Franklin University Bachelor of Science in Forensic Accounting: Our 2027 Review

If you already have college credits, this degree gives them a place to land. Franklin says you can transfer up to 94 earlier credits, and the 6- and 12-week courses are fully online. You'll build on a four-course sequence in fraud examination plus a capstone, and Franklin notes it's one of the few universities offering forensic accounting at the bachelor's level.

Franklin University is a nonprofit university in Columbus, Ohio, built for adult learners. It offers the Bachelor of Science in Forensic Accounting fully online. You'll take 124 semester credits in 6- and 12-week courses, with eight start points a year.

Franklin calculates 21 months at full-time status with average transfer credits. You'll study solid accounting principles alongside fraud detection and prevention, drawing on techniques of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Franklin's standard tuition is $398 per credit, and the degree is 124 credits. Current service members pay $250 per credit. The Tuition Guarantee locks in your first-term tuition rate for the duration of the program, for as long as you remain actively enrolled. Because Franklin accepts up to 94 transfer credits, you can ask admissions to review your transcript so you know how many credits remain.

124 credits at $398 a credit comes to $49,352 in tuition, before fees.

• If you have earlier college credit, up to 94 credits can transfer, and Franklin says students bring in about half the required credits on average.
• You're a working professional who wants fully online classes in 6- or 12-week blocks.
• You can start forensic accounting at the bachelor's level instead of waiting for a graduate degree.
• If you plan to seek certification, Franklin says the degree builds the foundation for CFE, Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) credentials.
• You'll pay $250 per credit if you're a current service member.
• If you're a team player who likes project work, the program includes a simulated investigation of a growing company.

Five forensic courses, four credits each, anchor the major. In Fraud Examination, you'll cover the behavioral research on occupational fraud and the method of an examination: obtaining documentary evidence, interviewing witnesses and potential suspects, writing investigative reports and testifying to findings. The corporate governance and internal control assessment course focuses on identifying, documenting, analyzing and testing internal controls as part of a fraud prevention program.

Interview Techniques and Legal Elements in Fraud Investigations covers interviewing and interrogating witnesses and suspects, and the criminal and civil legal systems that judge perpetrators. Forensic Communication gives you practice with the written and verbal communication used in forensic accounting work. In the capstone, you'll put together what you've learned so you can plan and report the results of a fraud examination.

Accounting courses such as Accounting Information Systems and Auditing sit alongside them. In Auditing, you'll study planning, evidence gathering, internal control review and sampling. Accounting Data Analytics is an elective option. One of your project assignments is a team simulation of a growing company that needs help with accounting issues surfacing during financial statement preparation, and you'll use Microsoft Visio to create and streamline accounting systems and processes.

Courses the School Names

• Fraud Examination
• Accounting Information Systems
• Auditing

Standout Features

• Curriculum draws on fraud detection and prevention techniques of the ACFE
• Four-course sequence in fraud examination at the core of the major
• Hands-on work with industry-standard Microsoft Visio software to design accounting systems and processes
• One of the few universities offering a forensic accounting bachelor's degree rather than only a graduate degree
• Real-world project: a simulated investigation of a growing company with accounting issues, completed as a team
• Tuition Guarantee locks in the first-term tuition rate for the length of the program

Your classes are fully online and run 6 or 12 weeks. Franklin starts students eight times a year, so your next entry point is never far away.

Franklin estimates 21 months at full-time status with average transfer credits. Academic advisors help you with the transfer process, and credentialed instructors with professional accounting experience teach the classes. You're also encouraged to add internships with certified public accounting firms, private industry or government, through the accounting internship option, if you qualify.

The Forensic Accounting degree program is accredited by IACBE. Franklin says it builds the foundation for you to seek CFE, CPA and CIA certification, and its program information page also mentions preparing for the Certified Management Accountant exam.

The curriculum draws on fraud detection and prevention techniques of the ACFE. For career context, Franklin's page shows financial examiners with a median salary of $84,302 and projected growth of 21% from 2023 to 2033.

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

• Franklin graduate JaVonne, quoted on the university's website, calls the quality of education excellent and says everything learned at Franklin now shows up in the work.

  Source: Franklin University website

• Franklin reports that 98% of graduating students would recommend the university to family, friends and colleagues, in a university-wide satisfaction survey from Summer 2023.

  Source: Franklin Office of Career Development Student Satisfaction Survey (Summer 2023)

• Can you evaluate my transcript and tell me how many of my credits would transfer toward the 124?
• Which accounting electives pair best with the forensic courses for my goals?
• How does the team simulation project run in an online class?
• How does the accounting internship option work for students who are online?
• How do the Tuition Guarantee and the service member rate apply to my situation?
• Which courses help most with the CFE, CPA and CIA exams, and what else would I need?

A nonprofit university in Columbus, Ohio, built for adult learners, with online programs.

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 1 of 22, bachelor's
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• CFE Exam Prep Programs Rank 1 of 12, bachelor's
• Cheapest Programs Rank 5 of 11, bachelor's
• For Working Adults Rank 1 of 4, bachelor's
• With Internships Rank 1 of 8, bachelor's

• Loyola University Maryland

  Bachelor of Business Administration in Forensic Accounting

  Maryland $975 per credit Score 87.9

• CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice

  Bachelor of Science in Fraud Examination and Financial Forensics

  New York Score 82.9

• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott

  Bachelor of Science in Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination

  Arizona Score 79.1

• Rider University

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

  New Jersey Score 77.4