Murray State University Master of Public Administration With a Concentration in Forensic Accounting: Our 2027 Review

This degree pairs a Master of Public Administration (MPA) core with a five-course forensic concentration. If you're aiming at government, compliance or public-service work, it speaks to you.

It lists at $471.50 per credit and $16,974 in total tuition with fees included, and it can take as few as 12 months. You'll end with a capstone research project on a substantive management or analytic problem in the public sector.

Murray State University offers the MPA with a Forensic Accounting concentration 100 percent online. It runs 36 credits, with 21 in the public administration core and 15 in the concentration. You take seven-week courses with multiple start points a year.

Admission asks for a bachelor's degree from a four-year domestic institution, an undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 or higher and transcripts from every college you attended. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

The program prepares you to sit for the CFE exam. The careers Murray State lists are fraud detection analyst, fraud investigator, financial investigator, compliance officer and forensic accountant. The learning outcomes tie directly to the work. You'll cover strategy to combat financial crime, fraud analytics technology, the fraud examiner's role in the legal system and clear communication of findings.

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

• You work in public service or want to. The core studies budgeting, policy and public organizations.
• You're aiming at jobs Murray State lists: fraud detection analyst, fraud investigator, financial investigator, compliance officer or forensic accountant.
• You have a 2.5 undergraduate GPA, which meets the admission requirement.
• You like value. You'd pay a per-credit rate of $471.50 with fees included.
• You're a future CFE candidate. The program prepares you to sit for that exam.
• You're a writer or analyst who wants practice communicating the results of a fraud examination.

Seven public administration courses form your core. Research Methods emphasizes quantitative methods. Foundations of Public Administration covers the political dimensions of public service and the ethical issues government practitioners face.

Public Policy Analysis looks at how policy problems are framed and policy choices are weighed. Public Budgeting and Finance reviews budgeting at the federal, state and local levels. Public Organizations and Public Sector Human Resource Management round out the management side.

Your capstone comes in two parts, one credit and then two. You propose a research design for an original project, then complete it, tying public administration theory to a management or policy problem in the public sector.

The forensic concentration is five courses: Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination, Legal Environment for Fraud Management Professionals, Fraud Analytics, Business Valuation and Corporate Finance. Murray State's learning outcomes for you include designing strategy to prevent, detect and investigate fraud, detecting fraudulent transactions with fraud analytics technology, analyzing the U.S. legal system with fraud examiners as expert witnesses, and communicating the results of an examination.

Standout Features

• Learning outcomes include detecting fraudulent transactions with fraud analytics technology and acting as a fraud examiner expert witness
• Ranked in the top 10 public universities in the South by U.S. News and World Report (2026)

Murray State lists $471.50 per credit hour and $1,414.50 per course. The total tuition is $16,974 for 36 credits. You pay by the course, and all fees are included in the total. Murray State notes that rates change annually with board approval, so you'll want to confirm current figures with admissions.

36 credits at $471.50 a credit comes to $16,974 in tuition, before fees.

This is a 100 percent online program in seven-week courses, delivered in an accelerated format with multiple start points each year. Murray State says you can finish in as few as 12 months.

You'd normally take the capstone in your last semester of graduate work. Admission is rolling, so you can begin planning without waiting for a single application window.

• Can I take the forensic concentration courses alongside the public administration core?
• How do the two capstone courses work, and when should I start planning my research topic?
• Can I choose a public sector topic that connects to fraud for my capstone project?
• How does the program prepare me for the CFE exam, and what else would I need to apply?
• Which fraud analytics software will I use?
• How do the certificate and business master's options relate to this degree if I want to change paths?

A public university in Murray, Kentucky, whose Arthur J. Bauernfeind College of Business has been continuously accredited by AACSB International since 1981.

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 2 of 27, master's
• Best Master's Programs Rank 2 of 27, master's
• Best Online Programs Rank 1 of 20, master's
• CFE Exam Prep Programs Rank 2 of 13, master's
• Cheapest Programs Rank 2 of 15, master's
• Accelerated Programs Rank 2 of 13, master's
• For Working Adults Rank 2 of 13, master's
• Public Universities Rank 2 of 11, master's

• Master of Business Administration with a Concentration in Forensic Accounting

  MBA, Master's

  Fully Online $606 per credit Score 97.0

• Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting

  Graduate Certificate, Graduate Certificate

  Fully Online $606 per credit Score 95.9

• Utica University

  Master of Science in Forensic Accounting

  New York $775 per credit Score 96.8

• Florida Atlantic University

  Executive Master of Accounting, Forensic Accounting Concentration

  Florida Score 96.7

• West Virginia University

  Master of Science in Forensic and Fraud Examination

  West Virginia $1,063 per credit Score 100.0

• Saint Xavier University

  Master of Business Administration, Fraud Examination and Management

  Illinois $799 per credit Score 90.8