University of Washington-Seattle Campus Accounting Major: 2027 Review

Score

62.3 of 100

Cost (20%)

1.9 of 10

Graduate Earnings (20%)

7.4 of 10

Completion (15%)

9.5 of 10

Flexibility (15%)

0.0 of 10

Credential Alignment (10%)

10.0 of 10

Track Record (10%)

9.9 of 10

Program Reputation (10%)

9.7 of 10

Format

On Campus

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.

At Foster, you'll pair a three-course intermediate accounting sequence with a data analytics course. All four Big 4 firms have offices in downtown Seattle, near campus. You can also add a one-quarter internship for credit or a faculty-supervised research project.

The Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington runs the Accounting Department. You earn a Bachelor of Science in person on the Seattle campus. You can choose between two majors: Accounting, and Accounting for Business Professionals.

• Future auditors: in ACCTG 411, you'll study the public auditor's environment, process and report, and the Big 4 recruit near campus.
• Students who want a business career beyond accounting: your Accounting for Business Professionals major needs ACCTG 301 plus four electives.
• Aspiring investment bankers: the department suggests you pair the Business Professionals major with a Finance major.
• Data-minded students: in ACCTG 320, you'll turn raw accounting data into business insight, and a double major with Information Systems is suggested.
• Students planning for the certified public accountant (CPA) license: one student describes the MPAcc or a double major as the common ways you'd reach Washington's 225 credit hours.

The core is three financial reporting courses, ACCTG 301, 402 and 403. They move from reporting principles applied to real cases, to debt, leases and long-term assets, to pensions, income taxes and cash flows. In ACCTG 311, you'll study managers' cost decisions through cases. ACCTG 320 covers accounting systems and analytics. ACCTG 321 introduces you to U.S. income tax law. ACCTG 411 covers auditing.

You can choose electives such as ACCTG 450 Business Taxation, ACCTG 440 Financial Statement Analysis and ACCTG 480 Accounting for Not-for-Profit Organizations. ACCTG 495 is a quarter-long internship at an accounting firm, company or agency. ACCTG 499 is research you'll do under a faculty member's supervision. You can join student groups including Beta Alpha Psi and the UW chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants.

The Accounting major has seven required upper-division courses of four credits each, plus at least one elective. You'll take five of the eight upper-division accounting classes at UW Seattle. The department links a CPA Requirements page. Foster offers a Master of Professional Accounting if you need the extra credits.

UW reports about $1,404 per credit in federal tuition data.

Classes meet in person on the Seattle campus. The department hires students as readers and graders. Foster's EY Center for Career Advancement offers coaching, mock interviews, an alumni mentorship program and career treks to cities including Seattle and New York City.

Foster is AACSB accredited, and the AACSB list confirms accounting accreditation. The department points you to CPA requirements and lists faculty titles that carry the PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG names, including the KPMG Term Professor.

Where this degree can lead: Accounting Degree Jobs.

Graduates and students on Reddit, in posts from 2015 and 2016, describe heavy Big 4 recruiting. One graduate estimated that most accounting graduates joined a Big 4 firm or Moss Adams. A student said PwC, EY and Deloitte recruit very heavily on campus. Another said you can stay in Seattle, since all four firms have downtown offices.

A current student wrote in 2025 that the intermediate sequence covers much of the CPA Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) exam. The student also said you'll find help from peers and professors along the way. Foster reports that 92% of its Class of 2025 undergraduates had a job, graduate school or another plan within 90 days.

• Which major fits my plans, Accounting or Accounting for Business Professionals?
• How do I arrange an ACCTG 499 research project, and which faculty supervise them?
• Which firms recruit for ACCTG 495 internships, and when does recruiting start?
• Should I reach 225 credit hours through the MPAcc or a double major?

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