University of Northwestern Ohio Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Forensic Accounting: Our 2027 Review

At the University of Northwestern Ohio, accounting starts in your very first quarter, and the forensic major stacks four five-credit fraud courses on top of that base. You'll study white collar crime and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. You graduate with the knowledge to sit for the CFE exam, and tuition carries no added charge for out-of-state students.

The private nonprofit University of Northwestern Ohio, in Lima, builds this four-year Bachelor of Science in Accounting with a forensic accounting major around fraud: preventing it and detecting illegal financial activity such as embezzlement, bribery and securities fraud.

The degree is 180 quarter credit hours. The College of Business says you can earn a bachelor's degree in as little as three and a half years. The Lima campus brings together more than 4,000 students from all 50 states and 49 countries.

There's a 25-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio.

The College of Business charges $305 per credit hour, with a general fee added each quarter, and the credits are quarter credit hours. The degree runs 180 credit hours. The university charges no added cost for out-of-state tuition, so you'll pay the same per-credit rate wherever you live. You can ask admissions for the current general fee and for the financial aid and scholarships open to business students.

180 quarter credits at $305 a credit comes to $54,900 in tuition, before fees.

• You want accounting from day one. Classes in the field begin in your very first quarter.
• You want to be a fraud examiner. If you're a future fraud examiner, graduates gain the knowledge needed to sit for the CFE exam.
• You're drawn to the legal side of fraud work. There's a required course on the legal implications of fraud examination, plus coverage of federal regulation.
• You're a transfer student with an associate's degree from a regionally accredited institution.
• You're an out-of-state student. You pay the same tuition rate as everyone else.

The forensic major is a run of four required courses, five quarter credits each, 20 credits in all. You'll begin with FA330 Financial Statement Investigation, then move into FA410 Forensic Accounting I. FA420 Legal Implications of Fraud Examination covers the legal side of the work, and FA425 Forensic Accounting II continues the sequence.

The school describes the degree as an intensive study of fraud, including how to prevent it and how to detect it.

The degree plan also names the topics around those courses: white collar crime, the documents examiners work from, the federal rules that govern fraud examinations, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, including corporate governance and internal control testing. That mix means you learn the accounting and the rulebook side by side.

The accounting core runs underneath all of it. AC395 Auditing is a five-credit course, and the core also covers accounting information systems and cost accounting. AC490 Accounting Capstone, a three-credit course, closes out your degree.

Courses the School Names

• Forensic Accounting I
• Forensic Accounting II
• Legal Implications of Fraud Examination
• Financial Statement Investigation

Standout Features

• Accounting classes begin in the very first quarter
• Curriculum covers white collar crime and Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance and internal controls testing
• Four dedicated forensic courses: Financial Statement Investigation, Forensic Accounting I, Legal Implications of Fraud Examination and Forensic Accounting II
• Graduates have the knowledge needed to sit for the CFE exam

On campus in Lima, traditional classes meet Monday through Friday and typically start at 8:00am. They run until 2:45pm, which suits you if you like a full daytime schedule on one campus. The College of Business also offers classes in accounting, marketing and business administration 100% online, so some of your coursework can be flexible.

The degree is a four-year program, and the school says focusing on your major from the first quarter lets students finish in as little as three and a half years. Your advisor can map the forensic courses onto your plan from the first quarter.

The school states that graduating with this degree gives you the knowledge needed to sit for the CFE exam. If you want the additional credit hours needed to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam upon graduation, the accounting department also offers a five-year CPA track. Many of your accounting professors are CPAs themselves, so the classroom carries real practice. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

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

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• A student reviewer on Unigo, writing about the university as a whole, says it is a good school for anyone looking to become an accountant.

  Source: Unigo (UNOH reviews, not program-specific)

• Another Unigo reviewer sums up the campus feel as a small, upbeat, friendly college.

  Source: Unigo (UNOH reviews, not program-specific)

• Which of the four forensic courses can I take online, and which meet on campus?
• How do Forensic Accounting I and Forensic Accounting II differ, and what case work do they include?
• What does the Accounting Capstone ask you to produce?
• How does the five-year CPA track fit around the forensic courses, and when do I choose it?
• How many credits from my associate's degree transfer into the 180 quarter credit hours?
• What is the general fee each quarter, and what aid is open to College of Business students?

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 13 of 22, bachelor's
• Best Bachelor's Programs Rank 13 of 22, bachelor's
• CFE Exam Prep Programs Rank 10 of 12, bachelor's
• Cheapest Programs Rank 6 of 11, bachelor's

• Davenport University

  Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, Accounting Fraud Specialty

  Michigan $716 per credit Score 62.9

• Purdue University Global

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  Indiana $371 per quarter credit Score 62.1

• University of Central Oklahoma

  Bachelor of Science in Forensic Accounting

  Oklahoma Score 63.5

• Waynesburg University

  Bachelor of Science in Forensic Accounting

  Pennsylvania Score 60.2