Professional Accountancy Program Overview
Our AACSB-accredited online Master of Professional Accountancy program uniquely prepares you to become a certified public accountant (CPA) by providing a broad foundation in accounting principles and business applications.
This flexible and cost-effective online program enables you to master both traditional and contemporary accounting practices and provides you with the critical-thinking and problem-solving skills required to adapt and thrive in rapidly changing business environments.
This 100% online program requires only 36 credit hours, all of which can be completed at your own pace in as little as a year. Each online course is taught by the same PhD business professionals who teach on campus.
CPA Preparation
Our Master of Professional Accountancy program provides 150 semester hours and has college credits available in three specific areas – business ethics, accounting research, and business communication. This program meets national CPA certification eligibility and meets the state requirements for Texas. If you live outside of Texas, please visit your state’s board of public accountancy to ensure that this program meets any requirements specific to your state.
In January 2024, the CPA will introduce a new format called the “core + discipline” model. This will allow candidates a greater ability to gear their exam toward their areas of interest. Our online Master of Professional Accountancy program prepares students for this upcoming change.
Alumni Pathways
As a graduate of our online Master of Professional Accountancy program, you’ll have the skills and qualifications needed to excel at domestic and international business. Mastery of accounting, auditing, and management will make you highly sought after in a wide variety of industries, and those who earn their CPA certification will only improve their employment prospects.
Below are just a few of the businesses our alumni work for:
- Wells Fargo
- Chevron
- Whitley Penn
- Haynie & Company
- Ernst & Young
- Texas Education Agency
- Saulsbury Industries
Careers for Master of Professional Accountancy Graduates
Earning your Master of Professional Accountancy not only prepares you to sit for the CPA exam; it can also unlock opportunities for financial positions in a wide variety of industries. Some of the roles available for professionals with a Master of Professional Accountancy include:
Preparation Required for Conditional Admission – ECON 2301 and ECON 2302 can be taken in lieu of BUSI 6325. Required 12 credit hours.
Preparation Required for Unconditional Admission – ACCT 2301 and ACCT 2302 can be taken in lieu of ACCT 6301. Required 18 credit hours. 3.0 GPA Required
24 Hours Required
6 Hours Required – Please consult with your faculty advisor regarding courses.
6 hours are required. Select from the courses listed below or select any other graduate level School of Business course, except leveling classes, with approval of the student’s advisor. ACCT6301 Accounting Analysis is a prerequisite to FINA6320 Financial Management.
Admission Requirements
Regular Admission Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
- GPA of 3.00 or better in the last 60 credit hours
Conditional Admission
- Official transcripts certifying a bachelor’s degree awarded by an accredited college or university
- GPA between 2.99 and 2.5 in the last 60 credit hours of coursework leading to the baccalaureate degree
- 2 letters of recommendation or professional email references
- Allowed to take up to 12 credit hours of graduate work as advised, one course at a time, and must earn a B or better
- If student earns below a B, GMAT is required for readmission
- No elective course may be taken by a student in conditional status
Conditional Admission With Dean’s Approval
- Official transcripts certifying a bachelor’s degree awarded by an accredited college or university
- GPA between 2.49 and 2.25 in the last 60 credit hours of coursework leading to the baccalaureate degree
- GMAT with minimum score of 500 (based on GPA)
- Essay expressing interest may be requested
- 2 letters of recommendation or professional email references
- Allowed to take up to 12 credit hours of graduate work as advised, one course at a time, and must earn a B or better
- No elective course may be taken by a student in conditional status
Students granted conditional status will be changed to regular status upon successful completion of a minimum of 12 semester credit hours of Master of Professional Accountancy coursework with a grade of B or better in each course taken.
Official Transcripts
Copies of official transcripts must come directly from the school in a sealed envelope and can be mailed to:
UT Permian Basin
Graduate Studies Office
4901 E. University Blvd.
Odessa, TX 79762
Official transcripts in electronic format can be sent to gradstudies@utpb.edu.
Supporting Documents
All supporting documents related to a graduate program, such as letters of recommendation, essays, statements of interest, resumes, professional work experience, and awards should be sent to the Graduate Studies Office:
UT Permian Basin
Graduate Studies
4901 E. University Blvd.
Odessa, TX 79762-0001
Electronic versions of supporting documents may be emailed to gradstudies@utpb.edu.
Application Fee
The application fee is $40.
Veterans and Active Duty Military: Your application fee is waived for this program. Get details now.
