DePaul University Master of Science in Accountancy: 2027 Review

Score

68.1 of 100, rank 23 of 50

Cost (20%)

4.6 of 10

Graduate Earnings (20%)

7.0 of 10

Completion (15%)

5.3 of 10

Flexibility (15%)

6.0 of 10

Credential Alignment (10%)

10.0 of 10

Track Record (10%)

8.9 of 10

Program Reputation (10%)

8.9 of 10

Credits

48 quarter hours (12 courses: 8 core, 4 elective)

Format

Fully Online

Time to Finish

12 to 18 months

Accreditation

AACSB (confirmed on the official list)

AACSB Accounting

Accounting accreditation listed by AACSB

See exactly how we score on the methodology page. We checked the school's figures on October 8, 2026.

DePaul's Master of Science in Accountancy is built for people who never studied accounting, and the whole degree can be finished online in as little as 12 months. Core courses are asynchronous, with weekly check-ins that put you in a live session with faculty and classmates.

The Driehaus College of Business at DePaul University in Chicago offers this master's, and you'll study with the same faculty who teach on campus. They lead the online program too.

• Career changers with a non-accounting bachelor's: no accounting degree is needed, and the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is not required.
• Working professionals who want to keep their jobs: asynchronous core courses fit around a work schedule.
• Candidates for the certified public accountant (CPA) license who are counting hours: the program is designed to help you reach the 150 credit hours for exam eligibility.
• Students drawn to fraud work: electives cover fraud examination and forensic financial statement analysis.
• Chicago-area students who want contact in person: select electives and networking events are offered in Chicago.

The degree is 12 courses: eight core and four electives. Financial Accounting Theory and Practice I and II take you through intermediate financial reporting. Advanced Topics in Accounting Theory covers consolidations, partnerships, foreign operations and not-for-profit accounting.

Auditing I introduces financial statement audits and the professional skepticism auditors need. Two tax courses cover individual taxpayers, then corporations and partnerships. Principles of Accounting Information Systems looks at how systems shape accounting work. Your electives include Data Mining and Analytics, Audit Analytics, Introduction to Fraud Examination, Tax Research and a Graduate Internship.

The degree totals 48 quarter hours. Full-time students can finish in as little as one year, and part-time students in about a year and a half. You must complete all courses within six calendar years of your first term.

DePaul reports a charge of about $886 per credit. An $8,000 scholarship is available to all students in the online program.

Core courses are online and asynchronous, so you watch lectures and work on your own time. Weekly check-in sessions let you meet faculty and classmates. You'll find flexible online formats for electives. New terms start in fall, winter and summer, three times a year. DePaul says you can work while you study.

The Driehaus College of Business is AACSB accredited. The program is built to prepare you for the CPA exam and to help you reach the 150 credit hours for eligibility. DePaul's catalog calls the degree nationally ranked, and the school points to its Ledger & Quill accounting alumni network.

Where this degree can lead: Accounting Degree Jobs.

A 2025 graduate quoted by the program says the master's built strong technical skills, expanded career options and long-term professional confidence. The school says its accounting alumni have gone on to firms such as Deloitte, KPMG and PwC. You'd also join what the school calls one of the largest accounting and tax networks in the Chicago area.

• Which elective sets best fit an audit career, and which fit a tax career?
• Which electives can I take in person in Chicago?
• What do the weekly check-in sessions cover, and are they recorded?
• How do I apply the $8,000 scholarship to my first term?
• Which fall, winter and summer start gets me to the 150 hours soonest?

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