Accounting BSBA

Major: Accounting
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA)
Calendar Type: Quarter

Minimum Required Credits: 180.0

Co-op Options: Three Co-op (Five years); One Co-op (Four years); No Co-op (Four years)
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 52.0305
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 13-2011; 11-3031; 13-2051

About the Program

Why Major in Accounting?

Interested in a career in a profession respected for integrity and ethics where you routinely face new challenges, engage in life-long learning, work in dynamic teams, and have in demand skills? Consider accounting!

The accounting profession is in an exciting time of evolution with automation, data analytics, remote work, as well as the “usual” changes in financial reporting and tax regulations. 

It is no longer true that accountants sit in the back room working by themselves.  Accountants fill key roles on teams as business partners and financial experts in consulting, professional services, public accounting, companies of all sizes, startups, nonprofit organizations and all levels of government. 

A Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Accounting from LeBow empowers you with a solid foundation in accounting and tax principles, analysis and communication skills, and the ability to collaborate to solve complex issues. 

Many students enrolling in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree with a major in Accounting are interested in becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

Licensing for the CMA certification is administered by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and is not dependent on state/jurisdiction. Certification eligibility criteria consist of prerequisite requirements including work experience, educational requirements, and the CMA exam. The required curriculum for the BSBA with a major in Accounting meet the education requirements to earn a CMA license. For more information, please see the IMA’s CMA Certification requirements.

The requirements for becoming a certified public accountant (CPA) vary by state but generally include completing 150 semester (225 quarter) credit hours in an accounting program at a college or university, passing the CPA exam, and a specific amount of relevant work experience. This NASBA resource provides links to each of the state boards of accountancy to learn more about the specific requirements for your state. 

The required curriculum for the BSBA with a major in Accounting by itself does not meet the education requirements to earn a CPA license. The LeBow College of Business offers courses that may allow an individual to meet the education requirements to earn a CPA license. Students planning to obtain a CPA license should consult with their academic advisor and the Department of Accounting upon declaring the major to ensure ample time to fulfill such requirements.

Please Note: No more than 2 courses or 8.0 credits can be counted towards any additional major/minor/co-major or certificate in the BSBA program.

Additional Information

For more information please contact our Undergraduate Advising department at lebowadv@drexel.edu

Degree Requirements

General Education Requirements
CIVC 101Introduction to Civic Engagement1.0
COOP 101Career Management and Professional Development *1.0
ENGL 101Composition and Rhetoric I: Inquiry and Exploratory Research3.0
or ENGL 111 English Composition I
ENGL 102Composition and Rhetoric II: Advanced Research and Evidence-Based Writing3.0
or ENGL 112 English Composition II
ENGL 103Composition and Rhetoric III: Themes and Genres3.0
or ENGL 113 English Composition III
MATH 101Introduction to Analysis I4.0
UNIV B101The Drexel Experience1.0
UNIV B201 [WI] Career Management1.0
General Education Electives (select 18-24 credits):
Culture, Diversity, & Global Perspective **6.0-8.0
Humanities & Social Science **6.0-8.0
Natural Science & Technology **6.0-8.0
Business Flexible Requirements ***
INTB 200International Business4.0
MIS 200Management Information Systems4.0
MKTG 201Introduction to Marketing Management4.0
OPM 200Operations Management4.0
STAT 201Introduction to Business Statistics4.0
Business Requirements
ACCT 115Financial Accounting Foundations4.0
ACCT 116Managerial Accounting Foundations4.0
BLAW 201Business Law I4.0
BSAN 160Business Analytics and Data Visualization4.0
BUSN 101Foundations of Business I4.0
BUSN 102Foundations of Business II4.0
BUSN 105Applied Business Analysis3.0
ECON 201Principles of Microeconomics4.0
ECON 202Principles of Macroeconomics4.0
FIN 301Introduction to Finance4.0
MGMT 450Strategy and Competitive Advantage4.0
ORGB 300 [WI] Organizational Behavior4.0
Business Impact Elective4.0
Select a course that has one the following subject codes: (ACCT) Accounting, (BSAN) Business Analytics, (STAT) Business Statistics, (ECON) Economics, (FIN) Finance, (BUSN) General Business, (HRMT) Human Resource Management, (INTB) International Business, (BLAW) Business Law, (MGMT) Management, (MIS) Management Information Systems, (MKTG) Marketing, (OPM) Operations Management, (OPR) Operations Research, (ORGB) Organizational Behavior, (REMD) Real Estate Management & Development, (SMT) Sport Management, or (TAX) Taxation with a course number range of 100-499, including T280, T380, and T480. This course cannot be applied to your major or minor.
Required Accounting Major Courses
ACCT 321Financial Reporting I4.0
ACCT 322Financial Reporting II4.0
ACCT 331Cost Accounting4.0
or ACCT 341 Principles of Auditing
TAX 341Federal Income Taxes4.0
Required Accounting Major Electives 16.0
Emerging Issues in Accounting & Tax
Financial Reporting III
Financial Statement Analysis
Advanced Accounting
Cost Accounting
Principles of Auditing
Internal Auditing
Accounting Information Systems
Special Topics in Accounting
Advanced Federal Taxes
Cannabis, Cookies and Cyberspace: The New Age of State & Local Taxation
Tax Research
Tax & Business Strategy
Special Topics in TAX
Special Topics in TAX
Required Accounting Experiential (Please choose 1) 4.0
Lead & Learn: Financial Accounting
Emerging Industry Analysis: Accounting Perspective
Special Topics in Accounting
Tax Experiential Learning
Free Electives38.0
Total Credits180.0-186.0
*

