Accounting Department
Isenberg's Accounting Department attracts highly qualified and motivated students to our nationally accredited undergraduate, masters and doctoral programs.
Isenberg-educated accountants help businesses make informed, data-driven financial decisions. Our graduates are valued advisors who diagnose the health of a business, shielding it from competitive traps and unlocking new growth opportunities.
Our faculty have exceptional ties to industry giving our students a strong head start as future auditors -- where most accounting graduates begin their careers. Our faculty rank #1 in the world for Ph.D.-level research on decision making by auditors. And they excel in the classroom with an unwavering commitment to teaching.
Isenberg accounting students join a community of nearly 10,000 Isenberg graduates in the accounting profession. They have a commanding presence in Greater Boston and New England, where Isenberg grads excel at Big 4 and other public accounting firms. And our students gain added leverage from the entire Isenberg community of 43,000 graduates in 82 countries.
During their time at Isenberg, students experience exceptional exposure to real-world accounting challenges, including multiple internships, some through our Semester in the Profession Program, where they spend a semester at public accounting firms in Greater Boston. Students also gain experience as tax advisors to members of the local community through our annual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
Our curriculum allows students to transition seamlessly to our innovative Master of Science in Accounting program, where they conveniently gain the required 150-hour accreditation for CPA status. Our MSA students choose their own mix of online and on-campus courses.
State-of-the-art analytical training, industry connections, and curricular flexibility—our AACSB-accredited programs deliver all three in support of our paramount goal—prepare our students and our graduates to be leaders in the professional world.
Elaine (Ying) Wang
Associate Professor & Dean's Research Fellow
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Research
Isenberg’s PhD in Accounting is an intensely focused and highly supportive full-time, residential program that prepares students for careers in academia. Students will broaden their understanding of accounting research and conduct independent research based on their interests.
Isenberg has a strong focus on research. Faculty members are working on a wide variety of research projects, investigating such topics as:
- Audit quality and office growth
- Readability’s influence on investors’ judgments
- Social mismatches between auditors and clients
- Effects of guidance frequency on management
- Consequences of lowering disclosure thresholds
Degree Timeline
The program is generally completed within 4-5 years. Students take 48 credits of coursework, which includes research methodology, statistics, major and minor area courses at the graduate level, and electives. They complete a qualifying and comprehensive exam, a research project, and teach at Isenberg for at least three semesters. Students will finally research, write and defend a dissertation.
YEAR 1: Coursework, including foundation courses; Qualifying exam
YEAR 2: Coursework, including major and minor area courses; Directed research project
YEAR 3: Comprehensive exam; Directed research project; Dissertation proposal
YEAR 4: Dissertation
