University of Cincinnati Master of Science in Taxation (Online) in 2027

The University of Cincinnati Master of Science in Taxation is a 30-credit online degree from a business school that has held AACSB accreditation since 1919. You study in seven-week courses and can start in spring, summer or fall.

You take this degree one short course at a time. Every course is two credits and runs seven weeks, so you're never carrying a long semester of overlapping deadlines, and a new course is always about to start. Nine required courses cover individual, partnership, corporate, international, and estate and gift tax, along with two tax research courses, and six electives round out the degree.

The program is fully online, so there aren't any required in-person classes. You can add a specialization in Corporate Taxation or Individual Taxation, or in data analytics or quantitative finance, and the degree can count toward the credits you need to sit for the CPA exam.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

The University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner College of Business has held AACSB accreditation since 1919, and the University of Cincinnati is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The degree can count toward the credits to sit for the CPA exam. As a graduate, you may also pursue the Enrolled Agent credential or other specialized accounting and tax certifications.

You learn from award-winning faculty that includes tax experts, CPAs, lawyers, academics and professionals with Fortune 500 and international accounting experience. The college has also built long-term relationships with accounting firms including Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), FORVIS, Grant Thornton, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Career titles run from tax accountant up to tax director and vice president of tax.

Where this degree can lead: Masters in Taxation Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Working accountants who want to specialize: the school says its tax professionals work in accounting firms, corporate tax departments, financial services, consulting, government, law firms, insurance and private practice, and the seven-week courses fit around a job.
• Aspiring CPAs: the school says the degree can count toward the credits to sit for the CPA exam, and that, added to a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Accounting or its equivalent, it satisfies the education requirements to sit for the CPA in Ohio and almost all other states and jurisdictions.
• Applicants who would rather skip a test: standardized test scores aren't required for admission to the MS program.
• Tax professionals who want to move up: the school says graduates with experience and applicable credentials may advance into senior tax manager, tax director, practice leader, partner or vice president of tax.
• Professionals who want to start smaller: stackable Corporate Taxation and Individual Taxation graduate certificates let you begin or deepen your tax education before committing to the full degree.

The degree is 18 credits of required tax courses plus 12 credits of electives, all taught in two-credit courses. The required courses start with Individual Tax: Structure, which covers income, adjustments, itemized deductions, filing status and the regular income tax calculation. Partnership Taxation follows the formation, operation and termination of a partnership, including distributions and the sale of a partnership interest.

Three corporate courses run in sequence. Corporate Tax: Formation & Structure covers creating and running a C corporation, Corporate Tax: Life Cycle Strategies covers distributions that corporations make, and Corporate Tax: Attributes & Operational Considerations covers net operating losses and the transfer of tax attributes. International Taxation and Estate and Gift Tax round out the topic courses.

Two tax research courses, Federal Tax Research: Individuals and Federal Tax Research: Corporations, teach you to use primary and secondary sources and write about real issues, and the Federal Tax Research capstone is meant to showcase your mastery of tax research and technical knowledge.

Electives include Consolidated Tax Returns, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Tax Practice and Procedure, State and Local Taxation, Taxation of Subchapter S Corporations, International Tax: Special Topics and Individual Tax: Special Topics.

Courses the School Names

• Partnership Taxation
• Corporate Tax: Formation & Structure
• Corporate Tax: Life Cycle Strategies
• International Taxation
• Estate and Gift Tax
• Federal Tax Research: Individuals
• Federal Tax Research: Corporations
• Consolidated Tax Returns
• State and Local Taxation
• IRS Tax Practice and Procedure
• Taxation of Subchapter S Corporations

Standout Features

• Degree can count toward credits to sit for the CPA exam
• Specializations and certificates available in corporate taxation, individual taxation, AI in business, applied AI in finance, data analytics and quantitative finance

You need a minimum of 30 credit hours, and you can complete the degree full time or part time. Because each course is two credits and runs seven weeks, you can take one course at a time or stack several.

Courses are offered in the spring, summer and fall, so you've got three start dates a year. You must complete the degree within five years of acceptance into the program. You complete the capstone before you graduate.

Tuition and fees add up to $1,245 per credit hour for in-state students and $1,260 for out-of-state students, which is a $15 non-resident surcharge. For the 30 credits, that comes to $37,350 in-state and $37,800 out-of-state. The per-credit total includes an instructional fee of $1,061 and a general fee of $39.80. It also includes a program fee of $100.00 and a distance learning fee of $26.20.

30 credits at $1,260 a credit comes to $37,800 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $1,245, the same 30 credits come to $37,350.

No part of this degree requires a trip to campus, since there aren't any in-person classes to attend. Courses run seven weeks, and you begin in spring, summer or fall. It's a structure that rewards steady work. The school says the research coursework gives you the experience to complete well-written professional research papers on a variety of tax topics in a deadline-oriented environment that mimics a real-world tax research setting.

Support comes from a Student Success Coordinator who helps you prepare for classes and stay on track, and an Enrollment Services Advisor who works with you through the application, enrollment and your first term.

Support and hands-on work are the two things Cincinnati students bring up most. A student quoted on the school's program page says the advisors and instructors are very supportive in making sure they succeed. A student quoted by the school credits the great communication skills of the instructors for making the online program work.

A Niche reviewer said the program is very hands on even though it's online, and that most of their class is group work that helps them build relationships. A student quoted by Princeton Review says the school is very accommodating to working professionals' schedules.

A poster on Reddit in 2024 called it a really good program and less expensive than most with AACSB accreditation. Outside rankings have also noticed it. U.S. News & World Report ranked the online taxation program sixth among online graduate taxation programs in 2018.

• Which electives run in each seven-week term, and can I take a single course at a time?
• How do I pick between the Corporate Taxation and Individual Taxation specializations, and do they change the elective list?
• What does the Federal Tax Research capstone involve, and when do I take it?
• How does the 30-credit degree line up with my state's CPA education requirements?
• Which graduate certificate credits can I carry into the master's degree if I start with a certificate?

• Best Master's in Taxation Rank 20 of 78, master's
• Online Master's in Taxation Rank 10 of 41, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 9 of 40, master's
• No-GRE Programs Rank 6 of 17, master's
• Accelerated Programs Rank 30 of 33, master's
• Best for Working Professionals Rank 12 of 46, master's
• Best for Parents Rank 12 of 46, master's
• Public University Programs Rank 10 of 35, master's
• AACSB Accredited Programs Rank 6 of 16, master's
• Master of Science in Taxation Rank 7 of 21, master's
• Taxation and Data Analytics Rank 1 of 8, master's

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