Accounting, BS

Location(s): Main Campus

The Accounting Bachelor of Science program offered by the School of Management stresses a breadth of educational experience with an opportunity for some level of specialization. The program requires liberal arts study in Harpur College of Arts and Sciences and a sound foundation in basic management disciplines and promotes an awareness of the legal, environmental, and societal factors that affect decision-making in organizations. The Accounting program includes prominent coverage of ethical and international issues and the use of computers as a decision-making tool. Students receive valuable pre-professional training as well as preparation for study in graduate or professional school.

Please see the School of Management main page in the Academic Guide for information on policies and procedures unique to the School of Management.

Program Requirements

To receive a BS in Accounting, students must complete 126 credit hours.

Of the 126 credits:

63 credits must be in liberal arts and sciences coursework.
45 credits must be upper-level coursework.

In addition, students must earn:

A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 (C), and
A minimum GPA of 2.0 in required BS Accounting coursework.

In addition to the credit and GPA requirements outlined above, students must complete the coursework outlined below.

University General Education Requirements

All Binghamton University undergraduate students are required to fulfill this set of university-wide requirements to ensure that every graduate acquires the essential core of a SUNY university undergraduate education. Please refer to the general education section in the Academic Policies and Procedures for Undergraduate Students or the General Education page for more information.

Major Requirements

Course Requirements

To be granted a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from SOM, students must complete the following courses:

A. Required Liberal Arts Courses

All SOM students must complete 63 credits of liberal arts and sciences coursework. The following courses, or their equivalent(s), are required for the major and must be completed before the third-year core of classes:

In addition to the C or J attribute writing course required to fulfill the Binghamton University General Education Requirements , School of Management students must take a second course with a C or J attribute. If a student has completed one C or J course for a letter grade, they may satisfy the second writing requirement in one of the following ways:

Taking a second course with a C or J attribute
By completing two writing-intensive (W attribute) courses
By using approved exam credit (AP Composition, AP Literature, AP Seminar or IB HL Language A).

ECON 162 - Principles Of Macroeconomics
ECON 160 - Principles of Microeconomics
CQS 112 - Statistics For Management *
OR MATH 147

OR PSYC 243

OR ECON 366

OR MATH 448
MATH 220 - Calculus For Business & Mgmt **
OR MATH 223 AND MATH 224

OR MATH 224 AND MATH 225

B. School of Management Requirements

C. Accounting Core Requirements

Note:

*SOM recommends that students take CQS 112 as their required course in statistics. No more than one introductory statistics course may count toward the degree.

**If students do not place into MATH 220 or MATH 223, then MATH 108 (or the equivalent) is also a required course to complete for the major. If students do not place into MATH 108, then MATH 107 is also required to complete the major.

***Transfer students who have taken an introduction to management course AND an Excel-based course at their previous institution(s) will be awarded credit for MGMT 111. Nonetheless, these transfer students must take a zero-credit MGMT 211 offered by the School of Management.

Additional Information About the Program

Students who wish to specialize in accounting to qualify for the CPA license in New York State are urged to declare the BS Accounting degree program no later than their sophomore year. Students completing the BS Accounting degree program are eligible to sit for the CPA examination, but would not yet be eligible for the CPA license. A degree program consisting of a minimum of 150 credits is required to qualify for the CPA license. SOM offers a combination BS/MS in Accounting program to satisfy the requirements for the NYS CPA license. Students who wish to obtain a CPA license in another state should consult that state’s regulations to see whether the Binghamton University curriculum is satisfactory. Students who wish to have a career in accounting, other than with public accounting firms, are also advised to declare the BS/MS in Accounting degree program. For further information, consult with SOM’s Undergraduate Academic Advising Office.

For more information on the Account BS program, please refer to the Accounting program website. To apply to the Accounting BS program, please visit the University Admissions website.