Students not participating in co-op will take one additional credit of Free Elective instead of COOP 101.

Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select student may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

**

Please see General Education Electives catalog webpage for an up to date listing of eligible courses.

***

Please note that Business Flexible Requirement courses are all required but can be taken in any order or sequence based on student choice or major. Please consult your academic advisor for additional guidance.  

Students planning to take the CPA exam should review the educational requirements established by the State Board of Accountancy in the state in which they plan to sit for the examination. Students are qualified to sit for the examination in Pennsylvania by meeting the degree requirements above. Students planning to apply for a CPA license in Pennsylvania have to obtain 225.0 quarter credit hours—the equivalent to 150 semester hours.

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.

Sample Plan of Study

5 Year 3 Co-Op 

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
BUSN 1014.0BUSN 1024.0ACCT 1154.0VACATION
BUSN 1053.0BSAN 1604.0CIVC 1011.0 
ENGL 101 or 1113.0COOP 101*1.0ECON 2024.0 
MATH 1014.0ECON 2014.0ENGL 103 or 1133.0 
UNIV B1011.0ENGL 102 or 1123.0Business Flexible Requirement Course**4.0 
 15 16 16 0
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCE COOP EXPERIENCEACCT 1164.0BLAW 2014.0
  Business Flexible Requirement Course**4.0Business Flexible Requirement Course**4.0
  Culture, Diversity, & Global Perspective Elective***3.0-4.0Humanities & Social Science Elective***3.0-4.0
  Free Elective3.0Free Elective3.0
 0 0 14-15 14-15
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCEACCT 3214.0ACCT 3224.0
  Business Flexible Requirement Course**4.0FIN 3014.0
  Natural Science & Technology Elective***3.0-4.0Cultural, Global, and Diversity Elective***3.0-4.0
  Free Elective3.0Free Elective4.0
 0 0 14-15 15-16
Fourth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCEACCT 331 or 3414.0TAX 3414.0
  ORGB 3004.0Natural Science & Technology Elective***3.0-4.0
  UNIV B2011.0Required Accounting Major Elective4.0
  Business Flexible Requirement Course**4.0Free elective6.0
  Humanities & Social Science Elective***3.0-4.0 
 0 0 16-17 17-18
Fifth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
Business Impact Elective4.0MGMT 4504.0Required Accounting Major Elective4.0 
Required Accounting Major Elective4.0Required Accounting Experiential Elective4.0Free Elective10.0 
Free Elective6.0Required Accounting Major Elective4.0  
 Free elective3.0  
 14 15 14 
Total Credits 180-186
*

Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

**

 Select INTB 200, OPM 200, MIS 200, MKTG 201 or STAT 201. Please note that Business Flexible Requirement courses are all required but can be taken in any order or sequence based on student choice or major. Please consult your academic advisor for additional guidance.  

