Franklin Pierce University Accounting Bachelor's Plus MBA (3+1), Forensic Accounting Track: Our 2027 Review

You get four years and two degrees: a bachelor's in accounting and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), with a forensic track in between. In your third year, you'll take Forensic Accounting and Fraud alongside White Collar Crime, Criminal Investigation and Procedure, and Computer Forensics and Security. The plan also sets aside a summer slot for your internship or senior project.

Franklin Pierce University is a private nonprofit university in Rindge, New Hampshire, with online graduate programs. Its Accounting Bachelor's Plus MBA, known as the 3 Plus 1 Accelerated Accounting Program, has a Forensic Accounting Track and leads to a bachelor's degree plus an MBA.

You earn the bachelor's on campus and finish the MBA online. The school says its accelerated business programs let you complete an on-campus bachelor's degree in just three years or combine a bachelor's and an MBA in four. The recommended plan totals 120 undergraduate credits, and two graduate-level courses you take in the third year count toward the MBA.

All School of Business programs at Franklin Pierce are accredited by IACBE.

The school says the MBA accounting track also serves as a springboard if you're planning to prepare for Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA) or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification.

Partner firms across New England and beyond offer sites for internships, consulting and full-time jobs after graduation. The business school says you'll learn from expert faculty, network with accomplished alumni and apply classroom lessons to real business challenges through internships, senior projects and work experience.

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

• You're a qualified high school student who wants to plan a bachelor's and a master's together. The school says you can enter a four-year accelerated program.
• You like residential campus life in Rindge for the bachelor's years, but you want a flexible online MBA to finish.
• You're drawn to investigation. Your third year adds Criminal Investigation and Procedure and Computer Forensics and Security.
• You're thinking about certification. The school says the MBA accounting track is a springboard for the CPA, CMA or CFA credentials.
• You want real work experience. Internships, senior projects and partner firms across New England are part of the business school.

You build the accounting base first. You'll start with AC101 and AC102 Principles of Accounting. Then come AC213 and AC214 Intermediate Accounting I and II.

The forensic work comes in your third year. AC312 Forensic Accounting and Fraud is a three-credit course that anchors the track, and White Collar Crime is three credits in the spring term. Around them sit two more courses, Auditing, and Analysis of Financial Statements. You'll also take Criminal Investigation and Procedure, and Computer Forensics and Security. Together they put accounting, criminal justice and technology in the same year.

Your third year also includes two graduate-level courses that count toward the MBA. One is Leading Organizational Change, and the other is Business Law, Ethics and Sustainability. That's the 3 Plus 1 idea in action. You start the master's before you finish the bachelor's.

For applied work, the recommended plan has a summer slot between the second and third years. Your choices are Internship in Accounting (two to three credits), Advanced Internship in Accounting (four credits) or Senior Independent Project in Accounting (four credits). You pick one.

Courses the School Names

• Forensic Accounting and Fraud
• White Collar Crime
• Criminal Investigation & Procedure
• Auditing
• Analysis of Financial Statements

Standout Features

• Third year of the plan includes graduate-numbered courses GM511 Leading Organizational Change and GM520 Bus Law, Ethics & Sustainability

For your on-campus bachelor's years, Franklin Pierce lists Rindge full-time undergraduate tuition for 2026-27 at $44,276 a year. There's also a $5,024 administrative fee. For the online graduate portion, tuition for the MBA and the Master of Science in Accounting is $665 per credit. The partnership rate is $532 per credit.

Because two graduate-level courses in the third year count toward the MBA, you begin graduate study while still an undergraduate. You can ask admissions which rate applies to each of those courses, and ask the financial aid office what awards are available for the accelerated plan.

The program mixes formats. You'll attend the bachelor's on campus in Rindge, and the MBA is online. The school describes its online MBA with an Accounting concentration as offered 100% online, in programs that are flexible and made to fit your life.

The accounting track of the MBA is 10 courses and awards 30 credits. The 3 Plus 1 route takes you four years, compared with three years for the accelerated bachelor's alone.

The recommended plan reserves a summer between the second and third years for an internship or senior project, so you see accounting work in practice before the graduate years begin. In the online MBA, the school says you'll meet faculty with strong business connections.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• What does AC312 Forensic Accounting and Fraud cover, and who teaches it?
• How do the graduate-level courses in year three count toward the MBA?
• What are the admission requirements for the 3 Plus 1 program, and when do I apply to the MBA portion?
• Which internship would fit best for a forensic accounting student, and how are they arranged?
• What does the partnership rate of $532 per credit require, and does it apply to me?
• How many credits does the online MBA add after the bachelor's years?
• Which courses give me the most hands-on time with fraud investigation and computer forensics?

A private university in Rindge, New Hampshire, with online graduate programs.

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 22 of 22, bachelor's
• Best Bachelor's Programs Rank 22 of 22, bachelor's
• With Internships Rank 8 of 8, bachelor's

• DeSales University

  Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Forensic Accounting Track

  Pennsylvania Score 38.0

• CUNY York College

  Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination Concentration

  New York Score 45.0

• Louisiana State University-Alexandria

  Bachelor of Science in Accounting with a Concentration in Fraud and Forensic Accounting

  Louisiana $353 per credit Score 45.8

• Marywood University

  Bachelor of Business Administration in Financial Crime Investigation

  Pennsylvania $844 per credit Score 50.2