Best MBA Forensic Accounting Concentration Programs in 2027

• Highest Score97.0 out of 100

  Strongest CredentialsAACSB and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Anti-Fraud Education Partnership stated by the school; prepares for CFE

  Murray State University

  Master of Business Administration with a Concentration in Forensic Accounting

  Kentucky · MBA

  Murray State University's MBA Review
• Lowest Price$400 per credit

  Pfeiffer University

  Master of Business Administration in Financial Fraud

  North Carolina · MBA

  Pfeiffer University's MBA Review
• Highest Graduate Earnings$98,834 median earnings

  Roosevelt University

  Master of Business Administration, Accounting Forensics Concentration

  Illinois · M.B.A.

  Roosevelt University's M.B.A. Review

What the Concentration Adds to the Business Core

The business core gives you finance, strategy and ethics. It's the concentration that holds the fraud training, and how much of it you get differs from school to school.

At Saint Xavier University, you take seven core courses and three fraud examination courses in the 30-credit degree. The fraud courses cover identity theft and computer fraud, fraud examination, and forensic and investigative accounting. At Seton Hill University, four fraud courses cover hundreds of employee fraud schemes, the legal setting, investigation and prevention. Its core adds business analytics with artificial intelligence.

At Murray State University, you get fraud analytics, business valuation and a course on the legal environment of fraud, then finish with a strategic management capstone. Pfeiffer University covers internal controls, fraud and the law, and cybercrime, and its fraud analytics course uses audit data software on simulated real-world cases.

Roosevelt University lets you choose three courses from fraud examination, financial statement fraud, anti-money laundering, computer forensics and a business forensics topics course that covers Benford's law.

Check How Each Program Connects to the CFE

The ACFE grants the CFE on a points system. With 40 points you can sit for the exam, and 50 plus two years of related professional experience make you certified. Your bachelor's degree usually covers the education points, so a graduate degree isn't a gate. It's preparation.

Some programs line their courses up with the exam. Saint Xavier University builds its curriculum around the CFE exam's subject areas: financial transactions and fraud schemes, law, investigation, and fraud prevention and deterrence. Tiffin University's four concentration courses follow the same areas and use ACFE study material.

Murray State University prepares you to sit for the CFE exam and earn credits toward the CPA exam, and students can use the ACFE's low-cost student certification package. Seton Hill University helps prepare you for the CFE and the Certified Internal Auditor credential.

Roosevelt University's curriculum helps prepare you for the CFE, as well as the Certified Internal Auditor and Certified Management Accountant exams.

Match the Schedule and Price to Your Life

Every one of these programs is built for people who work. Pfeiffer University is online with no live virtual meetings required, which helps if your hours change from week to week. Tiffin University offers asynchronous online study or campus classes, with six starts a year and no Graduate Record Examinations or Graduate Management Admission Test requirement.

Saint Xavier University runs eight-week sessions with five start terms a year, and every class is available online. Murray State University uses seven-week courses with multiple starts, and finishing in 12 to 18 months is possible. Roosevelt University offers online or hybrid delivery. You can attend in Chicago, Schaumburg or McHenry County College.

On price, Pfeiffer University lists $400 per credit hour, or $13,200 for 33 credit hours. Tiffin University lists $755 per credit, and Saint Xavier University lists $799 per credit. Murray State University lists $606 per credit with fees included, for $18,180 across the program. Seton Hill University lists $1,015 per credit, and Roosevelt University lists $1,100 per credit.

Ask About Admission and Prerequisites

You don't need an accounting degree for most of these. Saint Xavier University welcomes a bachelor's degree in any major. Seton Hill University welcomes business majors and considers other majors too, and prerequisite coursework can run alongside your first MBA classes. Murray State University builds in two free prerequisite courses, accounting and economics.

Grade point average (GPA) expectations are friendly. To get into Pfeiffer University, you'll need a 2.8 undergraduate GPA or a graduate degree. Roosevelt University asks for a 3.0 and requests a resume and letter of intent only below a 2.75. If you have a 3.25, Murray State University needs no work experience.

Two schools offer a head start for undergraduates. Saint Xavier University's accelerated path lets seniors take up to 12 credit hours of MBA coursework. Seton Hill University's FastForward option lets seniors start the fraud courses before graduating.