York College of Pennsylvania Master of Accounting in Fraud and Forensics: Our 2027 Review

York College puts five required fraud and forensics courses inside a compact 30-credit online master's. You'll cover corporate fraud, forensic practices, high-risk industries and the legal side of an investigation. Because York is an Association of Certified Fraud Examiners partner, real fraud case studies and videos of actual cases appear throughout your coursework. If you study full-time, you can finish in as little as one year.

The Master of Accounting in Fraud and Forensics is offered online by York College of Pennsylvania, a private nonprofit college in York, Pennsylvania, through its Graham School of Business. It totals 30 credit hours, and you take it through a mix of live (synchronous) and self-paced (asynchronous) virtual classes.

The school describes it as a way to deepen your understanding of accountants' ethical and legal responsibilities and to see how accounting plays a strategic role in organizations. Your areas of focus include forensic accounting, fraud examination, internal and external auditing, risk management and white-collar crime investigation.

The Master of Accounting in Fraud and Forensics is accredited by ACBSP. York College is also a partner in the Anti-Fraud Education Partnership of the ACFE, which is why actual fraud cases and industry materials run through the courses.

The program page says the degree prepares you for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA), the CFE and the Cr.FA. Career options the school lists include forensic accountant, fraud examiner, internal auditor, financial crimes analyst, compliance analyst and forensic auditor.

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

• You're a working accountant who wants a fully online degree. Courses run in five 7-week sessions each year.
• You want to prepare for the CPA, CFE and Certified Forensic Accountant (Cr.FA) credentials. The program page names all three.
• You work for a partner organization, you're an alum or you're a government worker. You qualify for York's discounted graduate rate.
• You want to work in healthcare, banking, insurance, government contracting or nonprofits. Those are the five high-risk industries one required course studies.
• You're a career changer with a degree outside accounting. York offers background coursework to get you ready.

Five fraud and forensics courses form the heart of the degree. Corporate Fraud covers the types of corporate fraud, how to gather and analyze evidence, how to assess fraud risk and how to judge internal controls. It also investigates major corporate cases involving civil litigation support, damage claims, valuations and financial statement fraud. You'll present your findings as a final project.

Forensic Practices reviews techniques for discovering a fraud, investigating it, and preventing and deterring it later. Fraud and Forensic Accounting in High-Risk Industries looks at schemes in healthcare, banking and financial services, insurance, government contracting and the nonprofit sector, using case studies and investigative exercises.

Legal Foundations of Forensic Accounting covers criminal law and procedures, including white-collar crime and fraud statutes, investigatory protocols, evidence protection, chain of custody and expert summation. In Fraud and Forensics, you'll take an in-depth look at fraudulent financial accounting with a focus on fraud examination, and you'll learn the basics of forensic accounting.

The rest of your 30 credits build the accounting base. Accounting Information Systems teaches you to assess and audit information systems and spot technology-based fraud vulnerabilities. Advanced Auditing applies advanced audit techniques and professional judgment. The program page also lists skills such as financial statement analysis, internal controls assessment, litigation support and expert reporting.

Courses the School Names

• Corporate Fraud
• Legal Foundations of Forensic Accounting
• Fraud and Forensics
• Accounting Information System
• Advanced Auditing

Standout Features

• Prepares for the CPA, CFE and Certified Forensic Accountant (Cr.FA) credentials
• Tuition discount for eligible employer partners, alumni and government employees
• York College is a partner in the ACFE Anti-Fraud Education Partnership, with real-world anti-fraud case studies and videos integrated into coursework
• York's first-time CPA exam pass rate ranks 20th in the nation among medium-sized accounting programs (National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA))

York charges graduate tuition per credit, and its listing for accounting is $710 per credit. That works out to a program total of $21,300 for the 30 credits. A discounted rate of $605 per credit applies if you're a Global Partner, Alumni or Government Employee student.

York has also partnered with community organizations and businesses to offer discounted graduate education to their employees, so you'll want to ask whether your employer is on the list. The admissions team can walk you through financial aid options.

30 credits at $710 a credit comes to $21,300 in tuition, before fees.

The whole degree is online, with a combination of synchronous and asynchronous virtual courses. Courses are delivered in five 7-week online sessions, which lets you keep steady progress through the year. If you study full-time, you can finish in as little as one year, and if you study part-time, you'll typically finish in two.

That 12 to 24 month range lets you pick a pace that fits a full workload. You'll send official undergraduate transcripts, documentation of any previous graduate coursework or professional certifications, and a Graduate Studies online application. The school describes its graduate accounting faculty as bringing decades of professional and academic experience to the online classroom.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• York describes its graduate accounting professors as respected and prolific professionals in their fields, which is how the college introduces the faculty who teach the online degree.

  Source: York College website

• Which of the five fraud and forensics courses are open to my track, and in what order should I take them?
• What background coursework would I need if my undergraduate degree isn't in accounting?
• Does my employer qualify for York's partner discount?
• How many classes can I take in each 7-week session while working full time?
• Which live sessions meet at set times, and which classes are self-paced?
• How does the program prepare me for the CPA, CFE and Cr.FA, and what does each require after graduation?

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 10 of 27, master's
• Best Master's Programs Rank 10 of 27, master's
• Best Online Programs Rank 9 of 20, master's
• Fraud Examination Programs Rank 3 of 10, master's
• MAcc With Forensic Concentration Rank 4 of 12, master's
• CFE Exam Prep Programs Rank 7 of 13, master's
• Cheapest Programs Rank 6 of 15, master's
• Accelerated Programs Rank 7 of 13, master's
• For Working Adults Rank 8 of 13, master's
• Best Programs in Pennsylvania Rank 1 of 5, master's

• Rider University

  Master of Accountancy, Forensic Accounting Concentration

  New Jersey $1,130 per credit Score 86.1

• Stevenson University

  Master of Science in Forensic Accounting

  Maryland $719 per credit Score 87.7

• University of Massachusetts-Amherst

  Master of Science in Accounting, Forensic Accounting Focus

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• SUNY Polytechnic Institute

  Master of Science in Accounting, Forensic Accounting and Valuation Concentration

  New York $565 per credit Score 89.7