Purdue University Global Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Analytics, Forensic Accountancy Concentration: Our 2027 Review

Purdue University Global gives you a fully online bachelor's in accounting with a three-course Forensic Accountancy concentration, including a digital forensics course on collecting, preserving and analyzing digital evidence. Credit for prior coursework and for life and professional experience can shorten the path, and military tuition savings reach 55% per credit for current servicemembers. One alumna remembers weekly check-ins and real conversations with her professors.

The Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Analytics is offered 100% online by Purdue University Global, an online university in the Purdue University system. The degree blends core accounting knowledge with analytical and business intelligence skills, and you choose one of five concentrations: Business Intelligence, Forensic Accountancy, Managerial Accountancy, Public Accountancy or Tax Accountancy.

The Forensic Accountancy concentration builds the investigative skills and accounting knowledge to detect, recognize and prevent fraud committed against organizations and people. The degree totals 180 quarter credits across 34 courses. You'll take 9 core courses, 16 major courses and 9 electives. The school notes that one semester credit hour equals 1.5 quarter credit hours.

The online Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Analytics is accredited by ACBSP, and Purdue Global is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The program is aligned with the content of the Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Examination and helps you progress toward the education requirements to sit for it.

Purdue Global says completing the degree could put you on the way to meeting the educational requirements for the CFE, Certified Management Accountant and CPA exams, and the Forensic Accountancy courses add content that supports your CFE preparation.

The school's Master of Science in Accounting is 52 quarter credits and can be combined with this degree for CPA eligibility. Graduates may work in accounting firms, corporate accounting or tax departments, nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Accounting professor Stanley Self received the 2024 Teaching Excellence Award from ACBSP.

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

• You're an adult returning to school. The school credits prior coursework at eligible institutions, including community colleges, and life and professional career experience.
• You're an active-duty servicemember or veteran, so you receive a 55% or 38% per-credit tuition reduction.
• You want analytics along with accounting. The degree includes data management, Structured Query Language (SQL), Power BI and Tableau courses.
• You work for a Purdue Global partner organization. You may be eligible for special tuition reductions.
• You want to build toward the CFE credential. The degree could put you on the way to meeting its educational requirements.

The forensic work sits in a concentration of three courses. Each is 6 quarter credits, and that's 18 in all. Fraud and Forensic Accounting is a survey of advanced forensic accounting topics. Besides fraud investigation and prevention techniques, you learn how to collect evidence, provide legal support and testify in court, and the course examines the legal aspects of the profession.

Fraud Detection and Financial Statement Analysis uses financial data and analytical techniques to find irregularities in reporting. You evaluate financial statements for red flags, recognize common fraud schemes, assess internal control weaknesses and apply investigative thinking to accounting information, with a case-based approach.

Digital Forensics and Investigative Techniques introduces the concepts and techniques used in fraud examinations. You explore methods for collecting, preserving and analyzing digital evidence, plus ways to investigate financial misconduct in technology-driven environments.

You'll study the analytics side of the major alongside it. Data Management and Analysis teaches you data extraction, Excel modeling and introductory SQL on accounting datasets for financial analysis, internal reporting and decision support.

Accounting Visualization and Business Intelligence has you use Power BI and Tableau to create dashboards and reports for management, auditors and other stakeholders. Auditing examines the auditor's role in a technological global business environment. A six-credit Bachelor's Capstone in Accounting lets you integrate everything you've learned.

Courses the School Names

• Fraud and Forensic Accounting
• Fraud Detection and Financial Statement Analysis
• Digital Forensics and Investigative Techniques

Standout Features

• Forensic Accountancy concentration courses may help support preparation toward the Certified Fraud Examiner credential
• Military tuition reductions of 55% per credit for current servicemembers and 38% for veterans
• Three-week no-cost trial period for new undergraduate students

The program page lists $371 per quarter credit for the 180-quarter-credit degree, which comes to $66,780 in tuition before any credit you bring in. Prior learning can lower that number. Purdue Global credits coursework from eligible institutions, including community colleges, and undergraduate credit for life and professional career experience.

If you're a current servicemember, you get a 55% reduction per credit, and if you're a veteran, you get 38% per credit. Credit for military training is available. If you work for a Purdue Global partner organization, you may qualify for special tuition reductions. If you're a new undergraduate student, you also get a three-week no-cost trial of classes before you commit.

180 quarter credits at $371 a credit comes to $66,780 in tuition, before fees.

Everything happens online, so you can study around work and family. The school lists an average completion time of 4 years, and your own timeline can move with the credit you transfer. Purdue Global offers multiple start options through the year, so you aren't tied to one calendar.

Admission asks that you be a high school graduate or hold a General Educational Development (GED) credential or equivalent, and that you complete orientation before classes begin. Alumna Elizabeth Rawles describes weekly check-ins, feedback and real conversations with professors. The school says your faculty are real-world practitioners who bring industry experience. A curriculum department and advisory board continually review and revise the curriculum.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• Alumna Elizabeth Rawles says Purdue Global took almost all of the credits she had already earned, and that her professors were open to communication.

  Source: Purdue Global website

• Alumna Dottie Harnish returned to school after 30 years and says the degree gave her a lot of information and advanced her career.

  Source: Purdue Global website

• A 2022 graduate reviewing Purdue Global on OnlineU praised the flexibility and the ability to do everything online.

  Source: OnlineU

• How much of my earlier coursework and work experience can count toward the 180 quarter credits?
• How do the three Forensic Accountancy courses fit among the open electives, and when can I take them?
• Which start options are open to me, and how many courses can I take at once?
• How does the program line up with the education requirements for the CPA exam in my state?
• How would the Master of Science in Accounting combine with this degree?
• What does the three-week no-cost trial period include?
• What military or partner-organization tuition reductions would apply to me?

An online university in the Purdue University system, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, offering the Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Analytics with a Forensic Accountancy concentration.

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 14 of 22, bachelor's
• Best Bachelor's Programs Rank 14 of 22, bachelor's
• Best Online Programs Rank 6 of 8, bachelor's
• CFE Exam Prep Programs Rank 11 of 12, bachelor's
• Cheapest Programs Rank 8 of 11, bachelor's
• Public Universities Rank 4 of 6, bachelor's

• University of Northwestern Ohio

  Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Forensic Accounting

  Ohio $305 per quarter credit Score 62.7

• Davenport University

  Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, Accounting Fraud Specialty

  Michigan $716 per credit Score 62.9

• University of Central Oklahoma

  Bachelor of Science in Forensic Accounting

  Oklahoma Score 63.5

• Waynesburg University

  Bachelor of Science in Forensic Accounting

  Pennsylvania Score 60.2