***

Please see General Education Electives catalog webpage for an up to date listing of eligible courses

Select a course that has one the following subject codes: (ACCT) Accounting, (BSAN) Business Analytics, (STAT) Business Statistics, (ECON) Economics, (FIN) Finance, (BUSN) General Business, (HRMT) Human Resource Management, (INTB) International Business, (BLAW) Business Law, (MGMT) Management, (MIS) Management Information Systems, (MKTG) Marketing, (OPM) Operations Management, (OPR) Operations Research, (ORGB) Organizational Behavior, (REMD) Real Estate Management & Development, (SMT) Sport Management, or (TAX) Taxation with a course number range of 100-499, including T280, T380, and T480. This course cannot be applied to your major or minor.

4 Year 1 Co-Op 

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
BUSN 1014.0BUSN 1024.0ACCT 1154.0VACATION
BUSN 1053.0BSAN 1604.0CIVC 1011.0 
ENGL 101 or 1113.0COOP 101*1.0ECON 2024.0 
MATH 1014.0ECON 2014.0ENGL 103 or 1133.0 
UNIV B1011.0ENGL 102 or 1123.0Business Flexible Requirement Course**4.0 
 15 16 16 0
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
ACCT 1164.0BLAW 2014.0ACCT 3214.0ACCT 3224.0
Business Flexible Requirement Course**4.0Business Flexible Requirement Course**4.0Business Flexible Requirement Course**4.0FIN 3014.0
Culture, Diversity, & Global Perspective Elective***3.0-4.0Natural Science & Technology Elective***3.0-4.0Natural Science & Technology Elective***3.0-4.0Culture, Diversity, & Global Perspective Elective***3.0-4.0
Free Elective3.0Free Elective3.0Free Elective4.0Free Elective3.0
 14-15 14-15 15-16 14-15
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCEACCT 331 or 3414.0ORGB 3004.0
  UNIV B2011.0TAX 3414.0
  Business Flexible Requirement Course**4.0Humanities & Social Science Elective***3.0-4.0
  Humanities & Social Science Elective***3.0-4.0Free Elective6.0
  Required Accounting Major Elective4.0 
 0 0 16-17 17-18
Fourth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
Business Impact Elective4.0MGMT 4504.0Required Accounting Major Elective4.0 
Required Accounting Major Elective4.0Required Accounting Experiential Elective4.0Free Electives10.0 
Free Electives6.0Required Accounting Major Elective4.0  
 Free elective3.0  
 14 15 14 
Total Credits 180-186
*

Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

**

Select INTB 200, OPM 200, MIS 200, MKTG 201 or STAT 201. Please note that Business Flexible Requirement courses are all required but can be taken in any order or sequence based on student choice or major. Please consult your academic advisor for additional guidance.  

***

Please see General Education Electives catalog webpage for an up to date listing of eligible courses.

Select a course that has one the following subject codes: (ACCT) Accounting, (BSAN) Business Analytics, (STAT) Business Statistics, (ECON) Economics, (FIN) Finance, (BUSN) General Business, (HRMT) Human Resource Management, (INTB) International Business, (BLAW) Business Law, (MGMT) Management, (MIS) Management Information Systems, (MKTG) Marketing, (OPM) Operations Management, (OPR) Operations Research, (ORGB) Organizational Behavior, (REMD) Real Estate Management & Development, (SMT) Sport Management, or (TAX) Taxation with a course number range of 100-499, including T280, T380, and T480. This course cannot be applied to your major or minor.

