The University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School will launch an online version of the school's Master of Accounting program.
Where the in-class program is 12 months long, the new online format is 15 months long. The program will mix online classes with some face-to-face immersion in Chapel Hill; a three-month long internship is also required.
The online version of the program will feature the same curriculum as the in-class format. Core curriculum includes classes ranging from the highly quantitative – "Financial Reporting," and "Cost Accounting" – to courses that help students develop their soft skills – "Personal Communication," and "Leadership, Ethics & Professionalism."
UNC sees the new online program as a way to meet workplace demand for more Master of Accounting graduates. "Historically, firms have wanted to hire more of our graduates, but space constraints prevented us from increasing the program’s size," says Kenan-Flagler's dean Douglas A. Shackelford. "Technology now lets us increase access to a UNC education for even more talented people and meet the demand from companies who want to hire them."
To expand their offerings, some American business schools have, over the last few years, started to deliver master's-level business courses in online formats. Last year, for instance, Georgetown's McDonough School of Business launched an online Master of Science in Finance; just this year, online MBA programs were announced by New Mexico State University, Louisiana Tech University, and Baylor University.
Although admissions requirements have not been announced for UNC's new online Master of Accounting program, the in-class version does not require work experience, but applicants need to take either the GMAT or the GRE. UNC encourages liberal arts majors to apply. The program is set to launch in July 2015.
For more information, please see the UNC Kenan-Flagler press release announcing the launch of the online Master of Accounting program.
