Accounting Bachelor of Science Degree

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In RIT’s BS accounting degree, you’ll learn to determine an organization’s wealth, profitability, and liquidity as you guide short- and long-term financial business decisions.

100%

Outcomes Rate of RIT Graduates from this Accounting BS degree

$64.8K

Average First-Year Salary of RIT Graduates from this Accounting BS degree

#14

Best Accounting School in New York State

College Factual, 2025

#59

Best Undergraduate Business Schools

Poets&Quants, 2025

2 in 5

Earn two degrees in five years with the accelerated BS/MS accounting degree

Overview for Accounting BS

Why Pursue an Accounting Bachelor’s Degree at RIT

  • Strong Career Paths: Network with professionals from the Big Four and regional accounting firms when you join RIT's student chapter of the Next Generation of Accountants.
  • Pursue Your CPA: Get started on the right path to completing specific requirements of the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification.
  • Alumni Relationships: Connect with Saunders alumni and key professionals through the Accounting Advisory Board.
  • Career Connections: Attend RIT’s accounting career fair to connect with representatives in finance and banking, and interview directly for open co-op and permanent employment positions.
  • Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Available: Earn both your bachelor’s and your master’s in less time and with a cost savings, giving you a competitive advantage in your field.

Accountants are multidisciplinary professionals. They are responsible for determining an organization's overall wealth, profitability, and liquidity. Without accounting, organizations would have no foundation upon which daily and long-term business decisions could be made.

What is Accounting?

From technology and entertainment and travel and government, accounting is a key function to all businesses. It’s the collection, organization, and analysis of data that can reveal the financial state of a business. It can tell a company how well its products and services are performing, and if the products are making a profit. Financial data can help accountants make short- and long-term projections and estimate an organization’s tax liabilities. Accounting also helps an organization plan for its future. Short- and long-term profit projections can help guide an organizations’ growth and in which areas new employees will be needed. It can also help guide decision-making on which product lines to change and grow and which to downsize or eliminate. Accounting is essential to understanding which areas of your business are making money and which are not.

Explore RIT’s Accounting Degree Curriculum

RIT’s BS accounting degree covers financial and managerial accounting disciplines, while:

  • Introducing you to the technology used within the profession
  • Developing account management and service skills, using digital tools to communicate with, attract and retain clients.
  • Exposing you to courses in the liberal arts, sciences, and management
  • Leveraging our nationally ranked management information systems (MIS) major to give you the technical skills needed to design, operate, and control accounting information systems

Accounting Certifications: How to Become a CPA

The accounting bachelor’s degree starts you on the right path to completing specific requirements of the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification. Additional graduate work is required in order to fulfill New York State CPA exam requirements. Students who complete the 24-credit hour minimum at the bachelor’s degree level will need to complete at least nine credit-hours of graduate accounting courses in order to meet the requirements to sit for the exam. Students completing 30 undergraduate-level accounting credit hours may only need one graduate accounting course to meet NYS CPA exam eligibility rules.

While the CPA license is not required to work in the field of accounting it is highly recommended for students. Learn more about becoming a CPA, CPA requirements, the CPA Exam, and other certifications.

The BS accounting program prepares students for success, as demonstrated by CPA Exam passing rates for RIT students that are consistently above passing rates overall and for all New York state candidates.

Furthering Your Education in Accounting

RIT’s Combined Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degrees enable you to earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in as little as five years, giving you a competitive advantage.

  • The Accounting BS/Accounting and Analytics MS: In this accelerated dual degree, you'll combine a BS degree in accounting with an MS degree in accounting and analytics to gain a solid accounting background while enhancing your knowledge of the accounting technologies that will help you analyze an organization's data so you can gain significant insights, predict future outcomes, and ascertain risk.
  • +1 MBA Early Acceptance Pathway: Successful RIT applicants who are offered admission into the accounting bachelor’s degree as an incoming first-year student may also be offered conditional early acceptance into the +1 MBA Early Acceptance Pathway. This option enables you to earn both your BS degree and an MBA in as little as five years of study. Learn how the +1 MBA Early Acceptance Pathway adds a competitive advantage to your studies.
  • +1 MBA: Students who enroll in a qualifying undergraduate degree have the opportunity to add an MBA to their bachelor’s degree after their first year of study, depending on their program. Learn how the +1 MBA can accelerate your learning and position you for success.

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  • US News and World Report Badge for Best Undergraduate Business Programs for 2026.

    #77 Best Business Undergraduate Programs, 2026

    RIT’s business degrees are ranked among the Best Undergraduate Business Programs nationally.

    Find out why

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Careers and Experiential Learning

Typical Job Titles

Accountant Auditor Credit Card/Cashless Accountant
Financial Specialist Junior Accountant Senior Auditor
Tax Accountant

Industries

  • Accounting

  • Financial Services

  • Insurance
Post-Graduation Salary and Career Info for Accounting BS

Cooperative Education

What’s different about an RIT education? It’s the career experience you gain by completing cooperative education and internships with top companies in every single industry. You’ll earn more than a degree. You’ll gain real-world career experience that sets you apart. It’s exposure–early and often–to a variety of professional work environments, career paths, and industries.

Co-op takes your knowledge and turns it into know-how. Business co-ops provide hands-on experience that enables you to apply your knowledge of business, management, finance, accounting, and related fields in professional settings. You'll make valuable connections between course work and real-world applications as you build a network of professional contacts.

