Seton Hill University Forensic and Fraud Examination Graduate Certificate: Our 2027 Review

Four courses, 12 credits, and every one of them is about fraud: how schemes work, the law around them, how an examination runs and how to deter them. You can finish online in less than a year, with several entry points through the calendar. Seton Hill says the certificate prepares you to earn the CFE and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) credentials.

Seton Hill University is a private nonprofit university in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and this graduate certificate keeps its focus narrow on purpose: fraud examination from start to finish. Faculty with practical business expertise developed it around four courses. The school describes the goal as helping you identify and defeat fraud in a wide variety of industries.

The same four courses also form the fraud core of Seton Hill's Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a forensic accounting and fraud specialization. So you can use the certificate as a stand-alone credential or as a head start on that degree.

Seton Hill says the certificate prepares you to earn the CFE and the CIA. The school adds that the CFE is a valuable credential for accountants and investigators across insurance, ecommerce and criminal justice. Seton Hill is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and its School of Business carries an extra layer of accreditation from IACBE.

The program page says skilled fraud specialists are needed in insurance, law, finance, government, information security and law enforcement. It also says pay can range from $50,000 to $150,000 per year depending on level, credentials, industry and experience. The Career and Professional Development Center helps you find and prepare for opportunities, and the school promises career services for life.

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

• You're an accountant or investigator who wants a fraud credential in under a year, since the school says you can finish in less than a year.
• You're a working professional who needs to set your own speed, because the program page promises you learn at your own pace.
• You work in insurance, law, finance, government, information security or law enforcement, the fields the school names as needing skilled fraud specialists.
• You might go on to an MBA and want to try the fraud courses first, since the certificate uses the same four courses as the specialization.
• You're aiming at the CFE or CIA, the two credentials the certificate is built to prepare you for.

You'll take all four courses, three credits each. Financial Transactions and Schemes starts with the crimes themselves. You'll examine hundreds of the most common employee fraud schemes, including financial statement fraud, asset misappropriation, bribery and corruption. Then you'll add fraud that's specific to healthcare, financial institutions, insurance and securities.

Forensic and Fraud Legalities covers the legal setting. You'll study civil and criminal systems, procedures and laws that apply to criminal financial activity and fraud.

Forensic and Fraud Investigation is the hands-on course. You'll learn to plan and conduct a fraud examination, analyze documents from different sources, interview suspects, and use data analysis and digital forensics to trace illicit transactions.

Fraud Prevention and Deterrence turns to the people behind the crime. It asks why people commit fraud and what can be done to stop it. You'll work through crime causation, white-collar crime, cybercrime, occupational fraud, fraud risk assessment and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Code of Professional Ethics.

Taken in order, the four courses follow a case the way it actually unfolds: the scheme, the law, the examination and the controls that keep it from happening again.

Courses the School Names

• Financial Transactions & Schemes
• Forensic & Fraud Legalities
• Forensic & Fraud Investigation
• Fraud Prevention & Deterrence

Standout Features

• Four-course, 12-credit certificate made up entirely of forensic and fraud courses
• MBA Fast Forward students may take two of the fraud courses as seniors and the other two after the bachelor's degree

Seton Hill's 2026-2027 graduate tuition page lists business certificates at $1,015 per credit, and you'll take 12 credits for this certificate. You can submit the application to the graduate program online for free. The graduate program costs page and your admissions advisor can walk you through payment and aid options.

12 credits at $1,015 a credit comes to $12,180 in tuition, before fees.

The courses are delivered online, and the school invites you to complete the certificate in less than a year. You can start at multiple times throughout the year and learn at your own pace, which suits you if you're balancing a job.

To apply, you'll send a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with official transcripts, one letter of recommendation from an appropriate professional and a personal statement. If you didn't study business, your Seton Hill advisor helps you work out what accounting background, if any, fits into the admission process.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• Seton Hill features a story about a two-time business graduate who earned both the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and CFE credentials and began a career at KPMG.

  Source: Seton Hill University website

• The school also spotlights a forensic accounting MBA graduate who became the first from the program to earn the CFE.

  Source: Seton Hill University website

• Which start options are open to me this year, and how do the course sequence and pacing work if I start mid-year?
• How many hours a week should I plan for each course if I'm working full time?
• Can the four certificate courses count toward the MBA with the forensic accounting and fraud specialization later?
• Which accounting background do I need for the first course, and how does my advisor help me fill any gaps?
• What is the exact per-credit rate for this certificate in my first term?
• How do the courses line up with the CFE and CIA exams, and does Seton Hill offer exam-prep support?

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 10 of 17, graduate certificate
• Best Graduate Certificates Rank 10 of 17, graduate certificate
• CFE Exam Prep Programs Rank 1 of 2, graduate certificate
• Cheapest Programs Rank 5 of 7, graduate certificate

• Master of Business Administration, Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination Specialization

  M.B.A., Master's

  Fully Online $1,015 per credit Score 68.5

• Rider University

  Forensic Accounting Graduate Certificate

  New Jersey Score 78.9

• Stevenson University

  Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting

  Maryland Score 79.8

• Illinois State University

  Forensic Accountant Certificate

  Illinois Score 83.5

• Neumann University

  Graduate Certificate in Accounting with Emphasis in Fraud and Forensics

  Pennsylvania $775 per credit Score 68.6