Undergraduate Major & Minor - Accounting

Accounting is a term used to describe the process of gathering financial information and presenting it in a manner that will help users of that information make better decisions. Accountants are also frequently called upon to analyze financial information and provide important business advice.

The terms and definitions that have emerged from the discipline of accounting have become widely used within the industry. In fact, accounting is commonly described as the "language of business." Over the years, with the increased use of automation, the role of accountants has changed dramatically. Formerly regarded as simply number-crunchers, accountants have become recognized as valued business advisors and are important members of an organization's management team.

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Major & Minor Curriculum

View the full Accounting Major & Minor catalogs:

Four-year plan

Accounting Major Sample Plan

The APAS is the official method for tracking the completion of your specific degree requirements. Please be aware that there are multiple ways for students to progress through this major. This is just one sample. Students should work with their advisor to develop their individual plan.

Italic: course pre-requisites and co-requisites (designated by &)

Bold: Liberal Ed requirement

Print Plan

Freshman Year

Fall Semester

  • Econ 1165 Business Economics (Soc Sci) (4cr)
  • BA 2551 Business Statistics in R (Math) (4cr)
  • BA 1011 Leading Self & Teams (2cr)
  • BA 1021 Design Your Life (1cr)
  • Writ 1301 First Year Writing (4cr)

15 credits

Spring Semester

  • Acct 2051 Financial Reporting (4cr)
  • BA 2051 Solving Business Scenarios in Excel (2cr)
  • BA 2062 Powerful Problem Solving (2cr)
  • Design Your Career (1cr)
  • BA 2005 Corporate Responsibility & Ethics (Civ) (3cr) 
  • Liberal Ed (3-4cr)

15-16 credits

Sophomore Year

Fall Semester

Maroon Block I-Core

  • Mktg 3001 Principles of Marketing (3cr)
  • IDSc 3001 Information Systems & Digital Transformation (3cr)
  • BA 3001 Race, Power, & Justice in Business (RPJ) (3cr)
  • Acct 3001 Strategic Management Accounting (3cr)
  • BA 3051 Data-Driven Business Decisions (BA 2551 & BA 2051) (3cr)

15 credits

Spring Semester

Gold Block I-Core

  • Fina 3001 Finance Fundamentals (Acct 2051 & BA 2551) (3cr)
  • Mgmt 3004 Strategic Management (3cr)
  • SCO 3001 Sustainable Supply Chain Management (3cr)
  • HRIR 3021 Human Capital Management (3cr)
  • BA 3062 Impact Lab Project (BA 2062) (2cr)

14 credits

Declare a major: 
z.umn.edu/CarlsonDeclare

Junior Year

Fall Semester

  • BA 3551 Business Analytics (BA 2551 & BA 2051) (3cr)
  • Acct 5101 Intermediate Accounting (B- or better in Acct 2051 or passing the Acct5101 pretest) (4cr)
  • BLAW 3062 Contract Law & Corporate Regulation (2cr)
  • Liberal Ed (3-4cr)
  • Liberal Ed (3cr)

15-16 credits

Spring Semester

  • Acct 5102 Intermediate Accounting II (Acct 5101) (4cr) 
  • BA 3033W Business Communication (3cr)
  • Acct 5141 Financial Data Analytics (BA 2551) (2cr)
  • Acct 5135 Fundamentals of Federal Income Tax (Acct 2051) (4cr)
  • Liberal Ed (3cr)

16 credits

Senior Year

Fall Semester

  • Acct 5125W Auditing Principles & Procedures (Acct 5101) (4cr)
  • Acct elective (2cr)
  • Liberal Ed (4cr)
  • Elective (3-4cr)

15-16 credits

Spring Semester

  • Acct 5201 Intermediate Management Accounting (Acct 3001) (2cr)
  • Acct elective (2cr)
  • Elective (4cr)
  • Elective (4cr)
  • Elective (2-3cr)

14-15 credits

Total Credits Needed for Degree: 120

Note: Students must complete an international experience as part of the program requirements. Short-term programs or semester-length programs may be used to meet this requirement. Explore your options: z.umn.edu/CarlsonIE

 

Additional Information

  • Find the ACCT 5101: Intermediate Accounting I pretest for fulfilling pre-requisite requirements: ACCT 5101 pretest>>

Accounting is a term used to describe the process of gathering financial information and presenting it in a manner that will help users of that information make better decisions. Accountants are also frequently called upon to analyze financial information and provide important business advice, and play an important role in every type of organization, spanning size and industry. Accountants often perform a range of activities from creating and analyzing financial statements to evaluating a company’s efficiency and profitability. There are two career paths that Accountants often initially pursue: audit or tax. Audit focuses on analyzing and testing the financial statements of an organization in a team setting. Those in the tax industry may prepare tax forms and help in tax planning for individuals, estates, trusts, corporations, and partnerships. A major aspect of accounting is understanding the increasing compliance regulations enforced by the government, including controls over accounting information systems.

Sample careers for Accounting majors:

  • Public Accounting (Audit, Tax, and Advisory Services)
  • Government Accounting
  • Private Corporate Accounting (Controller, Internal Audit, Tax)

Companies/Orgs that hire Accounting students:

  • Public Accounting Firms (KPMG, PwC, Eide Bailly, Baker Tilly)
  • Public & Private Companies (Target, 3M, Cargill, Land O'Lakes)

FIND MORE ACCOUNTING KEY CAREER INFO

Contact Undergraduate Program