4 Year No Co-Op 

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
BUSN 1014.0BUSN 1024.0ACCT 1154.0VACATION
BUSN 1053.0BSAN 1604.0CIVC 1011.0 
ENGL 101 or 1113.0ECON 2014.0ECON 2024.0 
MATH 1014.0ENGL 102 or 1123.0ENGL 103 or 1133.0 
UNIV B1011.0 Business Flexible Requirement Course**4.0 
 15 15 16 0
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
ACCT 1164.0BLAW 2014.0ACCT 3214.0VACATION
Business Flexible Elective4.0Humanities & Social Science Elective3.0-4.0Business Flexible Requirement Courses**8.0 
Culture, Diversity, & Global Perspective3.0-4.0Free Electives8.0Natural Science & Technology Elective3.0-4.0 
Free Elective3.0   
 14-15 15-16 15-16 0
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
ACCT 3224.0ACCT 331 or 3414.0ORGB 3004.0VACATION
FIN 3014.0UNIV B2011.0TAX 3414.0 
Culture, Diversity, & Global Perspective Elective***3.0-4.0Business Flexible Requirement Course**4.0Natural Science & Technology Elective***3.0-4.0 
Free Elective3.0Humanities & Social Science Elective3.0-4.0Free Elective*6.0 
 Required Accounting Major Elective4.0  
 14-15 16-17 17-18 0
Fourth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
Business Impact Elective4.0MGMT 4504.0Required Accounting Major Elective4.0 
Required Accounting Major Elective4.0Required Accounting Experiential Elective4.0Free Electives10.0 
Free Electives6.0Required Accounting Major Elective4.0  
 Free elective 3.0  
 14 15 14 
Total Credits 180-186
*

Students not participating in co-op will take one additional credit of Free Elective instead of COOP 101.

**

Select INTB 200, OPM 200, MIS 200, MKTG 201 or STAT 201. Please note that Business Flexible Requirement courses are all required but can be taken in any order or sequence based on student choice or major. Please consult your academic advisor for additional guidance.  

***

Please see General Education Electives catalog webpage for an up to date listing of eligible courses.

Select a course that has one the following subject codes: (ACCT) Accounting, (BSAN) Business Analytics, (STAT) Business Statistics, (ECON) Economics, (FIN) Finance, (BUSN) General Business, (HRMT) Human Resource Management, (INTB) International Business, (BLAW) Business Law, (MGMT) Management, (MIS) Management Information Systems, (MKTG) Marketing, (OPM) Operations Management, (OPR) Operations Research, (ORGB) Organizational Behavior, (REMD) Real Estate Management & Development, (SMT) Sport Management, or (TAX) Taxation with a course number range of 100-499, including T280, T380, and T480. This course cannot be applied to your major or minor.

Co-op/Career Opportunities

A major in accounting provides a wide variety of career opportunities. You can specialize, becoming an accounting, audit, or tax expert. You can also use the business understanding and analysis skills an accounting degree provides to enter the industry of your choice.  All industries use accounting/financial data to make sound decisions. You can also combine areas of interest for example law and accounting as a forensic accountant (fraud examiner) or sports and accounting working for a sports team. The possibilities meet your ambitions. 

Drexel’s co-op program provides an added advantage to accounting students; time spent working in accounting co-op positions is often accepted as part of the experience needed for CPA and CMA certifications.

Drexel’s Accounting graduates accept positions in public accounting, private industry, government, and non-profit organizations. Many also choose to continue their studies in graduate schools, pursuing such degrees as an MBA, master’s in taxation, master's in accounting, or a PhD. Overall, Drexel’s graduates enjoy a high placement rate.

Visit the Drexel Steinbright Career Development Center page for more detailed information on co-op and post-graduate opportunities. To learn more about career opportunities and resources, see the Career Guides provided by the Steinbright Career Development Center.

