Accounting

Types of Degrees Accounting Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many accounting graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	15,888
Graduate Certificate	771
Doctor’s Degree	53

What Accounting Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to accounting and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Accounting Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in accounting should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Accounting Majors

When studying accounting, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Accounting Majors

A major in accounting will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Accounting Major?

People with a accounting degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Accountants	10.0%	$70,500
Auditors	10.0%	$70,500
Budget Analysts	6.5%	$76,220
Business Professors	18.0%	$83,960
Credit Analysts	8.3%	$71,520
Financial Analysts	10.8%	$85,660
Financial Examiners	9.7%	$80,180
Financial Managers, Branch or Department	18.7%	$127,990
Tax Preparers	10.7%	$39,390
Treasurers and Controllers	18.7%	$127,990

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Accounting?

This is one of the most frequently chosen graduate majors. It is the 10th most popular in the country with 18,187 students graduating with a master’s in accounting in 2021. According to recent stats this major attracts about equal numbers of men and women. Roughly 53% of the graduates are women, and 47% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of accounting majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1,502
Black or African American	1,122
Hispanic or Latino	2,200
White	9,115
International Students	937
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,012

Geographic Diversity

Accounting appeals to people across the globe. About 5.9% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Accounting

Some degrees associated with accounting may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to accounting have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.5%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	14.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.9%
Some College Courses	9.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	8.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	40.0%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.2%
Master’s Degree	13.8%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.3%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.6%
Doctoral Degree	5.7%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.1%

Online Accounting Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	643	212
Certificate (2-4 Years)	16	4
Associate’s Degree	979	306
Bachelor’s Degree	185	65
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	635	176
Post-Master’s	26	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	23	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	1

Majors Related to Accounting

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to accounting.

Major	Number of Grads
Business Administration & Management	395,227
Finance & Financial Management	58,013
General Business/Commerce	57,204
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	56,747
Marketing	52,820
Human Resource Management	25,350
Business Support & Assistant Services	16,604
Hospitality Management	14,076
Entrepreneurial Studies	12,707
Management Information Systems	11,695
Real Estate	7,783
International Business	7,505
General Sales & Marketing	5,965
Other Business, Management & Marketing	4,903
Business/Managerial Economics	4,885
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing	4,322
Construction Management	4,158
Insurance	2,334
Taxation	1,257
Business/Corporate Communications	837
Telecommunications Management	58

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Pixabay under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.