Rice MAcc & Business Prerequisites

Educational Requirements for a Texas CPA License

The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (TSBPA) requires CPA candidates to complete 150 collegiate credit hours to sit for the CPA Exam. Of those 150 hours, 24 must come from qualifying related business courses.

The curriculum of Rice’s Master of Accounting program provides 9 of these related business credit hours. Therefore, incoming Rice MAcc students must have completed the remaining 15 credit hours before starting the program.

What are “Related Business” Courses?

Related business courses are non-accounting classes in business disciplines. The TSBPA groups these courses into the following subject areas:

1. Business Law
2. Economics
3. Management
4. Marketing
5. Business Communications or Accounting Communications
6. Statistics and Quantitative Methods
7. Information Systems or Technology
8. Other Areas Related to Accounting
9. Finance
10. Data Analytics

Two important caveats apply to these subject areas.

First, while courses in Economics and Statistics and Quantitative Methods may be taken at any course level, related business courses in all other subject areas must be upper-level courses (300-level or higher).

Second, the TSBPA allows no more than 6 credit hours from any one subject area to count toward the required 24 total credits, except for Finance and Data Analytics. In those two areas, up to 9 credit hours may be applied.

Keeping these caps in mind, carefully review your college transcript(s) to determine whether you have met the required 15 related business credit hours. Use the table of course requirements to account for the subject areas covered by the 9 related business credits in the Rice MAcc curriculum. For example, because the Rice MAcc program includes a 3-credit business law course, only 3 additional credits of business law taken prior to the program will count toward the “Business Law” category.

Lacking Related Business Credit Hours?

If you have completed a bachelor’s degree but are lacking 15 related business credit hours, you can take TSBPA-approved related business courses from a community college before beginning the Rice MAcc program. Applicants are welcome to consult the Rice MAcc Director Prof. Ben Lansford about approved community college courses.

The Final Decision on Qualifying “Related Business” Courses

Remember, the TSBPA itself makes the determination about which courses they will accept toward the related business requirement. Therefore, the sole way to be certain you have will have fulfilled the related business coursework requirements upon graduating from the Rice MAcc is by having the TSPBA formally review your academic transcripts. The TSPBA calls this transcript review process the “Application of Intent” (AOI).

All incoming students should submit their AOI before starting the Rice MAcc. You can find the AOI form on the TSBPA website here.

Looking to Sit for the CPA Exam Outside of Texas?

Although the CPA Exam itself is the same across the country, the educational requirements to be eligible for the exam vary from state to state. If you are planning to take the CPA Exam in a state other than Texas, research the educational requirements in your state of interest and consult Rice MAcc Program Director Prof. Ben Lansford for guidance.

Visit https://www.tsbpa.texas.gov for complete details about the TSPBA’s educational requirements to sit for the CPA Exam. Also refer to the “program prerequisites” section of our Rice MAcc FAQs page.

We encourage you to reach out to us with any questions or to find out whether the Rice MAcc program is a good fit for your career goals. Click here for more information about our admissions process.