Associate Dean
Associate Professor of Accounting
UT Permian Basin College of Business
counts_r@utpb.edu
Roy Wayne Counts, PhD, is an associate professor of accountancy and associate dean within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin. Graduating from Texas Tech University with his PhD in 2005, he joined UTPB from 2004-2010 and rejoined in Spring 2015. Prior to this, Dr. Counts served as faculty and taught at Oklahoma City University and Youngstown State University between 2010 and 2015. His research interests focus around income wages, social security, and factors affecting finance. His work has been published in the Journal of the Academy of Business and Economics, International Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance. Dr. Counts currently teaches the following courses within the accounting undergraduate program and the MPA program: Intermediate Accounting I, Federal Income Tax, and Energy Accounting.
“My interest in financial planning is what inspired me to specialize in tax accounting. Helping students to see how they can provide value-added services to clients is very rewarding. My passion is helping students get prepared for taking and passing the CPA exam.”
Assistant Professor of Accounting
College of Business
PhD, University of North Texas
MAAC, University of Hawaii at Manoa
MA, University of Hawaii at Manoa
MS, University of Hawaii at Manoa
nie_d@utpb.edu
Dongfang Nie, PhD, is an assistant professor of accountancy at the University of Texas Permian Basin. He started in the role of assistant professor at the College of Business in 2019 after having served as a research assistant and teaching fellow at the University of North Texas. His educational background includes a Master of Accountancy, Master of Arts in economics, Master of Science in financial engineering, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance, all earned from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His research interests include voluntary disclosures: non-GAAP reporting, management earnings forecasts, and auditing (fraud, bankruptcy, and audit committees). He has presented a conference paper at the American Accounting Association and has publications in Oil, Gas & Energy Quarterly.
“My interest in accounting comes from my business education. Accounting information, as a byproduct of business, plays an important role in business evaluation. Accounting information is the only public channel outsiders learn about a business. When I teach accounting, I always like to highlight the above important roles of accounting information and how students can make decisions based on accounting information.”
Assistant Professor of Accounting
College of Business
PhD, Texas Tech University
MS, University of Florida
MS, University of Alaska
xu_c@utpb.edu
Chunhao (Howard) Xu, PhD, is an assistant professor of accounting at The University of Texas Permian Basin. He started in the role of adjunct of the College of Business in 2020 after serving as a professor at Texas Tech University in 2019. His research interests include accounting information systems, auditing and data analysis; earnings management; financial statement disclosure; corporate governance; and tax archival. His research includes publications in the Journal of Information Systems, the Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Cold Regions Science and Technology, and the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. He has presented at conferences including the Society for Marketing Advances’ annual conference. He has served as a financial advisor, international audit manager, and senior associate for an analytic forensic technology team.
Assistant Professor
College of Business
PhD, Louisiana State University
Wanying Jiang, PhD, is an assistant professor of accounting at The University of Texas Permian Basin. She earned her PhD in Accounting from Louisiana State University in 2023. She is experienced in teaching financial accounting, cost accounting, and taxation. Her research interests encompass accounting information systems, auditing, and firm information disclosure. Dr. Jiang is dedicated to integrating data analytics, including machine learning and natural language processing, into research. Her research has been published in the Journal of Information Systems and the Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance, and she is a regular presenter at national and international academic conferences.
Assistant Professor
College of Business
PhD, Washington State University
Gurdeep Singh Raina (GS) is an assistant professor of management at The University of Texas Permian Basin. He received his PhD in Management from Washington State University. He also has an MBA in International Business, along with a bachelor’s in production engineering. His research focusses specifically on diversity in organizational leadership and how it impacts the performance. Besides strategic management, he has interest in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
GS brings over 14 years of experience in international marketing and strategy consulting in India, China, and Hong Kong to his classes. He believes that the combination of a real-world experience and in-class teaching is the best for knowledge building and skill development. He has varied interests outside of academia as well e.g., he serves on the board for two non-profit organizations, keeps close ties with the real business world to learn and share, and is involved with the community, while working on his first patent. GS also loves to travel and appreciate different regions, cultures, and cuisines.
We’re pleased to offer program admission on a rolling basis.
Rolling admission refers to our process of accepting and evaluating applications as we receive them and moving any applications that miss the deadline to the next semester. However, if you want to enroll in courses for a specific semester, you will need to make note of the application deadlines found below. If you don’t complete your application and submit the required materials by the deadline, your application will be rolled over to the next semester.
