Rider University Master of Accountancy, Forensic Accounting Concentration: Our 2027 Review

Rider University's Master of Accountancy (MAcc) pairs a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)-ready degree with an optional forensic accounting concentration, and the forensic certificate comes along without extra courses. You can study on campus in the evening or fully online and asynchronously, and you won't need the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) for the online program.

The MAcc is a 30-semester-hour degree from Rider University's Norm Brodsky College of Business in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. You'll take 21 hours of required courses and nine hours of electives, and a concentration is a three-course, nine-credit elective sequence. The forensic accounting concentration is for you if you want to use accounting knowledge to manage and reduce risk, identify and prosecute criminal activities, and advise on critical financial transactions.

Rider also offers a standalone forensic accounting certificate and a bachelor's degree with a fraud concentration. This master's is the one that adds the full accounting core.

Rider is one of only two New Jersey schools with dual accreditation in business and accounting from AACSB. The program fulfills the 150 credit-hour requirement for CPA licensure, and the online MAcc prepares you to sit for the CPA exam.

Rider has relationships with all four of the largest accounting firms as well as national and regional firms, and graduates land jobs at Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC and other organizations. You'll see career titles on the program page such as Senior Forensic Accountant, Audit Manager, Senior Financial Analyst and Controller.

You can also join Beta Alpha Psi, the Accounting Society and a student chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants.

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

• You're an accounting graduate who wants the 150 credit hours for CPA licensure and a forensic specialty in the same degree.
• You're a working professional, and you can choose evening classes on campus or the 100 percent online, asynchronous format with six starts a year.
• You're changing careers, because foundation courses of up to 25.5 credits build an accounting background if you need one.
• You have a strong accounting background, so you can waive up to 15 foundation credits and may finish in one year.
• You're a Rider undergraduate on the 4+1 path, so you earn the bachelor's in four years and the MAcc in one more.

The required side of the degree sharpens your core accounting judgment. You'll take courses such as Seminar in Federal Taxes, Analysis of Accounting Data, Issues in Financial Reporting and Auditing Practice and Problems, and Rider updates its courses regularly to line up with the CPA exam content.

The forensic concentration then builds your specialty. In Fraud and Forensic Accounting, you'll cover fraudulent financial reporting and fraud detection, money laundering and transnational flows, courtroom procedures and litigation support, and cybercrime. In Business Intelligence Tech-Data Mining, you'll apply data mining to payroll, procurement and expense report fraud.

Rider also counts Auditing Practice and Problems among the concentration courses.

Two more forensic courses sit in the certificate sequence you can earn inside the degree. Fraud Detection and Deterrence covers audit responsibility, professional judgment, quality control and policies that prevent and detect economic crimes. Business Valuations covers valuing a closely held business with no market price.

A dedicated academic advisor helps you choose electives that match your goals, and the catalog lists an Accounting Internship course.

Courses the School Names

• Fraud and Forensic Accounting (MACC 663)
• Auditing Practice and Problems (MACC 662)
• Business Intelligence Tech-Data Mining (PMBA 8312)

Standout Features

• Fulfills the 150 credit-hour requirement for CPA licensure
• One of only two New Jersey schools with dual AACSB accreditation in business and accounting
• Students can earn the Forensic Accounting Certificate within the MAcc degree without taking additional courses

Rider lists 2026-27 tuition of $1,130 per credit for the MAcc, with one rate for every student. Your degree is 30 semester hours, and the foundation courses are there if you need them to build an accounting background.

Tuition discounts and additional benefits are available for eligible employees or members of partner organizations, as well as their immediate family members under the age of 24, for graduate study. The application fee is $75.

Because the forensic certificate is earned inside the degree with no additional courses, you get a second credential without extra tuition for more coursework.

You have two delivery choices. On campus, your classes meet in the evening, Monday through Thursday. The online MAcc is 100 percent online and asynchronous, with small class sizes and six start dates a year in the fall, spring or summer.

If you're a full-time student who meets the prerequisites, you can finish the degree in 12 months. You can finish the online MAcc in 21 months or less, and if you have an accounting background, you can waive up to 15 foundation credits and may complete the program in one year.

You don't need the GMAT for admission to the online MAcc. You'll send an online application, a statement of aims and objectives, transcripts and a resume, and you'll complete an interview.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• Top Accounting Degrees describes Rider's online master's in forensic accounting as featuring full-time faculty who hold doctoral degrees in their field.

  Source: Top Accounting Degrees

• An alumnus quoted on Rider's accounting department page says the university taught them how to learn and gave them the confidence to handle new situations at work.

  Source: Rider University website

• Which three courses make up the forensic accounting concentration right now, and how do they relate to the certificate courses?
• How do I make sure the certificate is awarded along with the degree?
• Which foundation courses could I waive with my accounting background?
• How often do the online sections of the forensic courses run?
• Which state's CPA rules should I check against the 150-credit requirement before I enroll?
• What does the interview involve, and how soon can I schedule it?

Private university in Lawrenceville, New Jersey; the Norm Brodsky College of Business holds AACSB business and accounting accreditation.

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 11 of 27, master's
• Best Master's Programs Rank 11 of 27, master's
• Best Online Programs Rank 10 of 20, master's
• MAcc With Forensic Concentration Rank 5 of 12, master's
• Accelerated Programs Rank 8 of 13, master's
• With Internships Rank 1 of 5, master's

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

  B.S.B.A., Bachelor's

  On Campus Score 77.4

• Forensic Accounting Graduate Certificate

  Graduate Certificate, Graduate Certificate

  Fully Online Score 78.9

• York College of Pennsylvania

  Master of Accounting in Fraud and Forensics

  Pennsylvania $710 per credit Score 86.5

• Stevenson University

  Master of Science in Forensic Accounting

  Maryland $719 per credit Score 87.7

• University of Massachusetts-Amherst

  Master of Science in Accounting, Forensic Accounting Focus

  Massachusetts $850 per credit Score 87.9

• SUNY Polytechnic Institute

  Master of Science in Accounting, Forensic Accounting and Valuation Concentration

  New York $565 per credit Score 89.7