Program: Accounting, M.S. - University of Houston Clear Lake

May 04, 2025

2025-2026 Graduate Catalog

The objective of the Master of Science in Accounting, a STEM designated program, is to provide a broad-based background in business and depth and breadth in accounting. This combination will provide students with a strong basis for exercising judgement in accounting-related decisions within managerial and professional positions and enhance career development. The program serves both working professionals and full-time students and satisfies the educational requirements for Texas Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensure.

Students with a bachelor’s degree in any major are qualified to apply for the M.S. in Accounting program. Students who possess an undergraduate degree in accounting can complete the M.S. in Accounting degree program in as few as 30 credit hours. Students who enter the M.S. in Accounting program with an undergraduate business-related major outside of accounting will likely have satisfied the Business and Principles of Accounting I foundation requirements and, thus, can complete the degree in as few as 42 credit hours. Students who have not taken business courses may need to take 11 foundations courses and thus can complete the degree in 63 credit hours.

Grade Requirements

The College of Business requires a minimum of a 3.000 cumulative grade point average on course work taken at UHCL. No grade lower than a C is acceptable toward a graduate degree. This includes foundation work as well as the plan requirements. Grades of C- or lower are not acceptable.

Major Requirements

The major requirement courses for M.S. in Accounting students are as follows:

Complete either the BAR Track, the TCP Track, or the concentration in Data Analytics and Management Information Systems, and:

ACCT 4346 - Business Ethics for Accountants Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5231 - Individual Income Tax Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5234 - Corporate and Pass-Through Entity Taxation Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5332 - Accounting Information Systems Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5431 - Advanced Accounting Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5432 - Acct for Government and Not-For-Profit Organizations Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5438 - Data Analytics in Accounting Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 6731 - Seminar in Financial Statement and Accounting Information Quality Analysis Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 6732 - Seminar in Fraud Examination and Audit Risk (Capstone) Credit Hours: 3

Business Analytics and Reporting (BAR) Track

ACCT 5331 Accounting Analysis for Management Decisions

Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP) Track

ACCT 5238 Tax Planning and Compliance for Business and Individuals

Additional Information

If the M.S. in Accounting with a concentration in Data Analytics and MIS is declared, the BAR/TCP track is replaced with Data Analytics/MIS concentration courses.
In some cases, a major course can be replaced with an elective course if a student has recently achieved a satisfactory grade in an undergraduate course covering similar material. If an accounting major course is replaced, the student must substitute that course with a graduate accounting elective.

Accounting Electives

The accounting elective courses for M.S. in Accounting students are as follows:

ACCT 5238 - Tax Planning and Compliance for Business and Individuals Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5331 - Accounting Analysis for Management Decisions Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5333 - Fundamentals of Databases and Business Intelligence Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5334 - Advanced Database Applications Development Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5336 - Systems Analysis and Design Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5436 - Principles of Internal Auditing Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5531 - International Accounting Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5335 - Information Systems Audit and Security Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5631 - Data Warehousing and Data Mining Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5632 - Advanced Data Analytics in ERP System Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5633 - Data Analytics Application Development Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5931 - Research Topics in Accounting Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 6735 - Oil and Gas Accounting Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 6739 - Internship in Accounting Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 6939 - Master’s Thesis Research Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 6969 - Master’s Thesis Research Credit Hours: 6

Foundation Courses

In some cases, a student will need to take one or more foundation courses to obtain the necessary prerequisite knowledge to take the major courses and meet the education requirements to take the Texas CPA examination.

The foundation courses that may be required for some MS in Accounting students are as follows:

ACCT 2301 - Principles of Accounting I Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5131 - Accounting for Administrative Control Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5133 - Financial Accounting I Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5134 - Financial Accounting II Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5137 - Principles of Auditing Credit Hours: 3
DSCI 3321 - Statistics I Credit Hours: 3
ECON 5136 - Managerial Economics Credit Hours: 3
FINC 5133 - Corporate Finance Credit Hours: 3
ISAM 5330 - Management Information Systems Credit Hours: 3
LEGL 5131 - Legal Concepts for the Business Professional Credit Hours: 3
Three credit hours of graduate MGMT electives (excluding MGMT 50A1 and MGMT 52A2)

Accounting Concentration in Data Analytics and Management Information Systems (MIS)

Students may choose the Data Analytics and Management Information Systems concentration in their Master of Science in Accounting.

ISAM 5030 - Fundamentals of Business Programming Applications Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5333 - Fundamentals of Databases and Business Intelligence Credit Hours: 3
Also, students must take 2 of the 6 courses listed below:
ACCT 5334 - Advanced Database Applications Development Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5335 - Information Systems Audit and Security Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5336 - Systems Analysis and Design Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5631 - Data Warehousing and Data Mining Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5632 - Advanced Data Analytics in ERP System Credit Hours: 3
ACCT 5633 - Data Analytics Application Development Credit Hours: 3

Additional Information

ISAM 5030 - Fundamentals of Business Programming Applications is waived for students with six hours of college-level programming with grades of C or better.

Texas House Bill 1508

Texas House Bill (HB) 1508 amended the Texas Occupations Code Section 58.001 to require educational centers that offer programs that lead to occupational licensure to share the following information with their students:

An individual who has been convicted of an offense may be ineligible for issuance of an occupational license upon completion of the educational program.
Each licensing authority that may issue an occupational license to an individual who completes an educational program must establish guidelines that state the reasons a particular crime is considered to relate to a particular license and any other criterion that affects the decisions of the licensing authority.
Local or county licensing authorities may issue additional guidelines related to criminal history. Applicants should contact their respective local or county licensing authority for more details.
A person may request a criminal history evaluation letter regarding the personal eligibility for a license issued by a licensing authority under Texas Occupation Code 53.102.

Please check with the agency issuing the license for additional information.