Facilities

The 12-story, 177,500-square-foot home for LeBow College of Business is located at the heart of the Drexel University campus, at the intersection of Woodland Walk and Market Street, where it forms a gateway to Drexel and a backdrop to the historic statue of A. J. Drexel (Moses Ezekiel, 1904). The diagonal massing of the lower floors follows Woodland Walk and combines with the new Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building (Diamond & Schmitt, 2011) to energize the University’s central quadrangle. The building’s tower will mark the LeBow College and Drexel campus from all directions while the open, glassy Market Street façade will showcase the College’s student activities to passersby.

The building’s organization unites the school’s various constituencies around a five-story-high atrium ringed by classrooms, student lounges, events spaces, and offices. The atrium is immediately accessible from main entrances at the three corners of the building. An open stair within the atrium leads to a 300-seat auditorium and 100-seat lecture hall one floor below and to a divisible multipurpose room and additional classrooms above. The building’s upper floors contain faculty offices interspersed with seminar rooms and group study rooms. The top floor houses the Dean’s suite and a boardroom and conference suite that opens to east- and west-facing terraces.

The building’s warm masonry and glass exterior reflects the emerging vocabulary of the next generation of Drexel buildings. Sophisticated solar shading devices allow maximum transparency between the inside and outside while supporting the building’s high environmental aspirations.

Key Building Features

  • Five-story atrium
  • Finance trading lab with Bloomberg Terminal Room
  • 300-seat auditorium
  • 160-seat event space
  • 100-seat lecture hall
  • 45-seat seminar rooms
  • 44-seat computer classrooms
  • 60-seat classrooms
  • Executive MBA classroom
  • 24-seat classrooms
  • Special areas for experiential learning simulations and business consulting
  • Videoconferencing capabilities
  • Integrated teaching technology in all classrooms
  • Recording studio to support LeBow College’s online programs
  • Extensive areas for students to gather socially and for collaborative study, including student collaboration rooms, two quiet study areas, and 3,500 square feet of student social space
  • EMBA Alumni Lounge for the exclusive use of EMBA alumni
  • Behavioral Studies Lab
  • Starbucks
  • Green Globe certifiable, meeting worldwide sustainability standards

Gerri C. LeBow Hall brings together faculty, students, and staff in a state-of-the-art building on the University City campus. Please visit the LeBow College of Business webpage, the Behavioral Lab webpage, and the Finance Trading Lab webpage to learn more about Gerri C. LeBow Hall.


Accounting Faculty

Stephen B. Bates, CPA, DBA (Wilmington University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Financial reporting, financial analysis and managerial accounting.
Maureen Breen, PhD (West Chester University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Financial accounting, environmental accounting and reporting
Hsihui Chang, PhD (University of Minnesota) KPMG Professor of Accounting. Performance management, audit quality, and data analytics
Hiu Lam Choy, PhD (University of Rochester). Associate Professor. Financial accounting and reporting quality.
Anthony P. Curatola, PhD (Texas A&M University) Joseph F. Ford Professor of Accounting. Professor. Federal and state income tax policy, employee benefits, individual and small business, and retirement income taxation.
Xin Dai, PhD (University of Minnesota). Associate Professor. ESG, corporate stakeholder, capital market empirical studies.
Dan Dai, PhD (Yale University). Assistant Professor. Financial reporting and disclosure, ESG and labor economics in capital markets.
Albert DeRitis, MBA (St. Joseph’s University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Financial analysis, financial statement interpretation, managerial accounting, supply chain, healthcare industry.
Barbara Murray Grein, PhD (University of North Carolina). Associate Professor. Audits and financial reporting quality, critical audit matters, audit committees.
Curtis M. Hall, PhD (University of Arizona) Department Head, Accounting and Tax. Associate Professor. Strategic cost management, human resources, incentive compensation, banking, nonprofits.
Mary Howard, CPA (Temple University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Financial reporting and financial analysis, entrepreneurship.
Stacy Kline, MBA (Temple University). Clinical Professor. Individual and business taxation, financial and managerial accounting, taxation.
Jithu (JT) Thazathel, MBA (Drexel University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Managerial accounting, financial reporting, data analytics, data visualization, process automation, artificial intelligence