Stevenson University Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting: Our 2027 Review

Stevenson University's fully online Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting fits six courses into 18 credits, and practicing forensic accountants teach them. You'll study fraud accounting, interviewing, business valuation and white collar crime law. You'll also choose an investigation course in auditing or tax, and you'll pay $719 per credit with $0 fees. Credits you earn may later apply toward Stevenson's Master of Science in Forensic Accounting.

Stevenson University is a private nonprofit in Owings Mills, Maryland, with a fully online graduate division, Stevenson University Online. This certificate is aimed at people preparing for a career in investigative accounting and fraud prevention. The courses synthesize accounting, auditing, computer and investigative analyses into coherent, defensible conclusions, and you can complete the 18-credit coursework entirely online.

Stevenson also offers a 36-credit Master of Science in Forensic Accounting. The certificate is the shorter route into the same subject, with fewer courses and a focused path. And its credits can carry forward if you decide to continue.

Stevenson is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and its business programs hold accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) and IACBE. Practicing forensic accountants teach your courses, so you'll hear how the work happens in practice. Stevenson describes its certificates as career-focused programs that provide specialized skills for growing industries.

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

• If you're a working adult, you can finish every course online in sessions Stevenson schedules with a job in mind.
• If you're an accounting professional who wants a forensic specialty, admission welcomes an accounting major or advanced accounting coursework or professional experience.
• You may be weighing a master's degree, and certificate credits may be applied to the Master of Science in Forensic Accounting.
• As a tax specialist, you can choose Investigation and Analysis: Tax to focus on tax fraud by people and businesses.
• As an auditor, you can pick Investigation and Analysis: Auditing to study how financial statement fraud is found.
• If you want to learn from working practitioners, practicing forensic accountants teach the courses.

Six courses make up the certificate, and each one looks at financial wrongdoing from a different angle.

Foundations of Justice is one of the required courses. In Fraud: Accounting you'll learn to recognize warning signs and use technology tools during detection, screen financial statements and weigh fraud risk in e-commerce. Investigative Techniques/Interviewing is about people. You'll learn how to question persons of interest to gather testimonial evidence, then write up a report of investigation and deliver it orally.

In Business Valuation, you'll work through asset, income and market approaches to put a value on a private business. White Collar Crimes introduces prosecution and defense principles and the federal agencies that enforce the law, plus corporate crimes, securities fraud, tax fraud and money laundering.

Your sixth course is your choice. Pick Investigation and Analysis: Auditing if you want to see how an auditor finds financial statement fraud, with case studies of Securities and Exchange Commission releases on false and misleading financial statements. Pick Investigation and Analysis: Tax if you want to study tax fraud by people and businesses and how it's detected.

The master's program draws on the same building blocks and requires both investigation courses, so the certificate lets you try the subject with a lighter commitment.

Stevenson lists tuition for this certificate at $719 per credit plus $0 in fees. The university says it has eliminated all fees on online programs, which a College Transitions review also notes.

Tuition discounts are available through employer and partner organizations, and Stevenson describes the program as accessible and affordable with financial aid options. If your employer has a partnership with Stevenson, you can ask the admissions team how the discount applies to you.

You can complete the coursework for the certificate entirely online, and Stevenson describes the sessions as convenient for working adults. You'll get personalized attention from accomplished faculty with real-world experience. The 18 credits are made up of six courses.

Applying takes a completed online application, a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in past academic work and a personal statement. The admission team looks for an undergraduate major in accounting or advanced coursework or professional work experience in accounting. You can apply your credits to the master's if you continue.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• College Transitions, an education review site, calls Stevenson's online forensics catalog unusually deep for a mid-size regional university.

  Source: College Transitions

• College Transitions notes that Stevenson states it has eliminated all fees on its online programs.

  Source: College Transitions

• Which should I pick, Investigation and Analysis in Auditing or in Tax, given my current job?
• How soon after finishing could I apply my credits to the Master of Science in Forensic Accounting?
• What does the Foundations of Justice course cover week to week?
• Which practicing forensic accountants teach these courses, and what cases do they draw on?
• How do employer and partner tuition discounts work for the certificate?
• What financial aid options are available for an 18-credit certificate?

A private university in Owings Mills, Maryland, with a fully online graduate division, Stevenson University Online.

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 8 of 17, graduate certificate
• Best Graduate Certificates Rank 8 of 17, graduate certificate

• Master of Science in Forensic Accounting

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $719 per credit Score 87.7

• Rider University

  Forensic Accounting Graduate Certificate

  New Jersey Score 78.9

• Seton Hill University

  Forensic and Fraud Examination Graduate Certificate

  Pennsylvania $1,015 per credit Score 77.1

• Illinois State University

  Forensic Accountant Certificate

  Illinois Score 83.5

• George Mason University

  Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting

  Virginia $1,025 per credit Score 85.8