Colorado State University Global Master of Professional Accountancy, Fraud Investigations and Forensic Accounting Emphasis: Our 2027 Review

If you already have an accounting background, this online Master of Professional Accountancy lets you aim it at fraud work. Three forensic courses sit inside a degree that meets Certified Public Accountant (CPA) academic requirements. You'll pay a flat $675 per credit with no fees. Courses are asynchronous, and a new class starts every month.

Colorado State University Global (CSU Global) is a fully online public university in the Colorado State University System, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Its Master of Professional Accountancy is 30 credits. You'll take 24 credits of required coursework plus six credits in one of five emphases: data analytics, fraud investigations and forensic accounting, auditing and assurance, taxation, or professional accounting.

The fraud emphasis is designed for you if you want to become a fraud investigator or forensic accountant, with advanced coursework in both areas. The school explains that forensic accountants use their accounting skills to give investigative, litigation and valuation support in cases involving financial statement fraud, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy and insolvency, and divorce.

The school also offers a separate fraud specialization you can add to its business-focused master's degrees.

The degree is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and accredited by ACBSP. It's designed so you meet the CPA academic requirements and prepare for careers in professional accounting, with leadership roles across public, private and nonprofit sectors.

CSU Global is an Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) endorsed school, so you can apply for IMA scholarships that cover first-time exam fees, an exam review course and three years of membership.

Where this degree can lead: Forensic Accounting Jobs, Certified Fraud Examiner Certification.

• You're an accounting graduate who wants a forensic edge. Admission starts from an accounting undergraduate degree with 21 upper-division accounting credits.
• You're a working accountant who needs flexibility. Courses are asynchronous with no required meeting times.
• You're thinking about transferring, and you can transfer up to 15 credits.
• You plan to become a CPA candidate, because the degree is built to meet the CPA academic requirements.
• You're an undergraduate accounting major who wants to save time. The accelerated path earns a bachelor's and master's in one combined program.

Three courses carry the forensic work. Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination explores the types of fraud and the methods that prevent and deter them in a financial environment. You'll look at why perpetrators commit fraud, how to reduce, prevent, detect and deter it, and how organizations and victims follow up, litigate and recover fraud losses.

Advanced Fraud Investigations and Forensic Accounting and Fraud and Forensic Accounting Data Analysis continue from there, and the second one takes the work into data.

Around them, the accounting coursework builds depth. Its courses include Advanced Accounting II, Advanced Cost Accounting and Accounting Ethics. Advanced Data Analytics for Accountants gives you hands-on practice with a variety of data analytic tools, techniques and approaches.

You finish with a capstone in accounting, where you apply and synthesize concepts related to financial accounting, applications and financial statement presentations. An optional accounting internship course gives you practical experience in the field. The page also notes the fraud emphasis may interest you if you plan to pursue the CFE designation.

Courses the School Names

• ACT506 Advanced Accounting II
• ACT510 Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination
• ACT530 Advanced Data Analytics for Accountants
• ACT560 Accounting Ethics
• ACT570 Advanced Cost Accounting
• ACT575 Advanced Auditing and Assurance Services
• ACT555 Advanced Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting
• ACT550 Advanced Income Taxation
• Internal Auditing
• Data Mining and Visualization

Standout Features

• Delta Mu Delta and Sigma Beta Delta business honor society chapters invite eligible Master of Professional Accounting students
• Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to apply for IMA scholarships covering first-time exam fees, an exam review course and IMA membership
• Dual enrollment accelerated option lets undergraduate accounting majors earn a bachelor's and master's degree in a single combined program

CSU Global lists graduate tuition at $675 per credit for 2026-27. The standard 30-credit program comes to $20,250 in tuition. Fees are $0, there's no out-of-state tuition, and the school guarantees your rate stays the same from your first class to your last.

More than 95% of students receive financial aid, and you can transfer up to 15 credits in. The school says its graduates report significant income increases, often recouping their investment within two years.

30 credits at $675 a credit comes to $20,250 in tuition, before fees.

The 8-week courses are 100% online, asynchronous and fully flexible, with no required meeting times or physical locations. A new class starts every month. At 30 credits, with up to 15 transferable, you set the pace that fits your work and life. To apply, you'll need an undergraduate degree with an accounting major or concentration and at least 21 credit hours of upper-division accounting coursework.

The program chair can approve other paths, including an MBA with 12 hours of accounting and prior accounting experience. If you're a Master of Professional Accounting student with a grade point average of at least 3.70, you can be invited to the Sigma Beta Delta business honor society.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• How many of my prior credits will transfer, and does my emphasis choice change that?
• What do Advanced Fraud Investigations and Forensic Accounting and the data analysis course cover week by week?
• How does the degree line up with my state's 150-hour rule for the CPA exam?
• Is the accounting internship course available in my state?
• How does the accelerated bachelor's-to-master's option work for my current degree?
• Can I move between emphases if my goals change?

A fully online public university in the Colorado State University System, headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 20 of 27, master's
• Best Master's Programs Rank 20 of 27, master's
• Best Online Programs Rank 16 of 20, master's
• Fraud Examination Programs Rank 7 of 10, master's
• MAcc With Forensic Concentration Rank 8 of 12, master's
• Cheapest Programs Rank 5 of 15, master's
• Accelerated Programs Rank 12 of 13, master's
• For Working Adults Rank 12 of 13, master's
• Public Universities Rank 11 of 11, master's
• With Internships Rank 3 of 5, master's

• Master's Degree With a Fraud and Financial Crimes Specialization

  Graduate Specialization, Master's

  Fully Online Score 70.8

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• Tiffin University

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• Pfeiffer University

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  North Carolina $400 per credit Score 64.7