SUNY Polytechnic Institute Master of Science in Accounting, Forensic Accounting and Valuation Concentration: Our 2027 Review

At the State University of New York (SUNY) Polytechnic Institute, you can earn an online Master of Science in Accounting that New York State registers as meeting the 150-hour Certified Public Accountant (CPA) education requirement. A nine-credit forensic accounting and valuation concentration sits inside it. And you'll pay public-university online rates starting at $471 per credit if you're a New York resident.

SUNY Polytechnic Institute, a public university in Utica, New York, delivers this 33-credit Master of Science (M.S.) in Accounting in a full online format for both full-time and part-time students.

Your credits split into 15 in the accounting core, 15 in the business core and 3 in electives. The forensic concentration is three courses and nine credits of fraud and valuation work, so you graduate with a general accounting master's that carries a specialty.

The school describes forensic accounting as one of the fastest growing sectors in accounting.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Your online Master of Science in Accounting is registered by the New York State Education Department as a licensure-qualifying program for the 150-semester-hour CPA education requirement. The school says it was developed to qualify you to sit for professional accounting exams that lead to credentials such as the CPA and the Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

AACSB accredits SUNY Poly's accounting graduate programs.

The forensic accounting page says graduates will be ideal candidates for the rapidly growing demand for forensic accounting and valuation services. The program serves accountants pursuing public, corporate, not-for-profit and government careers.

Where this degree can lead: Forensic Accounting Jobs.

• Aspiring CPAs in New York, since the degree is registered to satisfy the state's 150-hour licensure requirement.
• Readers who want a specialty without leaving a broad degree, with a nine-credit forensic accounting and valuation concentration.
• Veterans, active-duty members and their families, who get resident tuition rates and an application fee waiver.
• Career changers, because applicants without an accounting degree complete prerequisite coursework, and all prerequisites are offered online.
• Applicants who'd like to skip the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), since every applicant is reviewed for a waiver.

Your concentration is three courses worth nine credits, drawn from four forensic options. Two are required: Introduction to Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination, and Financial Statement Investigations.

In the introductory course, you'll learn the fundamental skills, principles and methods forensic accountants use to investigate fraud, and it covers forensic accounting in litigation, including marital and business divorces, plus how to recognize and communicate findings. In Financial Statement Investigations, you'll look at the forms financial statement fraud takes, such as misstatements, omissions and manipulation, and the methods for examining statements to prevent and detect it.

For your third course, you'll pick between two. Accounting Information Systems and Data Analytics covers collecting data, evaluating controls and information systems relevant to forensic accounting, and applying data analytics to fraud, waste and abuse. Forensic Accounting Valuation covers the purposes and methods of business valuation, standards of value, litigation support and dispute resolution, and writing valuation reports.

Your accounting core adds Advanced Auditing Theory and Advanced Financial Accounting Theory, and the business core includes Quantitative Business Analysis and Management Information Systems. The same four forensic courses also form a 12-credit Advanced Certificate in Forensic Accounting and Valuation.

Courses the School Names

• Financial Statement Analysis and Reporting (ACC 585)
• Advanced Income Tax Research (ACC 611)
• Fund Accounting (ACC 630)
• Advanced Auditing Theory (ACC 650)
• Advanced Financial Accounting Theory (ACC 685)
• Seminar in Accounting and Finance (FIN 685)

Standout Features

• Continuous registration option keeps students enrolled for up to six semesters while finishing requirements
• Nine credits from the online Advanced Certificate in Forensic Accounting and Valuation can apply to the MS
• The degree is registered to satisfy the 150-hour licensure requirement for New York State
• Optional Forensic Accounting and Valuation concentration of three courses
• Registered by the New York State Education Department as a licensure-qualifying program for the 150-semester-hour CPA requirement

SUNY Polytechnic Institute charges state-university online rates. If you study part time, up to 11 credit hours a semester, you'll pay $471 per credit as a New York resident or $565 as a non-resident. Full-time online tuition for 12 or more credits is $5,655 per semester for residents and $6,785 for non-residents. Broad-based fees are $64.42 per credit part time or $777.50 per semester full time.

Across the 33 credits, total tuition comes to $15,543 for New York residents and $18,645 for non-residents. Resident rates also apply to members of the Armed Forces and their dependents. The application fee, normally $60, is waived for veterans, active-duty, reserve and guard members and their families, SUNY Poly alumni and current students, so check whether you qualify.

33 credits at $565 a credit comes to $18,645 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $471, the same 33 credits come to $15,543.

You'll take the M.S. in Accounting entirely online, and it accommodates both full-time and part-time students. The forensic courses are delivered the same way, and the school offers all of the prerequisite courses in an online format too.

If you study full time, you can complete the program within an 18 month period, and if you study part time, completion depends on the credits you take each term.

To apply, you'll need a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, a resume and at least one professional or academic reference. Every applicant is reviewed for a GMAT waiver on submission, and waivers are available to you if you have a prior master's degree, a passed CPA exam, the CMA license or a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, among other routes.

• A SUNY Poly news release describes its online Master of Science in Accounting as a high-quality, AACSB-accredited program.

  Source: SUNY Poly news release

• Which forensic courses run each term online, and which third course (data analytics or valuation) fits my goals better?
• How do I request the GMAT waiver, and which documents should I send?
• Which prerequisite courses would I need without an accounting degree, and how long do they take?
• How does the New York 150-hour registration work if I plan to be licensed in another state?
• Should I add the 12-credit Advanced Certificate in Forensic Accounting and Valuation along the way?
• Which resident or military tuition rates apply to me?

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 7 of 27, master's
• Best Master's Programs Rank 7 of 27, master's
• Best Online Programs Rank 6 of 20, master's
• MAcc With Forensic Concentration Rank 2 of 12, master's
• Cheapest Programs Rank 3 of 15, master's
• For Working Adults Rank 5 of 13, master's
• Public Universities Rank 5 of 11, master's
• Best Programs in New York Rank 2 of 4, master's

• Saint Xavier University

  Master of Business Administration, Fraud Examination and Management

  Illinois $799 per credit Score 90.8

• University of Massachusetts-Amherst

  Master of Science in Accounting, Forensic Accounting Focus

  Massachusetts $850 per credit Score 87.9

• Stevenson University

  Master of Science in Forensic Accounting

  Maryland $719 per credit Score 87.7

• York College of Pennsylvania

  Master of Accounting in Fraud and Forensics

  Pennsylvania $710 per credit Score 86.5