University at Albany Master of Science in Forensic Accounting: Our 2027 Review

This is a 30-credit master's you can finish in two semesters of full-time study, and it pairs fraud examination with data analytics and digital forensics. It meets New York's 150-hour education requirement for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensure. And career services at the Massry School of Business connect you with recruiters from major accounting firms, corporations and government agencies.

The University at Albany is a public research university in Albany, New York. Its Massry School of Business offers the Master of Science in Forensic Accounting, which is accredited by AACSB. The school built it for people with an undergraduate accounting degree who want to make a living investigating white-collar crime.

You'll earn 30 credits, and if you're a full-time student you can finish in two semesters. The program was set up to draw on resources from information technology, computing and two of the university's forensic centers. Once you're admitted, you can typically add a supplemental degree, such as an Information Security certificate, without going through the full admissions process again.

The program is accredited by AACSB. It's registered with the Division of Professional Education of the New York State Education Department, meets the 150-hour education requirement for initial CPA licensure in New York, and qualifies you to apply for the Uniform CPA Examination.

The school also says the degree prepares you to start earning industry-recognized credentials in fraud examination and financial forensics as soon as you hold your CPA license. Sample job titles include forensic accountant, forensic auditor, Certified Fraud Examiner, associate forensic advisor, risk assurance associate, investigative auditor, director of loss prevention and fraud investigator.

Employers the program names include the Big Four firms, mid-size firms, New York State agencies and federal agencies such as the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, the Government Accountability Office and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

• If you're an accounting graduate who wants to investigate white-collar crime for a living, admission builds on your approved undergraduate accounting degree.
• If you plan to become a CPA in New York, the degree meets the 150-hour education requirement for initial licensure.
• If you like working with data, you'll take a required course on spotting unusual transaction patterns with statistics and visualization tools.
• If you want one more credential, as a graduate student you can typically add a supplemental degree such as an Information Security certificate.
• If you want recruiter access, Massry School of Business career services link students to Big Four, mid-size, corporate and government employers.

Fraud Examination sets the method. It covers the principles of fraud detection and deterrence, from skimming, cash larceny and billing schemes to payroll and expense reimbursement schemes, corruption, fraudulent financial statements and interviewing witnesses.

Data Analytics for Forensic Accounting and Information Assurance is the hands-on course. You'll study accounting data analysis, financial trend analysis and transaction pattern anomaly detection, using statistics and visualization tools on organizational financial information that auditors and forensic examiners care about.

Financial Statement Fraud and Corporate Governance examines recent major frauds in the United States and elsewhere to understand how governance failed to prevent them. In Digital Forensics, you'll learn the types of incidents, what to do in each case to protect the evidence, and how to prevent gaps in its chain of custody.

The remaining required courses build your professional base. Financial Statement Analysis covers ratio analysis, cash flow analysis, earnings quality and valuation. Advanced Cost Management looks at modern cost systems. Auditing of Advanced Accounting Systems covers general and application controls and audit software.

You'll add one accounting elective and one business elective. The capstone, Research Seminar in Accounting, exposes you to academic research and finishes with your own research report and an oral presentation.

Courses the School Names

• Data Analytics for Forensic Accounting & Information Assurance
• Fraud Examination
• Financial Statement Fraud and Corporate Governance
• Digital Forensics
• Financial Statement Analysis
• Advanced Cost Management
• Auditing of Advanced Accounting Systems
• Research Seminar in Accounting

Standout Features

• Career services connect students with recruiters from major accounting firms, corporations and government agencies
• Meets the 150-hour education requirement for initial CPA licensure in New York and qualifies graduates to apply for the Uniform CPA Examination
• Prepares students to start earning fraud examination and financial forensics credentials as soon as they obtain a CPA license

For New York residents, the university's graduate tuition chart lists $5,655 in tuition and $1,299 in fees for a 12-credit semester. The chart totals that at $6,954 a semester.

If you take fewer than 12 credits, you pay by the credit. One credit is $616.33 for New York residents, tuition and fees together. The chart carries the other residency rates on the same page, and you can ask the admissions team to confirm which one applies to you.

The school describes a full-time path of two semesters for the 30 credits, so you can complete the degree in one academic year. You'll study through the Massry School of Business in Albany. Admission asks for an approved undergraduate degree in accounting from an accredited U.S. university, or its equivalent, including 24 accounting credits and 36 business-elective credits.

You'll also send three letters of recommendation (one academic reference is required, two are preferred), a resume, a statement of goals and Graduate Management Admission Test scores, and a waiver request form is available. Once you're enrolled, you can add a supplemental degree in a related field without a second full application.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• Alumna Katherine Bencivenga, who earned her bachelor's in accounting in 2023 and her master's in forensic accounting in 2024, points to the relationships the university has with the Big Four accounting firms as a reason its accounting programs stand out.

  Source: University at Albany website

• Alumna Ally Kiefer, who finished in 2017 and holds the Certified Fraud Examiner credential, says the program helped her guard against fraud more effectively in her organization.

  Source: University at Albany website

• When the program was announced in 2007, the dean of the School of Business said professional accounting firms reacted to it very positively.

  Source: UAlbany news release

• Which accounting and business credits on my transcript count toward the 24 and 36 the program asks for?
• How do I request the waiver for the Graduate Management Admission Test, and who reviews it?
• Which accounting and business electives fit a fraud investigation career?
• How would a supplemental Information Security certificate fit alongside the 30 credits?
• Which recruiters from the Big Four and government agencies work with Massry School of Business students?
• What does the Research Seminar in Accounting project involve, and what does the oral presentation look like?
• Which tuition rate applies to me if I take fewer than 12 credits in a semester?

A public research university in Albany, New York, whose Massry School of Business offers an AACSB-accredited Master of Science in Forensic Accounting.

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 13 of 27, master's
• Best Master's Programs Rank 13 of 27, master's
• Public Universities Rank 7 of 11, master's
• Best Programs in New York Rank 3 of 4, master's

• SUNY Old Westbury

  Master of Science in Forensic Accounting

  New York $1,072 per credit Score 80.6

• Neumann University

  Master of Science in Forensic Accounting and Cybercrime

  Pennsylvania $775 per credit Score 80.5

• Carlow University

  Master of Science in Fraud and Forensics

  Pennsylvania $800 per credit Score 81.5

• Rider University

  Master of Accountancy, Forensic Accounting Concentration

  New Jersey $1,130 per credit Score 86.1