Admissions Criteria & Requirements

The faculty of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan seeks qualified applicants who exemplify evidence of sound scholarship and management potential. The School accepts applications from graduates of accredited colleges and universities in virtually all areas of study:  business, liberal arts, social sciences, physical sciences, engineering, and others.

The Admissions Committee bases its decisions on the applicant's overall academic record, the applicant's grades in the prerequisite courses listed below, Graduate Management Admissions Test scores, letters of recommendation, responses to essay questions, involvement in extra-curricular activities, and other indications of aptitude and readiness for graduate work in accounting. You must provide evidence of sound scholarship, responsibility, and leadership potential in management.

Individuals who have already earned an U.S. bachelor's degree in accounting, a MAcc or an equivalent degree from another institution, whether accredited or unaccredited, may or may not be eligible to apply depending on the number of accounting courses taken through these programs.  If you are concerned about your eligibility to apply to our MAcc program, please contact the Program Director directly at rossmacc@umich.edu.  We discourage applications from those who have already completed substantial course work in other graduate accounting programs. No previous course work will transfer to the MAcc program. Students admitted to the MAcc program may not be simultaneously enrolled in another graduate program. We also reserve the right to review the academic records of international applicants and to determine whether the academic credentials presented from a non-U.S. institution qualify for consideration.

Candidates are required to satisfy each of the following six pre-enrollment requirements (University of Michigan courses in bold). All enrollment requirements must be completed with a grade of C or better.

1. Principles of Financial Accounting (ACC 271, or equivalent)
2. Principles of Managerial Accounting (ACC 272, or equivalent)
3. Intermediate Financial Accounting (ACC 312, or equivalent)
4. Intermediate Cost Accounting (ACC 315, or equivalent)
5. Principles of Microeconomics (Econ 101 or equivalent)
6. Statistics (300 - 400 level) (OMS 301 or Stat 350 or Econ 404/405/406, or equivalent)

Please note that the Intermediate Financial Accounting course is one course at the University of Michigan. However, at other schools, this course may be broken up into two or three separate courses. You are required to take the equivalent of the University of Michigan's course, which would be the two to three courses.

MAcc applicants who list non-University of Michigan accounting courses as potential MAcc program prerequisites should submit both official course syllabi and course descriptions (from official university publications) for those courses. We reserve the right to review such courses in order to determine their equivalency to the MAcc prerequisite courses we offer at the University of Michigan. We do not accept community college accounting courses as fulfillment of our prerequisites. These accounting prerequisites must be taken at an approved 4-year university.

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is required. The test is administered throughout the world. Test scores are valid for five years from the test date; scores more than five years old are not accepted. We encourage you to take the GMAT when you are ready.  Please note it can take 4 to 5 weeks to receive the scores.

International students who have not attended school within the United States must also submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)*. Those international applicants who have worked in the US full-time for two or more years, or who have received a degree from an institution in which the curriculum is taught exclusively in English, may waive the TOEFL requirement. TOEFL scores expire after two years; score reports from tests taken more than two years before the application deadline cannot be accepted for application.

*A minimum score of 100 on the ibt must be obtained to have your application considered.