Online Certificate in Accounting

The post-baccalaureate undergraduate Certificate in Accounting is designed for individuals who want an extensive knowledge of accounting and hold bachelor’s degrees in other fields. Additionally, graduates are well-qualified to sit for the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination in Virginia. Candidates for the certificate are required to complete 16 courses (48 credit hours). A maximum of eight courses (24 credit hours) may be waived if equivalent courses have been completed as part of a bachelor’s degree. A minimum of 24 credit hours of study must be taken at VCU after acceptance into the certificate program.

Learning outcomes

Upon completing this program:

• Graduates will demonstrate a broad base of knowledge across accounting topics and be able to apply that knowledge in a variety of contexts.
• Graduates will demonstrate an understanding of the core business and strategic concepts involved in accounting.
• Graduates will demonstrate the ability to identify and communicate accounting ethical issues; evaluate information in a manner free of distortion, personal bias or conflicts of interest; recognize situations where professional ethical standards apply; respect confidentiality.
• Graduates will demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate ideas and analysis of accounting problems. Graduates will demonstrate this ability either in writing or in oral presentations (e.g., writing memos, thought papers or other types of business correspondence; presenting case analyses; etc.).

Special requirements

Students cannot be accepted into a program until they have completed all the requirements for their bachelor’s degree and have achieved a minimum GPA of 2.5 in their undergraduate work.

After acceptance in the program, certificate candidates are required to complete a minimum of 24 credit hours of their program at VCU.

Academic regulations for School of Business post-baccalaureate undergraduate certificates can be found in the school’s Undergraduate information section of this bulletin.

All upper-level accounting courses with a prerequisite course require a minimum grade of C in the prerequisite course and the following must be fulfilled:

• Students must have received a minimum grade of C in all required accounting courses.
• Required accounting courses in which students earn a grade of D or F must be repeated.
• Students must achieve a 2.5 GPA in upper-level ACCT courses to graduate.

The VCU Bulletin is the official source for academic course and program information.

Program Website Curriculum