CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice Bachelor of Science in Fraud Examination and Financial Forensics: Our 2027 Review

At John Jay College of Criminal Justice, fraud examination is the whole point of the major, not a side topic. You'll take five required courses covering digital forensics, fraud examination and data analytics. Graduates meet the educational requirements for the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) exam, having covered the subject areas it tests. Alumni point to a KPMG workshop and student chapters as the doors to their internships and jobs.

You'll study the Bachelor of Science in Fraud Examination and Financial Forensics on campus at John Jay, a senior college of the City University of New York on West 59th Street in New York City. The college calls it an interdisciplinary program that brings accounting together with law, criminal, civil and social justice, and related disciplines.

It's an accounting-based degree. You take the accounting courses typical of an undergraduate accounting degree, plus courses on why people commit fraud and how to detect, prevent, investigate and prosecute it. Your degree totals 120 credits.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

If you're a New York State resident, John Jay's bursar schedule for Fall 2025 through Spring 2026 lists $3,465 per semester for full-time study (12 or more credits). Part-time study at the resident rate is $305 per credit.

The department also points you to the Ritchie-Jennings Memorial scholarship, an annual award for students pursuing fraud examination careers. It's worth $1,000 to $10,000 plus a one-year student associate membership in the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). John Jay undergraduates have won it in past years. The City University of New York is test optional, so you choose whether to submit SAT or ACT scores.

• You want fraud examination as a named major, and John Jay's program is built around it.
• You like the human side of fraud, because your courses draw on law, criminology and the social sciences.
• You want city-based networking, through a student chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting and events with large accounting firms.
• You're aiming for government work, since the brochure names the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division, Inspectors General offices and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as employers.
• You're looking for scholarships, because the Ritchie-Jennings Memorial scholarship supports students pursuing fraud examination careers.

You'll take five required courses that make up the forensic heart of the major. In Digital Forensics for the Fraud Examiner, you learn how digital forensic examiners secure, collect and analyze digital evidence in fraud cases.

Fraud Examination and Financial Forensics I gives you an overview of forensic accounting: methods for uncovering fraud, fraud theories, patterns and schemes, concealment strategies, evidence collection and the legal elements of fraud, taught with case studies. In Part II, you see how frauds are committed against and on behalf of organizations, how to prevent, detect and investigate them, and how expert witnessing and reporting work.

In Data Analytics for the Fraud Examiner, you learn to extract, interpret and develop the financial data behind financial reports. In Seminar in Forensic Financial Analysis, the senior seminar, you cover financial statement analysis and commercial data-mining software, using statistical and analytic methods to evaluate potential fraud.

You also choose Corporate and White-Collar Crime or Fraud, Waste, Abuse and Corruption in Public Organizations. Your accounting core runs from Introduction to Accounting through Intermediate Accounting I and II, Accounting Information Systems and Auditing. And you've got four electives to go broad or deep, with options such as Culture and Crime.

Courses the School Names

• Digital Forensics for the Fraud Examiner
• Fraud Examination and Financial Forensics I
• Fraud Examination and Financial Forensics II
• Data Analytics for the Fraud Examiner
• Seminar in Forensic Financial Analysis

Standout Features

• Interdisciplinary major that integrates accounting with law, criminology and the social sciences
• Ritchie-Jennings Memorial Scholarship from the ACFE for students pursuing fraud examination, with awards from $1,000 to $10,000 and a one-year ACFE Student Associate membership
• Student club chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting with firm networking events

You'll take this program on campus in New York City, and the department lays out a clear course sequence for you to follow: Introduction to Accounting, then Fraud Examination and Financial Forensics I, then Auditing and Fraud Examination and Financial Forensics II, then the senior seminar.

Your 120 credits are made up of 57 to 60 in the major plus general education and electives. You'll also get close one-on-one mentoring, advising and teaching from the faculty, according to the program brochure.

John Jay says graduates meet the educational requirements for the CFE exam and will have covered the subject areas it tests, from fraud schemes and financial transactions to law, investigation, and fraud prevention and deterrence.

The flyer adds that the major covers most of the accounting requirements and many of the general business courses you'd need before the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, and it prepares you for the college's Advanced Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting.

You can hold membership in the ACFE and its New York chapter, and the ACFE lists a John Jay student chapter. Graduates work in settings such as the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Inspectors General offices, the FBI, CPA and law firms, and corporate internal audit, compliance and security teams.

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

• Vitali Kremez, now a cybercrime investigative analyst at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, says the KPMG workshop and chapter scholarship events exposed him to investigations and interview techniques that helped him become a Certified Fraud Examiner.

  Source: John Jay program brochure

• Alumna Ariel Sosa, now a forensic accountant, credits the major with her internship and job, and recommends it for its dedicated faculty, workshops with large accounting firms and the Latino professionals student group.

  Source: John Jay program brochure

• Jose Arcos, an associate at Guidepost Solutions, says the professors in the major are experts in their field who gave him professional insight and advice.

  Source: John Jay program brochure

• Forensic auditor Akeel Uddin says he applied what he learned in the classroom to the real world every day.

  Source: John Jay program brochure

• How often does the KPMG Forensic Scholars Workshop run, and how do students get in?
• Which of the four electives would you suggest if I want to emphasize breadth, and which for depth?
• How does the Advanced Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting connect to this major?
• What do the accounting internship courses involve, and how do students find placements?
• How do the ACFE student chapter and the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting chapter meet during the year?
• Which CPA exam requirements does the major cover, and what would I add for New York licensure?

A public senior college of the City University of New York in New York City, focused on criminal justice, forensics and public service.

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