Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Master of Science in Accountancy With a Specialization in Taxation in 2027

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) charges $556.75 per credit hour for its online Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) with a taxation specialization, and that rate is the same whether you live in Illinois or not. You finish 30 credits in seven-week courses, and the school says a full-time student with an accounting background can be done in a year.

It's a 30-credit graduate degree built around accounting first and tax second. Six core courses give you the accounting base, from auditing to financial accounting theory to a research course that ends in a written report. The other 12 credits are tax, with Tax Research required and three more tax electives of your choosing.

You'll take it online in seven-week courses with six start dates a year. The School of Business at SIUE holds AACSB accreditation for both business and accounting, and the school says its tuition rate includes all fees.

Tuition is $556.75 per credit hour. Across 30 credits that comes to $16,702.50, and SIUE states that all fees are included. The rate is the same for in-state and out-of-state students. Students in the MSA program can also earn internships with local corporations and public accounting firms through the SIUE Career Development Center, and study abroad can earn credit toward some elective hours.

30 credits at $556.75 a credit comes to $16,703 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• Recent accounting graduates: the school says full-time students with a recent undergraduate degree in accounting can finish the courses and electives in one year, and part-time students in two.
• Working accountants: the online courses run seven weeks with no planned meeting times, and six start dates a year mean you can begin when your busy season ends.
• Out-of-state students: the tuition is the same for in-state and out-of-state students and all fees are included, so you can plan around one total of $16,702.50.
• Future Illinois CPA candidates: SIUE states that MSA graduates qualify to sit for the CPA exam in Illinois.
• Career changers from other majors: if your bachelor's degree isn't in accounting, you can complete a set of prerequisite accounting courses with a grade point average (GPA) of 2.7 or better and then enter the program.

The curriculum has 18 credits of accounting core and 12 credits of electives. The core starts with ACCT 510, Accounting and its Environment, which looks at issues facing the profession such as data analytics and International Financial Reporting Standards. ACCT 531 covers the theory behind measurement and reporting in external financial statements.

ACCT 561, Advanced Auditing Topics, works through audit planning, sampling and testing along with the legal and ethical questions auditors face, and ACCT 565 covers internal and operational auditing. MBA 531 looks at the ethical, social, legal and economic environment that a business works in.

The tax side begins with ACCT 550, Tax Research, a required course where you'll learn to find solutions to tax problems and sharpen your technical problem-solving and communication. You then choose three of four electives. ACCT 552, State and Local Tax, covers state income, sales and use, and property tax planning and compliance.

ACCT 553, Taxation of Flow-Through Entities, covers partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies. ACCT 556, Personal Tax Planning, looks at transfer taxes and income taxes in family planning. ACCT 557, Corporate Taxation, covers the federal income taxation of corporations and their shareholders. The school lists using tax research tools and software among the skills you build.

The capstone is ACCT 580, Accounting Research, where you'll complete a major individual research project and turn in a written report.

Courses the School Names

• ACCT 550 Tax Research
• ACCT 552 State and Local Tax
• ACCT 553 Taxation of Flow-Through Entities
• ACCT 556 Personal Tax Planning
• ACCT 557 Corporate Taxation

Standout Features

• Same tuition for in-state and out-of-state students with all fees included
• School of Business holds dual AACSB accreditation for business and accounting, accredited since 1975

The degree is 30 credit hours, and each course lasts seven weeks. SIUE says you can finish in as few as 10 months, and the school's graduate page describes the MSA as achievable in as little as 12 months. Full-time students with a recent accounting degree can complete the courses and electives in one year.

Part-time students with a recent accounting degree can finish in two years. If your bachelor's degree is in a non-business field, the school says two to four years is realistic, depending on how many courses you take each semester. Six start dates a year mean you don't have to wait for a fall intake.

You take every course online, and the school says the online format has no planned meeting times, so you'll fit the work around your job. Each course runs seven weeks, so you've got a fresh set of courses to plan around every few months.

The School of Business at SIUE is accredited by AACSB. The school says it's one of only 2% of business colleges and universities worldwide to hold dual accreditation for business and accounting, and that it has been accredited since 1975.

The accounting department also holds its own separate AACSB accreditation. Faculty in the MSA program hold either Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees or Master of Laws (LLM) degrees in taxation, and they also carry professional certifications including the CPA.

On the career side, SIUE states that MSA graduates qualify to sit for the CPA exam in Illinois and can work in public accounting as auditors, tax specialists or consultants. The program names Income Tax Accountant among its career paths. The school adds that completing the MSA gives you technical knowledge that's a basis for preparing for the CPA, Certified Management Accountant or Certified Internal Auditor exams.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Most of the public praise for SIUE accounting comes through the school's own news releases and outside lists. A 2023 school release reported that Brigham Young University's (BYU) accounting education case rankings put SIUE's Department of Accounting in the lead, with three SIUE faculty members among the top 10 individual researchers publishing teaching cases.

A faculty member quoted there said writing those cases prepares students for the profession of tomorrow rather than yesterday. A 2016 release said SIUE accounting graduates scored well above state and national averages on the CPA exam and placed second among Illinois' 12 public universities, a result the business dean called extremely good in such a competitive field.

The Princeton Review also named the business school to its Best Business Schools list for 2025, its 19th year in a row.

• Which three of the four tax electives are offered in the term you plan to start, and do you need to take them in a set order?
• How many courses can you take at once in the seven-week format while still working, and what does that do to your finish date?
• If your bachelor's degree is not in accounting, which prerequisite courses do you still need, and can you take them at SIUE online?
• How do internships through the SIUE Career Development Center work for an online student?

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 44 of 78, master's
• Online Master's in Taxation Rank 22 of 41, master's
• Cheapest Programs Rank 1 of 15, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 21 of 40, master's
• Accelerated Programs Rank 5 of 33, master's
• Best for Working Professionals Rank 27 of 46, master's
• Best for Parents Rank 27 of 46, master's
• Public University Programs Rank 21 of 35, master's
• AACSB Accredited Programs Rank 10 of 16, master's
• Internship or Practicum Rank 17 of 24, master's
• Accounting and Taxation Rank 3 of 13, master's

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