University of New Haven Master of Science in Accounting, Forensic Accounting Concentration: Our 2027 Review

The University of New Haven lets you build forensic skills next to a college devoted to criminal justice and forensic sciences. Three accounting courses are required in the forensic track, and a fourth is yours to pick from legal and investigative choices, including courses from the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences.

Awards can reach 50 percent off tuition, and you don't need an accounting degree to apply.

The University of New Haven in West Haven, Connecticut, offers this Master of Science in Accounting through its Pompea College of Business. Forensic Accounting is one of four concentrations, next to Accounting Analytics, Corporate Accounting and Taxation.

The school says the forensic concentration develops the specialized skills to detect, investigate and prevent financial fraud. The degree takes 1.5 to 2 years, and the forensic track adds 12 credits to the shared accounting core.

The Pompea College of Business is accredited by AACSB, and Accounting is an accredited graduate program there. The catalog lists two program goals: graduates practicing in professional accounting fields and graduates who are eligible to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam.

The program page highlights careers such as financial manager and financial examiner. Faculty bring real-world accounting and professional experience to the classroom, and the program coordinator, Xinyi Lu, has taught at New Haven since 2010 and has public accounting experience.

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

• Career changers, since the program welcomes "transitioners" from other fields and doesn't require an undergraduate accounting degree.
• Accounting graduates the school calls "advancers", who want advanced technical skill and professional judgment.
• Readers with an investigative mind and an interest in legal support or white-collar crime, the audience the concentration names.
• Applicants who'd rather not sit entrance exams, because no admission test scores are required.
• Public safety personnel, who receive a 50 percent tuition discount.
• Students who want help landing internships, with a dedicated internship director and career advisor.

Every forensic student takes three required courses. Forensic and Investigative Accounting, Valuation Theory and Fraud Examination give you the core toolkit: how investigations are run, how a business gets valued, and how fraud is examined.

The fourth course is your choice, and this is where the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences comes in. You can take an investigations course such as White Collar Crime Analytics, Computer Crime: Legal Issues and Investigation Procedures, or Contemporary Topics in Cybercrime Investigations.

If you'd rather stay with accounting and law, the list also includes Litigation and Ethics for Forensic Accounting, Legal Issues in Litigation Support and Forensic Accounting, and Fraud Schemes and the Law. A Business Internship can fill that slot too.

Around the forensic track sits the accounting core. The Auditing and Assurance Services Seminar analyzes the contemporary problems around the attest function of the independent auditor, and Financial Statements: Reporting and Analysis teaches techniques for analyzing statements the way creditors and equity investors do. Classes use practical exercises, case studies and simulations to bridge theory and practice.

Standout Features

• Dedicated internship director and career advisor
• Forensic Accounting concentration includes selected courses from the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences
• Provost's Assistantship covers 75% of tuition plus a stipend (competitive)
• Public safety personnel receive a 50% tuition discount

Graduate tuition for 2026-27 is $1,185 per credit. New Haven lists several ways to bring that down. The Dean's Scholarship offers merit-based tuition assistance of up to 50 percent for admitted full-time students. The Provost's Assistantship is highly competitive and covers 75 percent of tuition plus a stipend. Public safety personnel receive a 50 percent discount.

You're automatically considered for the scholarships and assistantships when you apply, so there's no separate form to chase. Because the two prerequisite courses can be waived, you may need fewer credits than the full count, which is worth raising when you ask about your own total.

The degree is 36 degree credits. It's 30 if you've already satisfied the two prerequisite courses, and the school says you can finish in 1.5 to 2 years. You'll learn in small, interactive classes rather than large lecture halls, with exercises, case studies and simulations built into the courses.

Admission doesn't require Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. You send transcripts and proof of your bachelor's degree, and the program welcomes students from any undergraduate major. The university also offers several options for graduate student housing, and its Career Development Center and a dedicated internship director support your search for placements.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• The University of New Haven's website describes its accounting program coordinator, Xinyi Lu, as an instructor with more than 10 years of teaching at the university and experience in higher education and public accounting in China.

  Source: University of New Haven website

• The program page notes that The Princeton Review named the university's Career Development Center one of the nation's standouts, the office that backs your internship search.

  Source: The Princeton Review, cited on the University of New Haven website

• Is the forensic concentration taught on campus, online or both, and how often do classes meet?
• Can I see syllabi for Forensic and Investigative Accounting, Valuation Theory and Fraud Examination?
• Which fourth-course choices run each term, and can I take a course from the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences?
• How do the program's courses line up with Connecticut's current CPA requirements?
• Which of the two prerequisite courses could be waived based on my background?
• How do the Dean's Scholarship and the Provost's Assistantship work for a part-time student?
• What internships have forensic students landed through the internship director?

A private university in West Haven, Connecticut, home to the Pompea College of Business and the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences.

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 23 of 27, master's
• Best Master's Programs Rank 23 of 27, master's
• MAcc With Forensic Concentration Rank 9 of 12, master's

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