Accounting Major, BBA - Open Elective Option

Students who do not wish to choose one of the specialized concentrations will take an additional 12 credits of Open Electives and one additional course in Business Law, either LAW 360 Advanced Business Law (4 credits) or LAW 312 Business Law II (3 credits). This option will give students an opportunity to customize their program of study by selecting additional course work in areas such as taxation, law, finance, information systems and management or other fields of interest to them. It will also be a good option for transfer students who have completed courses at other colleges and universities prior to enrolling at Pace and adult students who have earned college credit for work experience or other prior learning through the Pace Experiential Learning Assessment (ELA).

A Note on CPA Exam Requirements

Students who plan to take the CPA exam should be aware of the specific educational requirements for the state in which they intend to sit for the exam.  Visit the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy website (NASBA) for specific requirements in each state.  The state of New York currently requires 120 hours of college level education and at least one course covering each of the following (see website NASBA/NYS):

·         Financial accounting, at the upper division and beyond introductory level,

·         Cost or management accounting,

·         Taxation,

·         Audit and attestation, at the upper division.

The courses required for BBA Accounting program with appropriate elective courses in auditing (ACC 461), taxation, and business law will satisfy the requirements to take the CPA exam in New York. 

The CPA licensure however requires a total of 150 hours (33 in accounting) of education, in addition to passing the exam and gaining practice experiences.  The requirements for BBA Accounting program do not satisfy all requirements for CPA licensure.  Students can earn additional credits by joining one of the graduate programs at Pace (e.g., MS Accounting, MBA Accounting, or MS Accounting Data Analytics and Technologies) to satisfy CPA licensure requirements in education.

Students who are interested in completing all 150 credits of CPA licensure requirements in one step can consider the following programs:

·         BBA Public Accounting 

·         Combined BBA/MBA Public Accounting 

·         Combined BBA Public Accounting/MS Financial Management

·         BBA Public Accounting/MS Taxation 

Major Completion Summary

 University Core Requirements (53)

See complete University Core requirements.

Includes several of the major-required courses listed below:

Major Requirements (57-58)

Open Electives (17-18)

Total Credit Hours: 128