Is a master of accountancy worth it under the new 120-credit CPA rule?
States adopting the 120-credit CPA pathway let candidates sit for the license with fewer university credits and less required work experience, making expensive MAcc programs hard to justify. Candidates find themselves torn between paying thousands of dollars out of pocket for a master's degree with recruitment perks versus entering the workforce immediately and grinding out credits from entry-level accounting jobs.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Finding another way to get the required credits
- 2Grinding out experience from entry-level roles like payroll or AR/AP
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Hello! I need some advice on a decision I need to make soon. For context, I am graduating next spring. I will have 130 credits. My state recently passed the 120-credit CPA pathway. I am evaluating two paths:”source ↗
“Accept a full-time Tax offer at a Big 4 firm. I would still need 2 years of work experience to get the CPA license.”source ↗
“Complete a 4+1 MAcc program at my current university (~$20k out of pocket, would graduate in Spring 2028). I would only need 1 year of work experience after the MAcc for the CPA license.”source ↗
“Anyway, I was accepted to a MAcc program in January, which would cost about $30k, which comes with benefits like recruitment opportunities and Becker up to 3 years after I graduate, but the debt is making me question the value of the program.”source ↗
“Basically do you think its worth it? Or should I find another way to get the credits and grind out from payroll or AR/AP somewhere?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Is switching to an accounting major worth it?
- 23What other career paths are there with an accounting degree?
- 2Scared about graduating with an accounting degree and forgetting everything
- 4Which entry-level accounting job offer should I take?
- 7How to get CPA accounting credits without another degree
- 7Should I switch from accounting to a 1-year nursing program?