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The BS in Accounting degree program from Illinois College prepares you to start an in-demand corporate accounting career or enter a graduate program.

If you are interested in taking the CPA exam, our program will prepare you to meet all requirements. You can also complement our traditional four-year accounting degree program by staying to earn the 150 credit hours CPA requirements necessary to tackle the CPA qualifying exams.

100% of Illinois College accounting students are employed in their field or accepted to graduate school within three months of graduation. If you’re looking for greater flexibility, we also offer an online accounting degree program.

In Our Accounting Program You Will Learn To:

  • Analyze data
  • Solve problems
  • Think critically
  • Communicate financial information to various audiences

Accounting Program Highlights

In our accounting degree program, you will have access to tutoring, a helpful library staff, and counseling. You can also participate in our vibrant campus life, including an investment club where you learn how to invest real money in the stock market.

Other benefits of our BS in Accounting program include:

Hands-On Learning

Internships and hands-on learning will prepare you for immediate entry into the professional workforce. Working alongside industry professionals, you will gain experience measuring, analyzing, and communicating the financial health of organizations to managers, investors, creditors, and regulators.

Additionally, you will have the opportunity to hone your finance skills by investing over $1 million in real dollars through the Investment Club. This unique student organization has visited the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis and traveled to network at major companies the group invests in, such as Boeing and Anheuser-Busch, to apply their classroom knowledge to real-world situations.

Scholarships

We offer several grants and scholarships for all IC students through our Advantage Plus program. Illinois College works with you and your family to make your education affordable because we invest in you. You will find IC as affordable as other four-year institutions, both public and private — plus you have all the advantages of IC’s 200 years of innovation.

Earn a Double Major

You may want to consider complementing your bachelor’s in accounting with a double major in another area of business like Finance, Business Administration, or Management, which requires only an additional 24 credit hours but could greatly enhance your employment options. Other students double major or minor in Spanish, criminal justice, music, or psychology to open up new career possibilities or explore interests.  IC’s 80 majors and programs unlock endless possibilities for your future.

Student-Centered Community

You will be assigned an academic advisor who is a professor in the accounting program. Advisors offer career advice, often oversee internships, and can write recommendation letters or act as references.

As a business student, you will also have the option of taking the course IC 421: Graduate READY: Career Strategies. Here you will learn how to search for jobs or graduate programs, practice and perfect interview skills, fine-tune your resume, and develop strategies to begin an entry-level job or graduate program.

Members of our Career Readiness team can also review your resume, complete mock interviews, find internships, and help you connect your co-curricular learning to job-related skills. 

Career Opportunities for Accounting Program Graduates

Our accounting degree helps you Graduate READY for accounting careers in a variety of businesses. In fact, 100% of accounting students are employed in an accounting profession or in graduate school within three months of graduation.

Because you can take an additional fifth year to meet CPA requirements, many of our alumni also choose to take this exam.

Recent accounting alumni can be found working at some of the top companies in the country, such as:

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, accountants and auditors earn on average $78,000 per year. Meeting CPA requirements can improve your earning potential and job prospects.

“Illinois College offered me a way to take what I have learned in classes and apply that to the real world. I developed leadership skills as well as the ability to talk about information important in my field.” -Dominic Caldieraro ’20

BS in Accounting Requirements and Courses

In our accounting program, you will get the support you need in small classes led by expert, supportive faculty members who incorporate years of field experience into their lessons.

Not only does our BS in Accounting prepare you for an accounting career, you will also gain the background you need to pursue a variety of other careers in business. 

Through the bachelor’s in accounting curriculum, you’ll explore field essentials and become proficient in key topics, including:

  • Economics
  • Financial accounting
  • Concepts of auditing
  • Income tax
  • Business ethics
  • Risk assessment
  • Statistics

Our capstone accounting program course gives you relevant industry experience that will enhance your ability to secure a high-quality job in your chose industry.

Programs Related to the Bachelor's in Accounting

Get Started in the BS in Accounting Program

Now is the time to begin your journey towards a career in accounting or business.

Apply to our bachelor’s in accounting program: Whether you’re a high school student or looking to transfer to IC, want you to succeed inside and outside of the classroom, so we look at more than test scores in our review process. We make sure your application process is easy and the review quick.