Accountancy Curriculum

The Accountancy Major

Students in the Bachelor of Accountancy program must satisfy the USD core curriculum requirements as set forth in the catalog, lower-division business courses in preparation for the major, the major requirements (i.e., the Business Component and the Major Component), and the Professional Development Passport Program.

Lower Division Preparation for the Major 

Students must earn a C- or better in all lower-division business preparatory courses for the major.

Students who are pursuing a business major are expected to complete all lower-division business preparatory courses before earning 60 units. Students who have completed 45 – 59 units will receive an email reminding them of the policy that business majors need to complete all lower-division business preparatory courses by 60 units and recommending that they meet with a business advisor if needed.  Students, who have completed 60-74 units but still have outstanding lower-division business preparatory courses, will have an advisor hold placed on their account and must meet with a business advisor before registering for any upper-division business courses.  If a student has earned 75 or more units and still has not completed all of the lower-division business preparatory courses then the student will not be able to register for any upper-division business courses until the lower-division business preparatory courses have been successfully completed with a C- or better.

Major Requirements

The courses in the accountancy major serve two purposes:

1. They give students a broad background in the major functional areas of business administration, i.e., the Business Component; and,

2. They allow students to focus on the field of accountancy, i.e., the Major Component. The accountancy major is recommended for students who desire careers in public accounting and who plan on taking the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Examination or for students interested in industry related accounting careers where the Certificate in Management Accounting (CMA) is desirable. This major is designed to meet all the accounting course requirements necessary to become a CPA in California. However, the BACC degree program will not provide the full 150 semester hours that are required to become California CPA. Students will need to complete a master’s degree or will need to complete additional semester hours beyond the BACC degree to meet the 150 semester hour CPA requirement.  

Grade Point Average Requirements and Transfer Restrictions

The 51 semester-hours taken within the Business Component courses and the Major Component will be considered the major courses for the Bachelor of Accountancy program. Students must have a grade point average of 2.0 or better in these major courses with a minimum grade of C– in all of the 27 semester hours of the upper division major. Additionally, all classes taken within the selected accountancy option must be completed with a grade point average of 2.0 or better, with no individual course grade below C–.

The accountancy major requires a minimum of 24 upper-division units in the major be completed at USD, of which 21 must be in the major component. Students in the Bachelor of Accountancy program may transfer no more than two courses in upper division accounting to USD.

Combined Bachelor of Accountancy/Master of Science in Accountancy or Bachelor of Accountancy/Master of Science in Taxation programs

Students may enroll in BACC/MACC or BACC/MTAX Combined Programs. Students in these combined programs may receive up to 12 semester hours of credit to double count toward both the BACC undergraduate and MACC/MTAX graduate degrees. This double counting process is only applicable to students in a combined program. If student should graduate with a BACC degree only (without having been admitted to the BACC/MACC or BACC/MTAX combined program) and return later for a MACC/MTAX degree then the student will not be able to retroactively double count these courses and would need to complete 30 semester hours to earn the MACC/MTAX degree.   

There are specific allowable double counting courses, which are offered only in the Fall or Spring semester. Courses that may double count are ACCT 425/MACC 525, ACCT 430/MACC 530, ACCT 431/MACC 531, ACCT 433/MACC 533, ACCT 435/MACC 535, ACCT 440/MACC 540, ACCT 445/MACC 545, ACCT 460/MACC 560, ACCT 461/MACC 561, ACCT 462/MACC 562, ACCT 464/MACC 564, ACCT 465/MACC 565, and ACCT 485/MACC 585.. Double counted courses will count only as general electives for the bachelor's degree. Prerequisites must be met in order to take these courses. Permission to register for these specific cross-listed courses as a BACC only student must be approved by the Academic Director of Graduate Accountancy Programs.