Chaifetz School students do more than learn about business - they experience it. Through a hands-on, career-focused curriculum, #BusinessBillikens develop tangible skills and gain practical experience that prepare them for success before graduation.
St. Louis is home to nine Fortune 500 companies, a Federal Reserve Bank and the #2 rising start-up scene in America according to Forbes. The Chaifetz School's location in the heart of city means endless opportunities for #BusinessBillikens.
Accounting is the language of business decision-making and is a primary means of organizational communication. The accountant’s role has changed substantially over the past decade. Today, accountants are actively involved in the analysis and interpretation of financial data and work with other executives in decision-making and problem-solving activities.
The accounting major offered by Saint Louis University's Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business will help you develop strong technical and professional accounting skills, including communication, problem-solving and analytical skills.
SLU's accounting graduates have a long history of success on the CPA exam, with pass rates exceeding both the Missouri and national averages. Many of our graduates have passed all parts of this important exam on their first attempt.
Students may also choose to pursue the accounting minor in addition to their chosen major.
SLU students may choose to graduate from the accounting program with the 120-credit bachelor's degree; however, those who plan to take the CPA examination are required to complete 150 college credits as a prerequisite for taking the exam in most states.
Students may accumulate the 150 required credits in several ways:
The GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) requirement for entry into the Master of Accounting program will be waived for accounting undergraduates with a minimum 3.40 cumulative SLU grade point average (GPA). The Department of Accounting also offers an Accounting Scholars Program for qualified incoming freshmen.
Internships/Student Organizations
St. Louis' metropolitan location provides many accounting internship opportunities, allowing students to gain career-related work experience while applying classroom knowledge to practice. Most internships are paid, and students may earn academic credit. Supervised by both a representative from the organization and a faculty mentor, SLU's accounting students have interned with entities such as public accounting firms, corporations, financial institutions and governmental agencies.
The Saint Louis University chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, an international scholastic and professional honor society for financial information professionals, provides a vital link between students and the accounting profession. The chapter presents numerous guest speakers from various disciplines and industries each semester. Membership offers students opportunities to establish networking relationships with potential employers. The chapter is regularly recognized for its continued excellence.
In a survey of SLU's most recent accounting graduates, 100 percent reported they were satisfactorily occupied. They join a global network of nearly 20,000 alumni from the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business.
Possible career paths for graduates with an undergraduate degree in accounting from SLU include:
Begin your application for this program at www.slu.edu/apply. Saint Louis University also accepts the Common App.
All applications are thoroughly and carefully reviewed. Solid academic performance in college preparatory coursework is a primary criterion in reviewing a freshman applicant’s file.
To be considered for admission to any Saint Louis University undergraduate program, the applicant must be graduating from an accredited high school, have an acceptable HiSET exam score or take the General Education Development (GED) test. Beginning with the 2021-22 academic year, undergraduate applicants will not be required to submit standardized test scores (ACT or SAT) in order to be considered for admission. Applicants will be evaluated equally, with or without submitted test scores.
Begin your application for this program at www.slu.edu/apply.
Applicants must be a graduate of an accredited high school or have an acceptable score on the GED. An official high school transcript and official test scores are required only of those students who have attempted fewer than 24 transferable semester credits (or 30 quarter credits) of college credit. Those having completed 24 credits or more of college credit need only submit a transcript from previously attended college(s).
Transfer students must have a cumulative 2.70 GPA to be admitted to the accounting program and a 2.50 GPA for all other majors. In reviewing a transfer applicant’s file, the office of admission holistically examines the student’s academic performance in college-level coursework as an indicator of the student’s ability to meet the academic rigors of Saint Louis University.
Begin your application for this program at www.slu.edu/apply.
All admission policies and requirements for domestic students apply to international students along with the following:
There are two principal ways to help finance a Saint Louis University education:
For priority consideration for merit-based scholarships, apply for admission by Dec. 1 and complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 1.
For information on other scholarships and financial aid, visit the student financial services office online at https://www.slu.edu/financial-aid.
The Saint Louis University Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the world’s largest business education alliance and accrediting body of business schools, ensuring continuous quality improvement in terms of curriculum, instructional resources, student selection, career placement and intellectual contributions and qualifications of the faculty. Fewer than 5% of business schools worldwide have achieved AACSB accreditation.
The accounting program is also separately accredited by the AACSB, one of only 190 schools to have earned this distinction.
