masters in accounting

From Gary F. Peters, Program Director

"Did you know that the MAcc degree is increasingly becoming the standard of entry into the profession? From 1999 to 2007, the number of accounting graduates entering the profession with Master’s degrees increased 105 percent, compared to an increase of 37 percent for undergraduates (AICPA, 2008). To keep our students competitive in the national workplace, we are working very hard to respond to this national trend. We continue to develop the MAcc program to meet the needs of our incoming students and constituents. New courses, new faculty, new student events, and new interactions with the professional community all characterize the changes we are seeing in the program. I am particularly grateful to our professional constituents who make the MAcc experience even more valuable.

This past year we expanded our Orientation for incoming MAcc students. The Orientation included numerous panel sessions covering the importance of developing not only technical knowledge, but also vital professional skills. The panel sessions and Orientation included 17 professional representatives from 10 different employers. Students were able to gain insight into the life of a professional and early exposure to respective recruiters. The professional panels covered a range of topics including: "Teams in the Workplace, Career Tracks and Competencies-Managing Your Career," "Millennial Success- Adapting and Succeeding in Workplace Culture," "Communication Skills (Good, Bad, Ugly): Personal, Professional, Verbal, Written, and Electronic," and "Managing Time and Assignments-Getting the Job Done (and everything else)." At the end of Orientation, we celebrated the beginning of the academic year by hosting a dinner in honor of our incoming MAcc students. Even now, we are making plans for the Orientation in August 2009. If you or your organization would like to participate, I would love to have you involved.

Additional changes made to the program this year include the development of a Student Advisory Board. Throughout the course of the year this team of students met with me and the graduate school to discuss their experiences. In turn, we increased the extent in which improvement to the MAcc experience becomes a collaborative effort. To our current applicants, be looking for some positive changes to the MAcc program this fall. To our current undergraduate students, start making plans now for pursuing the MAcc degree. Our early application deadline is September 15. We look forward to your application. To our alumni, we would love to hear how your MAcc experience continues to shape your professional endeavors. If you have never done so, send us a note. We would love to hear and share your story at gpeters@walton.uark.edu."

The Accounting Ph.D. Program at the University of Arkansas has undergone some dramatic changes over the last few years.  With the recent addition of more research active faculty, doctoral students have a greater opportunity to work with faculty members, assisting in and even coauthoring research projects.  In addition, we have revamped our course offerings and now offer at least two accounting research seminars each year as well as regular weekly accounting workshops.  Students work closely with faculty on summer papers and present these papers at the accounting workshop to receive faculty input.  This helps students to prepare to write a dissertation.  Our small Ph.D. program (currently 8 students in residence) allows students to have a lot of interaction with faculty members.

Many of our faculty members do research related to auditing, earnings management, financial reporting, governance, market anomalies, and information technology.  Current faculty use empirical, archival research methods and publish in the top accounting journals including Journal of Accounting and Economics, The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research, and Review of Accounting Studies.

We are located in a small college town (Fayetteville, Arkansas) with a very reasonable cost of living and we offer 4 years of generous financial support to qualified applicants.

If you’re considering applying to a Ph.D. programs in Accounting, please feel free to contact me at lmyers@walton.uark.edu.

Best regards,
Linda A. Myers,
Ph. D. Program Director