ATLANTA — Mercer University’s Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics will add to its degree offerings this fall, with a new Master of Accountancy and a combined Bachelor of Business Administration – Master of Business Administration degree on its Atlanta campus. The new degrees, which will both be evening programs, are targeted the growing group of professionals in the Atlanta area in need of career-focused programs to help them succeed.
The degree programs mark further gains for the up and coming business school, which was recently ranked No. 1 in the nation in “Opportunities for Women” by the Princeton Review.
“The new Master of Accountancy program has tremendous potential – with classes in the evening and with the ability to complete the degree in one year, potential students will find it very convenient,” said William “Skip” Mounts, interim dean of the Stetson School of Business. “The Master of Accountancy also links the very successful undergraduate accounting program in SSBE in Macon with SSBE in Atlanta. This is a wonderful example on how our two locations offers great opportunities for Mercer students.
“The evening joint degree program is very unique to the Atlanta market,” Mounts noted. “Students are able to access our fine undergraduate and graduate programs with great ease.”
“The combined degree provides an accelerated route to completing both the BBA and MBA by allowing qualified BBA students who meet increased admission standards the opportunity for early admission to the MBA program,” said Gina Miller, the Business School’s associate dean for Atlanta. “Students who are admitted to the MBA program through the dual degree program are not required to take the GMAT and permitted to take two graduate level courses in concert with undergraduate courses the last semester of their enrollment as undergraduates.”
Because of this combined degree feature, Miller notes, the total number of semester hours to complete the dual degree program is 150, down from 164 semester hours for the two degrees pursued separately. In the combined program, the BBA and MBA degrees are awarded concurrently at the end of the program, upon successful completion of all the program requirements.
The program will be offered in the evenings on the University’s Atlanta campus and capitalizes on existing course offerings from the current evening BBA and MBA degree programs and will deliver the two degrees in an accelerated format. The degree will be more attractive to the professional, part-time, evening students of the Atlanta metro area. The combined program is flexible in that it will accommodate transfer admission and those students desiring both the BBA and MBA degrees in a shorter/accelerated time frame.
The Master of Accountancy degree will be offered over one calendar year. The degree is a 30-semester program comprised of 10 courses. The degree is intended to provide students with the knowledge and skills consistent with a professional graduate degree. The program is designed to prepare students for careers in public or private accounting and enable them to achieve career advancement in the accounting profession. While providing an in-depth study in basic areas of accounting, through its electives, it permits specialization in one of two emphases: public accounting (including tax and financial accounting) and international accounting (relevant to public and private accounting). Participants in this program will already possess the BBA or other undergraduate degree and selected accounting course work prerequisites.
“We are offering the Master of Accountancy degree to prepare and enable students to pursue rewarding careers in both public and corporate accounting,” said Faye Sisk, director of graduate programs and associate professor of management. “The curriculum addresses the leading issues in domestic as well as international accounting practices and standards. In addition to meeting the academic hour requirements to qualify for the CPA exam, the graduates of this program will be open to limitless opportunities for advancement in global corporations.”
For more information, visit the degree programs section of the Stetson School of Business Web page at www.mercer.edu/business. Additionally, online applications for all degree programs are available on the Web site through the “Application” link within each degree program’s information page. To contact the Atlanta Office of Admissions call (678) 547-6417 or e-mail atlbusadm@mercer.edu.
About the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics at Mercer:
Established in 1984, the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics is the largest school within Mercer University, with more than 1,100 students in its bachelor’s, MBA, Professional MBA and Executive MBA programs. The School holds accreditation from the prestigious AACSB International — The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, considered the hallmark of excellence among the nation’s top business schools and placing it among the top 25 percent of all business schools in the world. For 2008, the Princeton Review recognized the School as No. 1 for “Greatest Opportunity for Women” and one of its “Best 290 Business Schools”
About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has 7,300 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah; three regional academic centers across the state; a university press; two teaching hospitals — Memorial Health University Medical Center and the Medical Center of Central Georgia; educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
— 30 —
