Become a Valuable Addition to Any Business
As an Accounting major at St. Edward’s, you’ll gain the technical expertise and ethical foundation for one of the fastest-growing career fields.
Prepare to become a fraud examiner, business development consultant or corporate accountant in classes taught by faculty with years of real-life experience. You’ll learn critical thinking and communication skills to apply in a challenging profession that needs values-based leaders.
Accounting graduates discover job opportunities in every industry, in nearly every location across the globe. You might follow in the footsteps of the many St. Edward’s students who’ve interned, then been hired, at Big Four accounting firms. Or work for a smaller firm, a local business or a government department.
Why earn your Accounting degree at St. Edward’s?
Whether you want to land an accounting job right away, advance to a master’s program or achieve your Certified Public Accountant (CPA) credential, one thing is certain: The advantages of your St. Edward’s education will prepare you to succeed. You’ll find opportunities in and outside the classroom to learn, give back and achieve your goals. And your mentors will support you every step of the way.
Build relationships with your professors
Learn in small classes taught by highly skilled professors who are accounting professionals. They’ll get to know you, help you identify and focus on your goals, and provide guidance and insight during and after your college years.
Boost your résumé and credentials
Get real-world experience in an internship that immerses you in the professional world. Prepare to sit for the CPA exam or earn a credential as a Certified Management Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor or Certified Fraud Examiner.
Earn two degrees in five years
Gain a competitive edge by completing your bachelor’s in Accounting and your master’s in Business Administration (MBA) or Accounting Analytics (MSAA) with our pathway to receive two degrees in just five years. (Check out the details below under Certifications and Advanced Degrees.)
Reap the Rewards of Austin
Austin is one of the fast-growing technology and entrepreneurship hubs in the U.S., and home to nearly 100 Fortune 500 firms. Our Austin location, partnerships and connections allow you to immerse yourself in a dynamic business environment where accounting internships and career paths are plentiful.
What do our graduates do?
Accounting majors go on to a variety of careers and graduate schools from St. Edward’s. Here’s a sample.
- Jobs with the Big Four accounting firms such as KPMG and Deloitte; national, regional, and small accounting firms; government; and, industry.
- Jobs in industry accounting departments, including Whole Foods, ConocoPhillps, Honda, Texas Mutual Insurance Company and St. David’s HealthCare.
- Graduate school acceptance at schools including The University of Texas at Austin and Rice University.
- Recipient of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.
Explore Details About the BBA in Accounting
Degree Plan
Major Requirements:
The BBA in Accounting requires 66 hours of major coursework.
General Education Requirements:
All majors require 44 hours of general education that students complete over four years, in addition to their major courses.
A few examples of the Accounting courses students take:
- Federal Tax – Learn to identify tax issues, understand and apply tax law, prepare tax filings and conduct professional research.
- Audit – Get introduced to the theory, concepts and principles of auditing. The course will emphasize audit evidence, audit risk, ethical conduct and legal restrictions, professional standards, audit planning, data analytics and audit reports.
- Accounting Internship – Gain course credit and accounting experience, and make connections between classroom theory and its application in professional practice.
View the full degree plan PDF for our Accounting major (Option 1 – Traditional course sequencing).
Mini-Mester Option
Take advantage of a mini-mester option, allowing you to work full time in an internship, stay on track for your degree and complete additional courses in a compressed time frame.
The mini-mester option includes a co-requisite of a six-credit hour internship (at least 240 hours of work in a public accounting environment), followed by two three-credit hour courses in a compressed mini-mester. These three-credit hour courses include Legal Environment of Business for Accountants and Accounting Ethics and are offered from mid-April until the end of the spring semester.
Speak with your advisor to determine which degree-plan option is the best fit for your academic and career objectives.
Companies frequently look for CEOs with a strong foundation in accounting because these candidates understand the financial consequences of business decisions.
Professional Certifications
Career advancement generally requires attaining professional credentials such as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) or Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).
To earn a CPA credential, students must:
- Meet with an Accounting faculty advisor early on to make sure their degree plan will satisfy CPA requirements.
- Complete 150 semester credit hours in specific, approved academic courses (the minimum required to sit for the Texas CPA exam). All Accounting courses meet the requirements of the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy.
Five-Year Integrated Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree
Complete your bachelor’s in Accounting and master’s in Business Administration (MBA) with our pathway to receive two degrees in five years.
Additional pathways:
- Explore the BBA in Accounting and master’s in Accounting Analytics (MSAA).
- Explore the bachelor’s in Business Administration (BBA) and master’s in Accounting Analytics (MSAA) with a minor in Accounting.
Success coaches and academic advisors guide you through undergraduate and graduate courses to maximize your benefits.
Apply for the five-year integrated BBA/Master of Science in Accounting Analytics (MSAA) program.
The St. Edward’s Accounting program will prepare you to become an ethical, detail-oriented professional. You’ll develop your skills in internship, volunteer and student organization settings. And you’ll have the chance to conduct research into accounting topics and present your work at professional conferences.
Internships
In the spring, Accounting students can complete a full-time, “busy season” internship during either the audit busy season (January to mid-March) or the tax busy season (January to mid-April). Your Accounting courses will begin in a compressed semester after the busy season, allowing you to be fully immersed in the professional world for this important time. Students have recently interned with KPMG and Deloitte as part of this program and have been extended full-time offers after the internship.
Additional Accounting internships include the following:
- The “Big Four” firms: KPMG, Deloitte, PwC and EY
- Audit, tax and consulting firm RSM
- Salling Madeley, PLLC
- WP Engine in Austin
- Disney College Program
- New York Mets
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
- BDO USA, Assurance, Accounting, Tax & Advisory Services
- BKD, CPA Firm, Accountants & Financial Accounting
- Maxwell, Locke & Ritter
- Weaver, Assurance, Tax & Advisory Firm
Service Experiences
Accounting majors help residents of an Austin affordable housing community complete their tax returns. This is a good opportunity to give back to the community while learning what tax preparation looks like in practice.
Student Organizations
Get to know your fellow students and learn about career options in the Accounting Club and the annual Accounting Student Retreat.
A minor in Accounting can be useful for students in almost any discipline because accounting plays a role in nearly every type of organization.
Required Courses:
- Financial Accounting – ACCT 2301
- AManagerial Accounting – CCT 2303
- Intermediate Accounting I – ACCT 3331
- Intermediate Accounting II – ACCT 3332
- Cost Accounting – ACCT 3333
- Federal Taxation – ACCT 3334
- Accounting Information Systems – ACCT 4346
Total Hours: 21
Are you a current student? Contact your advisor for next steps in declaring your major or minor.
Our Accounting faculty members bring experience in the accounting profession — as auditors, tax practitioners, business consultants and government administrators — to their instruction and research. They teach students a combination of qualitative, quantitative and ethical reasoning skills that prepare them for the global economy.
In addition to holding the CPA license, many of the faculty members hold credentials such as Certified Fraud Examiner and Chartered Global Management Accountant.