Grand Canyon University Bachelor of Science in Accounting: 2027 Review

Score

61.0 of 100

Cost (20%)

7.3 of 10

Graduate Earnings (20%)

3.2 of 10

Completion (15%)

3.6 of 10

Flexibility (15%)

6.0 of 10

Credential Alignment (10%)

9.0 of 10

Track Record (10%)

10.0 of 10

Program Reputation (10%)

6.6 of 10

Cost per Credit

$490 per credit

Credits

120

Tuition

$58,800

Format

Fully Online, On Campus

Terms

8 weeks

Transfer Credits

Up to 90

Accreditation

ACBSP (confirmed on the official list)

See exactly how we score on the methodology page. We checked the school's figures on October 7, 2026.

Grand Canyon University offers this accounting degree online in eight-week classes, and the sequence ends in a team-based business simulation. The degree also qualifies you to sit for the certified management accountant (CMA) exam while you're still completing it.

The Bachelor of Science in Accounting is offered by the Colangelo College of Business at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. You can complete it fully online. Campus students take the same degree on a 15-week schedule.

• If you're a transfer student, up to 90 credits can come in, though only 84 of them can be lower division.
• If you want a Management Accountant credential, the program qualifies you to sit for the CMA exam while you're still finishing.
• If you like short terms, online classes run eight weeks, so each course is over in two months.
• If you want practice with Excel, the Accounting Society, affiliated with the Institute of Management Accountants, runs an annual advanced Excel workshop.
• If you're team-minded, the capstone is a group simulation that calls for constant peer interaction.

The accounting sequence starts with Financial Accounting, which walks you through the accounting cycle and building financial statements. Management Accounting follows, covering cost-volume-profit analysis and how managers use accounting data to decide. Cost Accounting goes further into cost behavior, inventory costing methods and budgets.

Intermediate Accounting I and II cover the balance sheet, income statement and liabilities in depth. The school says they address topics on the Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam. Financial Statement Analysis teaches you to interpret a firm's three principal statements. Business Statistics and Ethical and Legal Issues in Business sit alongside.

The 60 major credits end with Strategic Management, a writing-intensive capstone.

The degree totals 120 credits. General education is 34 to 40 of them. The major is 60, and open electives are 20 to 26. Online classes run eight weeks. Up to 90 transfer credits are accepted, with at most 84 at the lower-division level. Intermediate Accounting I requires Financial and Management Accounting first, so you take the sequence in order. A math course comes before Financial Accounting.

Online tuition is $490 per credit. The campus rate is $8,250 per semester and doesn't apply to online students.

You take classes fully online in eight-week terms. The online learning community gives you discussion boards, eBooks and calendar reminders. A campus version of the degree runs 15 weeks. A separate public accounting emphasis is offered on campus only.

The school states that this degree has accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, known as ACBSP. The university has held Higher Learning Commission accreditation since 1968. Its Intermediate Accounting courses also touch on Uniform CPA Exam topics.

Where this degree can lead: Accounting Degree Jobs.

College Consensus, in a 2024 review of the university, notes that several programs, including business and accounting, have five stars. A GCU news story quotes an accounting alumnus who says the faculty helped him gauge where he wanted to go and what his career interests were.

The same story quotes a freshman who found the accounting job fair very helpful. GCU's business page cites Niche naming the college the number 2 business college in Arizona for 2024.

• How many of your transfer credits would count toward the 84 lower-division limit?
• How does the Accounting Society work for an online student?
• Which of your courses touch on the CPA exam, and what else would you need for licensure in your state?
• How are teams formed for the Strategic Management simulation?
• What math course would you need before Financial Accounting?

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