections and rulings. In a school survey, 98% of graduating students said they would recommend Franklin to family, friends or colleagues.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Students reviewing Franklin on Niche in 2026 write mostly about flexibility and responsiveness. One called the overall experience great, saying the professors genuinely want students to succeed, and a remote, fully online student described every professor as attentive, helpful and responsive.

Another said advisors are quick to respond with guidance, and one student said the flexible pace made it possible to finish in 2027, a year ahead of the 2028 date the university first gave.

A graduate of the school's bachelor's accounting program, quoted by Franklin, said the professors were interactive and encouraged questions and deep thinking, and that a professor in a first tax accounting class, who worked at a public accounting firm at the time, had the firm reach out for an interview that led to the graduate's current career.

Franklin also states it is Ohio's largest provider of online accounting degrees, citing federal data, and Niche lists the university 18th in its 2026 Best Value Colleges in Ohio.

• Which of the choice courses can I take in my first terms, and how often is each offered?
• How many of my credits could transfer, and what does the review process look like?
• How do I find and set up the optional internship with the program chair?
• How does the Tuition Guarantee work if I take a term off?
• Which accounting prerequisite courses, if any, would I need before the core?

A nonprofit university in Columbus, Ohio, built for adult learners, with online programs.

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 64 of 78, master's
• Online Master's in Taxation Rank 36 of 41, master's
• Cheapest Programs Rank 6 of 15, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 35 of 40, master's
• Private University Programs Rank 34 of 43, master's
• Internship or Practicum Rank 23 of 24, master's
• Accounting and Taxation Rank 9 of 13, master's

• Indiana University-Indianapolis

  Master of Science in Taxation

  Indiana Score 42.1

• Boston University

  Master in the Study of Tax Law

  Massachusetts Score 43.5

• Goldey-Beacom College

  Master of Business Administration: Major in Taxation

  Delaware $725 per credit Score 40.9

• Loyola Marymount University

  Master of Science in Taxation

  California Score 40.6