The Catholic University of America

Bachelor of Science in Accounting

Why Study Accounting at the Busch School?

Our Accounting program is designed to prepare students for a career in the public accounting profession, private industry, government, and the nonprofit sector. 

What sets this accounting program apart is the emphasis placed on learning and gaining real-world experience from the accounting faculty who guide students in their accounting careers. All faculty are CPAs and have considerable work experience in the private or public sector.   

What Makes Our Program Different

• All classes are taught by professors who have had decades of real-world business experience and every one of them is a CPA.
• Close mentoring of each Accounting major by such professors - their professor mentor remains the same for their four years at Catholic U.
• Upperclassmen student mentor (who is an Accounting major) for each incoming Freshman Accounting major.
• Small classes from the start- the first Accounting class is limited to 16 students. All other Accounting classes range from 5 to 20.
• With all professors having real-world experience, they are particularly good at advising students on their career search.

Academic and Professional Responsibilities

The primary aim of the Accounting Program is to prepare students academically and professionally for an initial career in the public accounting profession and to earn the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certificate.

As such, to remain as an Accounting major, or to transfer to the Accounting major, a student must achieve the following:

• Academically: (a) earn at least the grade of B in the first two accounting courses which are: ACCT 205 (Introductory Accounting) and ACCT 206 (Managerial Accounting); and (b) have and maintain a GPA of at least 3.00 through the end of their sophomore year.
• Professionally: (a) attend promptly and prepare well for all classes, and any meetings with professors, mentors, and advisors;  (b) participate in events required of accounting majors, and (c) always act ethically and with integrity in all on-campus and off-campus activities.    

Students who have not achieved the above, will not be able to enter or continue in the Accounting Program and will be assisted by their faculty advisor to identify another plan of studies or major within the School of Business.

Internships

Some 80% of Accounting major graduates go to work for a global, national, or regional CPA firm. They offer tremendous career and learning opportunities with high starting-salaries in the range of $55,000 to $60,000.   Such firms typically start their recruiting of Accounting majors in their sophomore or junior year, through two-day “Externships” and eight-week “Internships”.   If a student performs well during the summer internship they can expect to be offered a full-time position upon graduation and completion of 150 credits.