SUNY Old Westbury M.S. in Taxation in 2027

The State University of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury offers a 30-credit Master of Science in Taxation that is registered by the New York State Education Department as meeting the 150-credit-hour requirement for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensure. New York residents pay $471 per credit, and a full-time student may finish in one year.

This is a tax-focused master's degree from a public college in Old Westbury, New York, and you attend in person on campus. The curriculum centers on federal and state taxation, tax research, communication skills and tax planning, with the aim of preparing you to identify and solve tax problems.

You take six required courses on business entity taxation, tax ethics and practice, pass-through entities, estates and gifts, corporate reorganizations, and tax and accounting research. Then you choose two professional tax electives and six credits of business or accounting electives.

The program prepares tax specialists for the accounting, legal and business communities of Long Island and the New York metropolitan area, and the School of Business is a member of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

The school lists $471 per credit for New York State residents and $991 per credit for out-of-state students. Over 30 credits, that comes to $14,130 for residents. For out-of-state students it's $29,730. The application fee is $50, and the school notes that tuition is subject to change at the discretion of the SUNY Board of Trustees.

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) can be waived if you've passed all four parts of the CPA exam, if you're a licensed attorney, or if you hold an accounting degree with at least a 3.5 grade point average (GPA) overall and in accounting courses. That way you can also save the cost of a test.

30 credits at $991 a credit comes to $29,730 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $471, the same 30 credits come to $14,130.

Who It Fits

• New York residents watching cost: the in-state rate is $471 per credit, which comes to $14,130 over 30 credits.
• CPA candidates in New York: the degree is registered as satisfying both the 150-credit-hour requirement and the one-year work experience requirement tied to CPA licensure.
• Accounting graduates in a hurry: classes run over three semesters each year, so if you're full time, you may complete the program in one year.
• Old Westbury undergraduates: the school offers a five-year B.S./M.S. in Accounting and Taxation.
• Part-time professionals: the school encourages part-time students to take courses as their schedule permits.

The core begins with BU 7570, Taxation for Corporate Managers, which covers choosing a business entity, passive activities, corporate formations, C and S corporations and partnerships. BU 7571, Tax Ethics, Practice, and Procedures, covers the rules of practicing before the Internal Revenue Service, with emphasis on the ethical behavior and regulations in Circular 230.

BU 7572 digs into the income tax implications of S corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies, including their formation, operation and termination. BU 7574 examines the estate and gift tax, from the gross estate and valuation to taxable gifts and the annual exclusion. BU 7575 takes on advanced corporate transactions such as stock redemptions, liquidations, mergers and reorganizations.

BU 7579, Tax and Accounting Research, surveys controversies in accounting, auditing and tax literature, and asks you to keep up with recent court decisions, regulations and legislation.

For professional electives, you pick two of three. BU 7573, Multi-State Taxation, covers corporate income and sales tax across states. BU 7581, Taxation of Estates and Trusts, covers income tax consequences, distributable net income and Form 1041.

BU 7582, International Taxation, covers the U.S. tax treatment of foreign activity. The remaining six credits can come from any 7000-level course in the school's Master of Science in Accounting, or from business electives such as Statistics for Financial Analysis and Planning, Financial Management for Planning and Analysis, or Global Finance.

Courses the School Names

• Tax for Corporate Managers
• Tax Ethics, Practice, & Procedures
• Taxation of S Corps, Partnerships, & LLCs
• Estate & Gift Taxation
• Taxation of Reorganizations & Liquidations
• Tax & Accounting Research
• Multi-State Taxation
• Taxation of Estates & Trusts
• International Taxation

Standout Features

• Registered by the New York State Education Department as satisfying the 150-credit-hour CPA requirement and a one-year work experience requirement

The program is 30 credits. Classes are offered over three semesters each year, and the school says a full-time student may be able to complete it in one year. Part-time students are encouraged to enroll and can take courses as their schedule permits. Admission is rolling, with classes filled first come, first served, so you don't have to wait for one annual deadline.

If you're an Old Westbury undergraduate, the five-year B.S./M.S. in Accounting and Taxation lets you plan the master's as part of your bachelor's path. The school also offers a three-course Business Taxation Microcredential worth nine credits, which requires a grade of B or higher in each course.

Classes meet in person at the Old Westbury campus in New York. The school runs classes over three semesters a year and fills them on a first-come, first-served basis, so it's smart to register early.

In class, you learn from Accounting, Taxation and Business Law faculty who draw on their own experience and research. Outside class, the School of Business keeps an active advisory board of local professionals and runs career development and networking activities aimed at future accountants.

The accounting graduate programs are offered by the SUNY Old Westbury School of Business, a member of AACSB International. The department's faculty include associate professors who hold the CPA along with credentials such as Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Internal Auditor and Certified Risk Management Assurance.

Alumni show where the degree leads. The school's graduate page lists an M.S. in Taxation graduate from the class of 2014 who is now a partner at Marcum LLP, and a graduate from the class of 2015 who is a staff accountant at RLVG CPAs. You should have a bachelor's degree, usually in accounting, along with transcripts, two letters of reference and a career-goals essay.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

A graduate posting on GradReports in 2017 called Old Westbury's accounting program fantastic, said the professors were knowledgeable and helpful, and credited the degree with putting them in an excellent position to pass the CPA exam. Outside salary data points the same way: GradGPT, which tracks median pay one year after graduation, lists taxation as the highest-paid of the school's four master's degrees at $79,338.

Researchers have noticed the faculty too. A study published in February 2026 by Accounting Management Quarterly, which counted contributions to the top five peer-reviewed accounting practice journals from 2018 to 2022, placed Old Westbury seventh in the nation, up from 14th in the earlier review.

• Which professional electives are scheduled in the semesters you plan to attend?
• How many credits can you take in a semester to finish in a single year?
• If you hold a CPA license or an accounting degree with a 3.5 GPA, what does the GMAT waiver process look like?
• How does the five-year B.S./M.S. in Accounting and Taxation fit with your undergraduate schedule?

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 57 of 78, master's
• On-Campus Master's in Taxation Rank 26 of 37, master's
• No-GRE Programs Rank 10 of 17, master's
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• Public University Programs Rank 27 of 35, master's
• Best Programs in New York Rank 9 of 11, master's

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