Twenty-one credits in addition to ACCT 2200 Financial Accounting (3 cr) and ACCT 2220 Accounting for Decision Making (3 cr), which are taken as business CBK requirements. Accounting students must earn a grade of “C” or higher in all courses used to fulfill major requirements and a minimum 2.70 cumulative SLU GPA is a prerequisite for all 3000 and 4000 level accounting courses. (All courses are three credits.)
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Business Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) | 45 | |
Arts and Sciences Core Requirements | 48 | |
Accounting Major *, † | ||
ACCT 3110 | Financial Reporting I | 3 |
ACCT 3220 | Cost Management | 3 |
ACCT 4110 | Financial Reporting II | 3 |
ACCT 4250 | Accounting Information Systems | 3 |
ACCT 4300 | Federal Income Tax I | 3 |
ACCT 4400 | Auditing | 3 |
ITM 2500 | Spreadsheet and Database Productivity | 3 |
Electives in Business or Other Areas ‡ | 6 | |
Total Credits | 120 |
* | In addition to completing lower and upper division coursework in all areas of business, each student typically selects a business major before or during the first semester of the junior year. Required credits vary between 18-21 credits and are determined by the appropriate department. To broaden their expertise, students may complete more than one major in business, or a major and a minor in business. However, where courses overlap between two business majors, the course may be counted only once and credited to one functional area, i.e. Sports Marketing may be used in either the Marketing major or the Sports Business major but not both. |
† | Students in the Integrated Accounting Program are required to take MGT 4500 Legal Environment of Business II (3 cr), during the last semester of master’s level coursework. |
‡ | Electives may be selected from any area of study within the University, giving the student the opportunity to diversify his/her background. |
Accounting students who have commenced their major coursework will be on program probation if their cumulative SLU grade point average (GPA) falls below a 2.70. Students will have one semester to increase their cumulative SLU GPA to a 2.70; if not, students will not be allowed to register for 3000 or 4000 level accounting courses.
Students will be automatically placed on University probation if any of the following occur:
During the probationary period, advisors help students achieve academic success by closely monitoring their academic performance. In order to improve scholastically and demonstrate the ability to make progress toward a degree, students on University probation may not register for more than 12 credits of coursework in the fall and spring semesters, three credits in the winter term, and no more than one course/four credits in any single summer session term.
The conditions under which a student is dismissed from the school include:
For more information, see the University Academic Policies and Procedures section.
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
ACCT 2200 | Financial Accounting | 3 |
ACCT 2220 | Accounting for Decision Making | 3 |
BIZ 1000/1001 | Business Foundations | 1 |
BIZ 1002 | Business Foundations Excel Lab | 0 |
BIZ 3000 | Career Foundations | 1 |
BIZ 4000 | Business Capstone 1 | 1 |
ECON 1900 | Principles of Economics | 3 |
ECON 3120 | Intermediate Macroeconomics | 3 |
ECON 3140 | Intermediate Microeconomics | 3 |
FIN 3010 | Principles of Finance | 3 |
IB 2000 | Introduction to International Business | 3 |
ITM 2000 | Information Technology with Supply Chains | 3 |
MGT 2000 | Legal Environment of Business I | 3 |
MGT 3000 | Management Theory and Practice | 3 |
MGT 4000 | Strategic Management and Policy 1 | 3 |
MKT 3000 | Introduction to Marketing Management | 3 |
OPM 2070 | Introduction to Business Statistics | 3 |
OPM 3050 | Introduction to Management Science and Operations Management | 3 |
Total Credits | 45 |
1 | All other Business CBK courses must be completed prior to taking BIZ 4000 Business Capstone (1 cr) and MGT 4000 Strategic Management and Policy (3 cr). |
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
ENGL 1900 | Advanced Strategies of Rhetoric and Research 2 | 3 |
Select one of the following: | 3 | |
Conflict, Social Justice and Literature | ||
Faith, Doubt and Literature | ||
Nature, Ecology & Literature | ||
Gender, Identity & Literature | ||
Technology, Media & Literature | ||
Film, Culture and Literature | ||
Nation, Identity and Literature | ||
Foreign Language Literature | ||
Select one of the following: 3 | 3 | |
Business and Professional Writing (strongly recommended) | ||
English Literature | ||
Fine Arts (Art, Art History, Dance, Film Studies, Music, Theatre) | ||
