Goldey-Beacom College Master of Business Administration: Major in Taxation in 2027

You get a full Master of Business Administration (MBA) with 15 credits of tax courses, taught in eight-week sessions that meet at night or on Saturday. It's a good fit for working accountants who want tax depth without leaving their job.

Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, Delaware, builds this degree as a business MBA with a taxation major. Of the 36 credits, 6 are core competency courses. Another 15 are MBA core requirements, and 15 are taxation courses. The school says it's designed for practicing accountants and lawyers, financial managers and planners, and accounting majors moving into tax.

Its stated emphasis is technical competence in current tax law and in tax research. Because the MBA core covers corporate finance, managerial economics and management theory, you finish with business language you can use in a corporate tax department or a public accounting firm. The college also lists the program as accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

Tuition for the 2026-27 year is $725 per credit hour, or $2,175 per three-credit course. Across the full 36 credits, that works out to $26,100 in tuition. Federal data lists the graduate charge Goldey-Beacom reports at $610 per credit, but the college's own current rate is the one you'll want to plan around.

The 9 transferable credits can bring the total down, and the school also notes that students with business or finance knowledge may use electives in place of core competency courses. Because you can pay course by course, a one-class-per-session schedule spreads the cost across two years while you keep earning.

36 credits at $725 a credit comes to $26,100 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• Working accountants: classes meet one night a week or on alternating Saturdays, so the schedule is built around a full-time job.
• Lawyers and financial planners: the school names both groups as the audience, and the estates, gifts and trusts course speaks directly to planning work.
• Accounting majors heading into tax: Basic Taxation starts with individual federal tax law, so you build the specialty from the ground up.
• Current Goldey-Beacom undergraduates: the 4+1 Pathway lets you take two graduate classes in senior year that count toward both degrees.
• Career changers without a business degree: any accredited bachelor's degree qualifies you to apply, and you don't need Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores.

The tax sequence starts with ACC 650 Basic Taxation, a study of federal tax law for individual taxpayers that covers gross income, deductions, gains and losses, tax accounting and the standards of tax practice. ACC 660 Taxation of Corporations turns to the corporation and its shareholders.

ACC 670 Tax Research and Communications teaches intensive tax law research and brings in federal tax procedure and ethics for tax professionals. ACC 725 Taxation of Estates, Gifts and Trusts covers grantor trusts and ties estate, gift and income taxes together, along with estate planning and administration.

The fifth taxation course is Taxation of Partnerships and S Corporations I. Basic Taxation and Taxation of Corporations are prerequisites for the later tax courses, so the sequence builds step by step.

The college's tax course list runs wider than the major, with Taxation of Small Business, Taxation of Exempt Organizations under Section 501(c), Taxation of Property with real estate and like-kind exchanges, Multi-State Taxation with attention to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, and Current Issues in Taxation, which looks at how all three branches of government shape tax law.

The MBA side adds Corporate Finance, Managerial Economics, Strategic Human Resource Management and Contemporary Management Theory. If you can show business or finance knowledge, you may take electives in place of one or both core competency courses.

Courses the School Names

• ACC 650 Basic Taxation
• ACC 660 Taxation of Corporations
• ACC 670 Tax Research and Communications
• ACC 675 Taxation of Partnerships and S Corporations I
• ACC 725 Taxation of Estates, Gifts and Trusts

Standout Features

• Accredited by ACBSP
• Designed for practicing accountants and lawyers, financial managers and planners
• Emphasis on technical competence in current tax law and tax research

Plan on 36 credits in all. Graduate classes run in eight-week sessions, with six sessions across one full year. Take two classes per session and you can finish in exactly one year. Take one class per session in fall, spring and summer and you finish part time in two years.

You can begin at the start of any eight-week session, and the college lists start months in January, March, May, June, August and October. Up to 9 credits, or three courses, can transfer into many of the graduate programs, including the MBA, with approval from Academic Affairs.

If you're a current undergraduate, the 4+1 Pathway is a faster route, and it can bring the bachelor's and master's together in five years or sooner.

It's a Goldey-Beacom program built around evening and Saturday study. Classes are offered one night a week or on alternating Saturdays, and the eight-week format splits each semester into two sessions. A student who wants speed can take two evenings a week, or one evening and one Saturday, in each session.

A graduate quoted on the school's admissions page says the evening and weekend courses let them keep focusing on family and work. A reviewer on Niche says night and Saturday classes were the only way to study full time with a full-time job. The college is small, and reviewers on GradReports say advisors and faculty are easy to reach.

Instructors either work in the field they teach or hold terminal degrees.

The taxation MBA is accredited by ACBSP, and the college holds institutional accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The catalog says the program prepares graduates for careers in the public and private sectors, including public accounting and tax planning. If you plan to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, the college also offers an Accounting 150 Certificate for people who need the extra credits.

Career fairs on campus bring employers in accounting and financial services together with graduate students and alumni. Across the college, 90% of master's graduates agree their degree prepared them to work, and the college reports a positive outcome rate above 90% for graduates over more than a decade.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Students describe the professors first. A master's student on Niche praised the knowledge each professor brings, and another reviewer called them knowledgeable and supportive. One reviewer found the advisor easy to work with and reachable. On GradReports, a reviewer called the MBA convenient and affordable, and others said teachers help in and out of class at a small school.

A student testimonial on the college's taxation page praises its supportive and encouraging environment. There's outside recognition too. Intelligent.com placed the college 31st on its Best Master's in Taxation Degree Programs of 2025 list, as reported by the college, and Money named Goldey-Beacom one of America's Best Colleges for 2026.

• Which tax electives will run in the sessions where you plan to enroll?
• Do your business or finance courses qualify you to swap electives in for the core competency courses?
• How many of the 9 transferable credits would the college accept from your earlier coursework?
• If you want to sit for the CPA exam, how does the Accounting 150 Certificate fit with this degree?
• Which start month in the year lines up best with your work calendar?

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 66 of 78, master's
• On-Campus Master's in Taxation Rank 30 of 37, master's
• Cheapest Programs Rank 7 of 15, master's
• Accelerated Programs Rank 29 of 33, master's
• Part-Time Programs Rank 34 of 39, master's
• Best for Working Professionals Rank 39 of 46, master's
• Best for Parents Rank 39 of 46, master's
• Private University Programs Rank 35 of 43, master's

• Loyola Marymount University

  Master of Science in Taxation

  California Score 40.6

• Fordham University

  Master of Science in Professional Taxation

  New York $2,303 per credit Score 40.4

• Indiana University-Indianapolis

  Master of Science in Taxation

  Indiana Score 42.1

• Franklin University

  M.S. in Accounting, Taxation Specialization

  Ohio $690 per credit Score 42.3