Public Accounting

Degree Options: Major
Locations: Rose Hill
Visit the Accounting Area

120-credit-hour undergraduate degree program, with the option of a 30-credit master’s degree afterward

Value integrity and independence above all? Public accounting has a role for you.

Two students looking at screen with financial data - LG

Licensed accountants keep the wheels of business in motion—with integrity.

Fordham’s public accounting major combines comprehensive knowledge and skill development with the ethical eye that will help you bring out the best in the field.

You’ll learn accounting, auditing, tax, and advisory services for the private and public sectors. You’ll understand the crucial role that licensed accountants can play in a robust economy by providing unbiased, independent assessments of businesses, organizations, and individuals.

Plan to take the CPA exam someday? The public accounting major will put you on your way: During your four years of college, you will earn 120 of the 150 educational credit hours that New York State requires before you seek a CPA license. (You can earn the last 30 credits at Fordham, too, through one of our dual-degree programs that allows you to earn both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years.)

If you want to major in accounting, the Gabelli School’s program at the Rose Hill campus is the right choice for you. (There is no accounting major through our Lincoln Center undergraduate program.) Rose Hill accounting students have access to excellent career coaching and industry-specific advice through one of our assistant directors of career advising, who established a long-standing career in accounting and taxation before coming to work at Fordham.

The Gabelli School of Business is considered one of the top business schools in the U.S. for a reason. (For a lot of reasons.) Our dual core curriculum—half business, half liberal arts—makes Fordham business graduates unique: knowledgeable about global commerce, but also keenly aware of the human factor in every deal.

  • World-class internships are just a train ride away. Fordham students often graduate with four or five internships on their résumés from major companies, including:

    • Deloitte
    • EY
    • Goldman Sachs
    • J.P. Morgan
    • KPMG
    • Lord & Taylor
    • MTV/Viacom
    • PwC
    • RSM
    • Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

    More than 75 percent of Gabelli graduates who got job offers before graduation reported that their internship led directly to the full-time placement.

    Top accounting students can qualify for honors programs, which can offer advantages such as:

    • International travel
    • Special coursework
    • Close-knit cohort of very intelligent fellow students
    • Regular meetings with top New York-based executives

    Beta Alpha Psi, the financial services honor society, and the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting meet on campus.

  • Advanced Concepts in Financial Accounting
    Commercial Transactions
    Advanced Assurance and Auditing
    Corporate and Partnership Taxation
    Accounting Research Seminar
    Ethics in Financial Reporting and Accounting

  • Public accounting majors have a wide range of career paths to choose from in the private and public sectors. This is true of our 150-credit public accountancy program, too. Graduates of both programs may find themselves:

    • Conducting independent audits on businesses for banks and investors
    • Preparing taxes for clients and representing them to the IRS
    • Analyzing, designing, and implementing financial systems in businesses
    • Advising on mergers and acquisitions
    • Testifying in court

    Students in all Gabelli School accounting programs benefit from:

    • Résumé development and interviewing practice
    • Networking skill development
    • Hands-on case-study sessions with industry executives
    • Field-specific advising/coaching
    • Post-graduation career search assistance

    You also get access to our powerful (and Fordham-loyal) alumni network.

Learn More About the Public Accounting Degree

Visit the Accounting and Taxation Area