CMM 1200 | Public Speaking 2 | 3 |
HIST 1110 | Origins of the Modern World to 1500 | 3 |
or HIST 1120 | Origins of the Modern World (1500 to Present) | |
PSY 1010 | General Psychology | 3 |
Select two additional courses from the following: | 6 | |
African American Studies | ||
American Studies | ||
Anthropology | ||
History | ||
Political Science | ||
Psychology | ||
Sociology | ||
Women's and Gender Studies | ||
MATH 1200 | College Algebra 4 | 3 |
MATH 1320 | Survey of Calculus 2 | 3 |
Natural Science course | 3 | |
One additional Math or Natural Science course 5 | 3 | |
PHIL 1050 | Introduction to Philosophy: Self and Reality | 3 |
PHIL 2050 | Ethics | 3 |
THEO 1000 | Theological Foundations | 3 |
THEO 2xxx | Theology course | 3 |
Total Credits | 48 |
2 | Must be completed by the end of the sophomore year in order to enroll in business courses junior year. MATH 1510 Calculus I (0,4 cr) or higher-level calculus course may be substituted for MATH 1320 Survey of Calculus (3 cr). |
3 | Upper division foreign language may be substituted; however, students for whom English is a second language may not complete this requirement in their native language. |
4 | Students who place out of MATH 1200 College Algebra (0,3 cr) (based on a Math Index score) must replace it with another approved math course. |
5 | MATH course must be approved. |
To be certified for graduation, a student must complete all course requirements and meet all of the following conditions:
* | Students may pursue the Economics, International Business or Marketing majors at the St. Louis campus and/or at the Madrid campus. The residency requirement then applies to courses taken at either campus. |
Roadmaps are recommended semester-by-semester plans of study for programs and assume full-time enrollment unless otherwise noted.
Courses and milestones designated as critical (marked with !) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation. Transfer credit may change the roadmap.
This roadmap should not be used in the place of regular academic advising appointments. All students are encouraged to meet with their advisor/mentor each semester. Requirements, course availability and sequencing are subject to change.
Year One | ||
---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | |
MATH 1200 | College Algebra | 3 |
BIZ 1000/1002 | Business Foundations | 1 |
ENGL 1900 | Advanced Strategies of Rhetoric and Research 1 | 3 |
Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Spring | ||
MATH 1320 or MATH 1510 |
Survey of Calculus 1 or Calculus I |
3 |
ECON 1900 | Principles of Economics | 3 |
OPM 2070 | Introduction to Business Statistics | 3 |
CMM 1200 | Public Speaking 1 | 3 |
Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
Credits | 15 | |
Year Two | ||
Fall | ||
ACCT 2200 | Financial Accounting | 3 |
ITM 2000 | Information Technology with Supply Chains | 3 |
IB 2000 | Introduction to International Business | 3 |
Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
Credits | 15 | |
Spring | ||
ACCT 2220 | Accounting for Decision Making | 3 |
BIZ 3000 | Career Foundations 3 | 1 |
MGT 2000 | Legal Environment of Business I | 3 |
ECON 3120 or ECON 3140 |
Intermediate Macroeconomics or Intermediate Microeconomics |
3 |
ITM 2500 | Spreadsheet and Database Productivity (Major) | 3 |
Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Year Three | ||
Fall | ||
ACCT 3110 | Financial Reporting I (Major) 4 | 3 |
ECON 3120 or ECON 3140 |
Intermediate Macroeconomics or Intermediate Microeconomics |
3 |
FIN 3010 | Principles of Finance | 3 |
MKT 3000 | Introduction to Marketing Management | 3 |
Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
Credits | 15 | |
Spring | ||
ACCT 4110 | Financial Reporting II (Major) 4 | 3 |
ACCT 4300 | Federal Income Tax I (Major) 4 | 3 |
OPM 3050 | Introduction to Management Science and Operations Management | 3 |
Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
Credits | 15 | |
Year Four | ||
Fall | ||
ACCT 4250 | Accounting Information Systems (Major) 4 | 3 |
ACCT 4400 | Auditing (Major) 4 | 3 |
MGT 3000 | Management Theory and Practice | 3 |
Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
Credits | 15 | |
Spring | ||
ACCT 3220 | Cost Management (Major) 4 | 3 |
MGT 4000 | Strategic Management and Policy 5 | 3 |
BIZ 4000 | Business Capstone 5 | 1 |
Elective | 3 | |
Elective | 3 | |
Credits | 13 | |
Total Credits | 120 |
1 | Must have completed by end of sophomore year |
2 | See list of A&S core required for business students |
3 | Must take 2nd semester sophomore year unless studying abroad |
4 | Must have SLU cumulative gpa of 2.7 |
5 | Must have completed all other Business Common Body of Knowledge courses |