Sacred Heart University Accounting: 2027 Review

Score

66.3 of 100

Cost (20%)

3.8 of 10

Graduate Earnings (20%)

10.0 of 10

Completion (15%)

5.9 of 10

Flexibility (15%)

4.0 of 10

Credential Alignment (10%)

10.0 of 10

Track Record (10%)

8.4 of 10

Program Reputation (10%)

5.5 of 10

Cost per Credit

$1,010 per credit

Credits

30

Tuition

$30,300

Format

Hybrid, On Campus, Evenings and Weekends

Starts

2 starts per year

Time to Finish

12 months

Graduate Record Examinations (GRE)

Not required

Accreditation

AACSB (confirmed on the official list)

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

Sacred Heart packs a 30-credit MSA into one year, with online classes and one Saturday seminar a month. Eligible students may also receive Becker certified public accountant (CPA) review at no cost.

The Welch College of Business & Technology at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, offers this Master of Science in Accounting. It runs as a hybrid cohort program. Courses are online, and you come to campus for the Saturday seminars.

• Career changers from other business fields: a business degree outside accounting means 12 prerequisite credits, so you can start from where you are.
• Candidates chasing the 150 hours: the 30-credit master's applies toward CPA licensure.
• First-year undergraduates who want the 4+1 dual degree and both diplomas in five years.
• Working accountants who want a mostly online format with one Saturday on campus a month.
• Students drawn to valuation, because MSA 634 supports the certified valuation analyst (CVA) designation.

The MSA has six required courses plus a three-course concentration. MSA 600 Advanced Financial Reporting covers US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for investments, income taxes and leases. MSA 631 Contemporary Issues in Auditing digs into forensic accounting and fraud examination. MSA 650 Intro to Accounting Analytics has you work from business questions to tested findings, with tools such as Alteryx, Tableau and Power BI.

MSA 634 Business Valuation & Emerging Attestation introduces the valuation process. Electives include MSA 636 Forensic Accounting and MSA 635 Cybersecurity, which covers risk frameworks and testing. The two concentrations are Forensic Accounting and Tax Compliance & Planning.

You can finish the 30 credits in one year in the recommended cohort model. If you go part time, you'll take about two years at six credits per term.

If your business degree is in something other than accounting, you'll complete 12 prerequisite credits first. The 4+1 dual degree pairs a Sacred Heart bachelor's with the MSA on a five-year plan.

The master's applies to the 150 hours needed for CPA licensure.

Tuition is $1,010 per credit. You don't need a GRE or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score, and admission is rolling.

Classes are online, and the cohort meets for a Saturday seminar once a month, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the Fairfield campus. You can begin in September or January. The format leaves you room to hold a job, and several alumni mention working while they studied.

The Welch College of Business & Technology holds AACSB accreditation. The curriculum lines up with the new CPA exam, and if you're eligible, you may receive Becker CPA review at no cost. MSA 634 Business Valuation & Emerging Attestation prepares you for the CVA designation from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA).

Where this degree can lead: Accounting Degree Jobs.

School-published alumni testimonials say the course material lines up with the CPA exams. One alumna says it helped her pass her exams before her start date. Another says the flexible schedule let her secure a job and earn the CPA credential while finishing the degree.

School news quotes a class of 2020 graduate who called it flexible enough to work and take classes. Reviewers on OnlineU praise motivated teachers, tutoring and a career center that helps you find internships. Sacred Heart reports that 69% of its class of 2020 MSA students received offers from the Big Four.

Princeton Review notes that 95% of the college's full-time faculty hold doctoral degrees.

• Which prerequisite courses would I need to take first, and can they run alongside my job?
• How are cohorts of the one-year track scheduled around the monthly Saturday seminars?
• How do I qualify for Becker CPA review at no cost?
• Do the Forensic Accounting and Tax Compliance & Planning concentrations change my course order?
• How does the 4+1 dual degree start for a first-year student?

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