The Master of Science in Taxation (M.Tax.)
The Master of Science in Taxation (M.Tax.) degree program offers a curriculum that focuses on interactively developing skills needed by tax accountants. It is a specialized program that provides skills to begin a career as a tax accountant and skills to progress to mid- and upper-level positions. In addition to specialized tax knowledge, the program provides students with ethics, leadership, communication and interpersonal skills necessary for supervisor-level positions.
This is a companion program to the Master of Science in Accountancy (M.A.C.C.) program. All interested students should review the admission process and prerequisite requirements that are discussed under the M.A.C.C. program. Those processes and prerequisites are also applicable to the M.Tax. program. In general, students applying to the M.Tax. program should already have completed an undergraduate degree in accountancy or its equivalent.
Individuals without this background may still apply to the program, but will need to complete extended program requirements. Since all courses are offered at night over five-week terms, this program will be of primary interest to those students desiring to complete an M.Tax. program on a part-time basis while remaining employed. Since all courses are only offered once per calendar year, students should carefully plan their program of study prior to beginning the program and should expect that completion will generally take a minimum of one calendar year.
As with the M.A.C.C. program, students currently enrolled in the B.Acc. program at USD can complete the B.Acc. and M.Tax. in a combined program format. The admission process is identical to those required by the B.Acc. or M.A.C.C. Combined Program and prospective students should review the next section of this bulletin for those requirements.
M.Tax. Program Requirements
The M.Tax. program is a 30 semester-unit program for those with an undergraduate accounting degree. Additional prerequisite requirements for those without an undergraduate accounting degree are shown under the M.A.C.C. program. In addition to the prerequisites shown under the M.A.C.C. program, all M.Tax. degree applicants will need to have already completed:
ACCT 306 – Federal Tax Acct I, and
ACCT 407 – Federal Tax Acct II, or their equivalents, as prerequisites to the program.
M.Tax. Course Requirements (30-semester units):
Required Courses (24 semester-units):
A. The following three courses (9 semester-units) in ethics, leadership, communications, and interpersonal skills are all required:
MACC 501 – Communications and Ethics for Financial Professionals (3)
MACC 502 – Leadership in a Financial Team Environment (3)
MACC 503 – Negotiations: Strategy, Practice and Ethics (3)
B. The following five courses (15 semester-units) of taxation courses are all required:
MACC 523 – Retirement Planning (3)
MACC 560 – Tax Research (3)
MACC 561 – Partnership Taxation (3)
MACC 562 – Estate and Gift Taxation (3)
MACC 594a – State and Local Taxation (3)
Electives (6-semester units):
Electives are likely from M.A.C.C. or M.Tax. , M.B.A., or other USD programs that directly relate to the field of taxation. These can include MACC 598 – Internship or MACC 599 – Independent Study.
Students must complete a “program plan” indicating their elective selections prior to beginning the M.Tax. program. However, course substitutions may be made at later points of time upon approval of their faculty mentor and the director of the M.A.C.C. or M.Tax. program.
Admission Process for the M.Tax. Program:
Students must complete the following for admission to the M.Tax. degree program:
- Complete the Master of Science in Accountancy or Master of Science in Taxation Admission Application, including the payment of any applicable application fees.
Note that the above application materials will require students to take the GMAT exam and receive a minimum score of 550 and to submit official transcripts for all prior undergraduate and graduate work. A 3.0 accounting course GPA and 3.0 overall GPA is the normal cutoff for admission. However, applicants with lower prior GPAs will be considered for admission with additional evidence of strong professional accounting or financial management credentials.