Students in the accounting BS are required to complete at least one cooperative education experience.

Accounting Career Fair

RIT’s Office of Career Services and Cooperative Education hosts an accounting-specific career fair that connects accounting majors with employers in finance and banking. During this day-long event, you’ll be able to network with company representatives and interview directly for open co-op and permanent employment positions.

Co-op and Experiential Learning Options for Accounting BS

Featured Work and Profiles

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Curriculum for 2025-2026 for Accounting BS

Current Students: See Curriculum Requirements

Admissions and Financial Aid

First-Year Admission

First-year applicants are expected to demonstrate a strong academic background that includes:

  • 4 years of English
  • 3 years of social studies and/or history
  • 3 years of math is required and must include algebra, geometry, and algebra 2/trigonometry. Pre-calculus is preferred.
  • 2-3 years of science

Transfer Admission

Transfer applicants should meet these minimum degree-specific requirements:

  • A minimum of college algebra is required. Pre-calculus or calculus is preferred.

Learn How to Apply

Financial Aid and Scholarships

100% of all incoming first-year and transfer students receive aid.

RIT’s personalized and comprehensive financial aid program includes scholarships, grants, loans, and campus employment programs. When all these are put to work, your actual cost may be much lower than the published estimated cost of attendance.
Learn more about financial aid and scholarships

FAQs

The primary difference between a bachelor of arts (BA) and a bachelor of science (BS) in accounting is the balance between technical depth and broad-based education. While both degrees provide a foundation for accounting careers, they differ in their curriculum focus and elective flexibility. 

Bachelor of Science (BS) in Accounting: Technical Focus

The BS is a specialized, technical degree designed for students seeking a deep dive into the mechanics of accounting and finance. 

  • Core Focus: Heavy emphasis on mathematics, statistics, and rigorous quantitative analysis. 
  • Curriculum: Prioritizes advanced technical topics like auditing, forensic accounting, and complex taxation.
  • Best For: Students aiming for CPA (Certified Public Accountant) licensure or roles in high-level corporate finance. It typically aligns more closely with the 150-hour credit requirement for CPA exams.

Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Accounting: Broad Focus

The BA is a flexible degree that integrates accounting principles with a liberal arts foundation.

  • Core Focus: Blends accounting courses with humanities, social sciences, and communication.
  • Curriculum: Offers more room for electives in fields like history, languages, or political science, fostering a well-rounded business perspective.
  • Best For: Students interested in the "why" behind the numbers or those planning to work in consulting, non-profits, or management where a broader educational background is an asset.

Pro-Tip for Aspiring CPAs: While the BS is the traditional path, BA students can still become CPAs. However, they must strategically use their electives to meet the specific accounting-hour mandates required by their State Board of Accountancy.

Becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) requires a combination of targeted education, exam preparation, and licensure requirements. While a CPA license is not required to work in the accounting field, it is highly recommended for long-term career advancement and earning potential.

To earn a CPA license in New York State, candidates must fulfill strict educational thresholds to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination, pass the exam, and complete qualifying professional experience. Each state has its own eligibility requirements.

Educational Requirements for NYS CPA Exam Eligibility

New York State requires a total of 150 semester hours of college credit to obtain a CPA license. However, students can strategically bridge the gap between a bachelor's degree and exam eligibility through targeted graduate-level course work.

The path to exam eligibility varies based on undergraduate credit hours:

  • The 24-Credit Pathway (Standard Bachelor’s Degree): Students who complete the 24-credit hour minimum in accounting at the bachelor’s degree level must complete at least nine (9) credit hours of graduate accounting courses to meet NYS exam eligibility rules.
  • The 30-Credit Pathway (Extended Undergraduate Course Work): Students who complete 30 undergraduate-level accounting credit hours typically only need one (1) graduate accounting course to fulfill the state's exam requirements.

Preparing for the CPA Exam at RIT

RIT’s bachelor of science in accounting is specifically designed to prepare students for the rigors of CPA licensure.

As an accounting major you will take courses in:

  • Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, and Financial Accounting: This is where you will master the fundamentals of tracking and analyzing financial data, progressing from introductory courses to highly detailed intermediate-level reporting frameworks.
  • Personal and Small Business Taxation, Cost Accounting, and Auditing: You will study specialized accounting in the specific regulatory and operational sectors of the field, such as tax laws, external verification, and corporate budgeting. 
  • Information Systems and Technology, Accounting Information Systems, and Data Literacy, Analytics, and Decision Making: In these courses you will gain vital skills in leveraging technology for financial data tracking and organizational decision-making.
  • Financial Management, Principles of Marketing, Organizational Behavior, and Operations Management: Beyond accounting, RIT’s BS in accounting builds essential competencies in management, team leadership, marketing, and corporate governance.
  • Principles of Microeconomics/Macroeconomics, Applied Calculus, and Statistics: You will develop a strong analytical framework through foundational math, economics, and statistical models used to interpret market behaviors.
  • Business Planning and Professional Development; Law, Business, and Society; Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility, and Strategic Management: Gain the skills and knowledge that emphasize ethics, practical career readiness, regulatory compliance, and high-level corporate alignment.
  • Paid, Hands-on Professional Experience: Through at least one business co-op you’ll gain paid, professional work experience applying your skills directly to a position in a professional setting.

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Saunders College of Business