How We Rank Accounting Programs in 2027

Cost, 20%

We start with the per-credit rate an out-of-state student pays. The lowest prices score highest, on a log scale running from the 5th to the 95th percentile of the degree level. Quarter credits are converted to semester credits first.

Why a log scale? It means a $40 gap between two cheap programs counts for more than the same gap between two expensive ones, so small price differences don't swing a score.

• We use the published per-credit rate. In-state rates are shown but don't count toward the score.
• If a school doesn't publish a per-credit rate, we use the out-of-state per-credit charge it reports to the federal government. That figure comes from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the federal database every college reports to
• Programs with neither get a below-average cost grade (the 25th percentile), so a missing price never helps
• Fees are noted on each review but not added to the rate

Graduate Earnings, 20%

This is the median pay of the school's graduates in this field and at this degree level, four years after they finish. When the Scorecard only publishes the one-year figure, we use that one. It comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard and is scored on a dollar scale from the 5th to the 95th percentile of the degree level.

• Measured for this field at this school, not for the whole school
• The Scorecard doesn't publish pay for very small graduating classes, so those programs get the middle value for their peers

Completion, 15%

This is the share of students who started as transfer students, full or part time, and went on to finish a degree or certificate. It comes from the federal Outcome Measures survey (IPEDS), which follows students for up to eight years so that part-time students who take longer still count. It doesn't mean the degree takes that long.

Many accounting students are working adults and transfer students, so this figure fits them better than a graduation rate for first-time freshmen. Each school is compared with others at the same degree level.

• Covers students who transferred in, full and part time. If a school has no transfer figure, we use all entering students
• Online divisions that report to IPEDS on their own are measured on their own students
• Schools with no Outcome Measures data get the middle value for their peers

Flexibility, 15%

We read each program's own page in October 2026 and pair it with federal IPEDS data. Every way the program fits around work and family adds points, up to 10. Every program is graded on the same items, whatever its format.

Term length and start dates also count when the school's official calendar for that format lists them. Near each list's cutoff, we checked every point against the school's own words. If a program's page can't be read, it gets the middle value for the page items, so a missing page doesn't help or hurt it.

• Can be completed fully online: 4
• Evening or weekend classes: 2
• A hybrid option: 1
• Part-time study: 1
• Three or more start dates a year: 1
• Courses of 8 weeks or less: 1

Credential Alignment, 10%

Business accreditation confirmed on the accreditor's official list scores highest: AACSB first, then ACBSP or IACBE. Without confirmed accreditation, named certification exam preparation scores next.

Accreditation is confirmed program by program on the AACSB, ACBSP and IACBE official lists (checked October 6, 2026). The program itself must be listed, and ACBSP and IACBE accreditation must be current. Candidacy, school membership without the program, and expired accreditation do not count; a claim the list does not show is ignored.

• AACSB accredited, confirmed on the AACSB official list: 10
• ACBSP or IACBE accredited, confirmed on that accreditor's official list: 9
• A specific exam preparation stated (certified public accountant, certified management accountant, enrolled agent, certified internal auditor or certified fraud examiner): 6
• Other certification preparation stated: 5
• No credential alignment stated: 3

Track Record, 10%

This is how many degrees the school awards in this field and at this level each year, from federal IPEDS data. It's scored on a log scale from the 5th to the 95th percentile of the level. Schools with no completions data get the middle value for their peers.

• We add up degrees across all the accounting program codes at the level
• The log scale keeps very large programs from swamping small ones

Program Reputation, 10%

Each program gets a reputation rating on a five-step scale, from little-known to among the most recognized in the field. A language model produces it, one program at a time and the same way for every program.

It reads the program's facts (the degree, its business or field accreditation, what the program page says) and what's publicly known about the school's standing in the field. Each rating is then compared with others at the same degree level.

• Rated program by program, in this field, not for the school as a whole
• Each program is rated on its own, so its rating never depends on which programs it was compared with
• Programs that haven't been rated get the middle value for their peers

Each factor gets a grade from 0 to 10. Multiply each grade by its weight, add them up, and you get the Program Score out of 100, to one decimal. It isn't curved or scaled to the highest-scoring program.

Programs are only compared with others at the same level: bachelor's and master's.

The Missing-Input Rule

When a school doesn't publish a figure for a factor, the program gets the middle value of similar programs (the peer median) at full weight. We don't display that value. That way, a program can't climb the ranking just because a number is missing. Cost is stricter: an unpublished price gets a below-average grade (the 25th percentile).

The No-Price Rule

A program that doesn't publish a price can't outscore the best program that does.

Tie-Breakers

Programs with the same Program Score are ordered by their Cost grade, then their Graduate Earnings grade, then school name.

Multiply each grade by its weight and you get the points. Add them up and you get the Program Score, 79.3 out of 100 (the points are rounded, so they can add up to a tenth more or less). You can read the full George Mason University review.

159 of 159 programs have an audit record. Each review lists the pages we checked, and when, under Sources.

We confirm accreditation program by program on the official AACSB, ACBSP and IACBE lists. We last checked them on October 6, 2026.

It isn't enough for a school to be a member of ACBSP or IACBE, because those two accredit specific programs. The program itself, or a business program at the same level that clearly covers it, has to be on the accreditor's list. If a school says its business programs are accredited and the list shows this program, we show it and link to the list.

If the list shows an accreditor the school doesn't mention, we show that too, because the list is the source. If a school claims accreditation that isn't on the list for this program, we leave it out.

Candidacy doesn't count. Neither does accreditation that only covers associate degrees or other programs, or accreditation whose period has ended. For IACBE, we read the accreditation period on the member page and count it only if today falls inside it.

Accreditation feeds into the score through Credential Alignment. AACSB scores highest, then ACBSP or IACBE, then programs with no confirmed business accreditation. If AACSB also lists Accounting accreditation for the school, the review tells you.

We score every accounting bachelor's and master's program that schools report to the federal government, about 1,560 in all. Each one gets the same formula, whether it's taught on campus, in a hybrid format or online. You'll see the 100 best bachelor's programs and the 50 best master's programs. Programs that have stopped admitting students are left out.

The bachelor's degrees are accounting majors from a business school, whether a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Business Administration or Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. We leave out programs that only admit second-degree or transfer students.

Each school shows up once at each level. If a school has more than one eligible accounting program at the same level, we list only its highest-scoring one. If two tie, we keep the one that's most plainly an accounting degree with a path to the certified public accountant (CPA) license. General MBAs, associate degrees and doctorates aren't included.

Completion is a school-wide figure, so every program at one school shares it. Flexibility comes from each program's own page. Graduate Earnings is measured for this field at each school. Track Record shows how many students finish this field each year, not how good the program is. Prices are the published per-credit rate. Fees are noted on each review but aren't scored.

Credential Alignment reflects business accreditation we confirmed on the official AACSB, ACBSP and IACBE lists, plus any exam prep the school mentions. It doesn't tell you whether a program meets your state board of accountancy's rules, since those vary by state.