Roosevelt University Master of Science in Accounting Forensics: Our 2027 Review

Five required forensic courses, a fully online format and a choice of pace make this Roosevelt degree a focused path into fraud work. The catalog calls the standard curriculum the recommended route to the CFE exam. And the program is open to accountants, attorneys, bankers, insurers and law enforcement professionals alike.

The Master of Science in Accounting Forensics comes from the Heller College of Business at Roosevelt University, a private nonprofit university based in Chicago, Illinois. You build the technical skills to identify, investigate and discover fraudulent accounting activities in a growing field.

Those skills help companies, regulatory agencies and law enforcement entities ensure financial integrity. You can take the degree 100% online, in small classes. It's 30 credit hours and built for busy working professionals. Roosevelt also offers a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with an Accounting Forensics concentration, which pairs three of these courses with a broader management core.

Roosevelt's business programs carry accreditation from ACBSP. The curriculum is designed to prepare you to earn professional certifications such as the CFE, with the standard curriculum as the recommended path. The Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) credentials are named too.

Your faculty are a mix of award-winning scholars and experienced industry leaders, including Professor Husam Abu-Khadra, who is certified as both a Fraud Examiner and Master Analyst in Financial Forensics. Graduates are prepared for fraud detection and prevention roles in private firms and public agencies, including regulators and law enforcement.

The program page cites a median salary of $82,000 for financial fraud analysts.

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

• You're a working professional. The degree is delivered 100% online and can be taken full-time or part-time.
• You're an attorney, banker, insurer or law enforcement staff member. The catalog says the program serves people from many professional backgrounds, not only accountants.
• You have a CFE goal in mind. The standard curriculum is the recommended path to that exam.
• You want to work on anti-money laundering. The program has a full course on the topic and a link to the CAMS credential.
• You like community. The Heller College has a student chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

The degree is seven core courses and three electives. Five of the core courses are forensic. ACCT 471 Fraud Examination is where you start, with fraud theory and the prevention and detection of fraud types including embezzlement, asset misappropriation and corruption. ACCT 473 Financial Statements and Fraud studies specific corporations where fraud was found in the statements. You focus on detection and prevention.

ACCT 474 Anti-Money Laundering traces the history of money laundering, the domestic and international laws, and the agencies that fight it. ACCT 475 Computer Forensics & Auditing studies specific computer fraud cases. You'll focus on information technology (IT) auditing and computer forensics. ACCT 477 Topics in Business Forensics covers Benford's law and the schemes, controls, tests and audit programs tied to corporate fraud.

The remaining core courses are ACCT 406 Issues in Asset Valuation, which covers the accounting theory behind receivables, depreciation, bonds, investments and owners' equity, and INFS 401 Information Resource Management. You'll finish the 30 credit hours with three graduate electives from information systems or accounting. Your electives can point toward other credentials, such as ACCT 433 for the CIA and ACCT 442 for the CMA.

Courses the School Names

• Fraud Examination
• Financial Statements and Fraud
• Anti-Money Laundering
• Computer Forensics & Auditing
• Topics in Business Forensics

Standout Features

• Catalog states the standard MSAF curriculum is the recommended path to the CFE exam, with electives that can target the CIA (ACCT 433) and CMA (ACCT 442)
• Full-time 1.5-year option or part-time 2.5-year option, fully online
• Open to non-accountants including attorneys, bankers, insurers, law enforcement and government employees

Heller College of Business graduate tuition is listed at $1,100 per credit hour for 2026 to 2027, and the degree is 30 credit hours. The tuition page also shows a separate rate for the Master of Science in Accounting, so you'll want to ask admissions to confirm the exact rate for this degree. Transfer credit can be considered, which can put your earlier graduate coursework to work.

The program is fully online, and you choose the pace. If you study full-time, it takes 1.5 years, and if you study part-time, you'll finish in 2.5 years. Terms are semesters, and the program lists Fall, Spring and Summer starts, so you aren't waiting on a single entry point.

You can complete the application entirely online. It asks for a bachelor's degree in a relevant field and transcripts, and it requests a resume and personal statement only if your grade point average (GPA) is under 2.75. Small classes mean you get to know faculty and classmates even from a distance.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• Marisha Truong, a 2013 graduate who works as a forensic accounting consultant, says Roosevelt guides students toward a successful career and the highest ethical standards.

  Source: Roosevelt University website

• A 2015 school release says Roosevelt forensic accounting students won eight of nine scholarships from the ACFE Chicago Chapter's new memorial scholarship fund.

  Source: ENewsPF (Roosevelt press release, 2015)

• The Heller College formed the first student ACFE chapter in Chicago and the second in Illinois, according to a school release.

  Source: ENewsPF (Roosevelt press release, 2015)

• What is the exact per-credit rate for the Master of Science in Accounting Forensics?
• How do the five forensic core courses build on each other, and which should I take first?
• Which electives best fit the CIA or CMA exams, and which fit a fraud examiner path?
• How do the online classes meet, and how much live discussion is there?
• How can online students join the Heller College's student ACFE chapter?
• Which prior graduate credits could transfer into the 30 credit hours?

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 19 of 27, master's
• Best Master's Programs Rank 19 of 27, master's
• Best Online Programs Rank 15 of 20, master's
• MAcc With Forensic Concentration Rank 7 of 12, master's
• CFE Exam Prep Programs Rank 11 of 13, master's
• For Working Adults Rank 11 of 13, master's

• Master of Business Administration, Accounting Forensics Concentration

  M.B.A., Master's

  Hybrid Score 61.2

• Colorado State University Global

  Master of Professional Accountancy, Fraud Investigations and Forensic Accounting Emphasis

  Colorado $675 per credit Score 67.3

• Seton Hill University

  Master of Business Administration, Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination Specialization

  Pennsylvania $1,015 per credit Score 68.5

• Tiffin University

  Master of Business Administration, Forensics and Fraud Examination

  Ohio $755 per credit Score 65.6

• Purdue University Northwest

  Master of Accountancy, Forensic Accounting Data Analysis Concentration

  Indiana Score 70.0