Accounting Major

COORDINATOR: DR. MARIANNE REXER

Total minimum number of credits required for a major in Accounting leading to the B.S. degree — 122.

Total minimum number of credits required for a minor in Accounting — 18.

The Jay S. Sidhu School of Business and Leadership offers a major in Accounting, providing the necessary background for an entry-level professional position in public, private, or governmental accounting. Students receive the necessary educational background to compete successfully for placement in graduate and professional schools and for licensure as certified public accountants and certified management accountants. Those choosing a career in administration receive the managerial training necessary for success in a full range of leadership roles.

The Accounting curriculum comprises four tiers. The first tier begins with a comprehensive study of the arts, sciences, mathematics, communications, and humanities. This liberal arts core is a common experience to all majors and provides the basis for a broadly educated individual. To become competitive, effective organizational leaders and self-fulfilled individuals, Accounting graduates are expected to possess the skills and knowledge acquired through this liberating exposure to the arts, sciences, mathematics, and the humanities.

The second tier of educational experience provides a general background in statistical, financial, and managerial techniques. Subjects included in this area of study are finance, economics, management, and marketing, including a two-semester Integrated Management Experience, which serves as the School's foundation course in the study of accounting, business, and entrepreneurship. This tier also includes a sequence of four one-credit courses called the "Professional and Personal Development" series, designed to engage all business students in an in-depth exploration and assessment of their personal strengths, goals, and career aspirations and provide a series of developmental activities and experiences to facilitate their transition into professional careers.

The third tier of basic educational skills relates to the field of financial and managerial accounting. A rigorous thirty-six credit hours are devoted to current accounting theory and applications through the use of texts, computer applications, cases, and practical experience. The sequence begins with introductory level accounting and progresses through intermediate, tax, cost, auditing, and accounting information systems.

A fourth tier utilizes an accounting internship to bond classroom knowledge with practical experience. Most students are placed with public accounting firms where it is possible to experience many areas of accounting as well as a broad range of business problems in a short time span. Additionally, for students with a more specialized interest, accounting internships are also available in banks, in private industry, and with the government. The Wilkes internship program is the oldest in Northeast Pennsylvania, and most successful interns have been placed in positions of their choice, including the large international accounting firms.

A fifth tier, a five-and-a-half-year BS/M.B.A. program, is available for students who wish to meet the needs of a professional in the 21st century. This program offered by The Jay S. Sidhu School of Business and Leadership has been developed to encompass each of the above-mentioned levels, along with an additional year and a half of graduate course work. Upon successful completion, the student will have earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree with 161 credit hours of course work.

Accounting alumni can be found in public accounting firms ranging in size from those of individual practitioners to international organizations. Many of our graduates who began their careers in public accounting have since moved into leadership positions with government or private industry.

The Accounting major in The Jay S. Sidhu School of Business and Leadership at Wilkes University will provide an individual with the combined educational skills to be a future success as a leader in the accounting profession, industry, or government.

The Accounting major requires an additional 27 credits, including:

Requirements for the Accounting Major (27 credits total) Credits