This major offers the following option(s):

• Dean's Academy
• Information Security, Assurance, and Analytics
• International Business

Also available via Ecampus from Fall 2023.

The Accountancy degree at OSU prepares students for high-demand careers in accounting, business and consulting. Our program combines core accounting principles with technology, analytics, qualitative skills, quantitative skills, and critical thinking to help students develop the knowledge and abilities necessary to compete in a rapidly changing business environment. We want our students to be future leaders and key decision makers in their firms, and many recruiters seek our Accountancy majors for internships and full-time positions.

Accountancy students learn the language of business through their interactions with faculty who emphasize both the theoretical and applied aspects of accounting. The faculty in accounting are recognized for their teaching innovations and cutting-edge research. The Accountancy program is ranked in the top 10 universities worldwide for research in accounting systems, and our faculty bring their research and business experience into the classroom. The Accountancy program is also accredited by the AACSB.

Accountancy students must meet all university and college core requirements and progression standards.  Students also complete a minimum of 60 credits in upper-division courses (300–400 level) and a minimum of 180 credits to graduate. The Oregon State Board of Accountancy requires a minimum of 225 credits in order to take the Uniform Certified Public Accounting Exam, and the Accountancy program recommends specific courses to complete these hours and prepare for the CPA profession. The Certified Management Accountant program requires 180 credits.

Major Code: 641

• Recognize entrepreneurial opportunities for new business ventures and evaluate their potential for business success.

• Understand the implementation issues including financial, legal, operational and administrative procedures involved in starting new business ventures.

• Communicate effectively and professionally in business situations through physical or virtual presence, writing, speaking, listening, and electronic media.
• Demonstrate the ability to lead by using team building skills and facilitating collaborative behaviors in the accomplishment of group goals and objectives.
• Recognize basic concepts and theories related to business ethics and social responsibility.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the ethical behavior appropriate to specific business situations.
• Identify and analyze business problems and opportunities and formulate recommendations for courses of action.
• Use quantitative and qualitative tools and methodologies to support organizational decision making.
• Assess how organizations create value in their global supply chains through the integrated production and distribution of goods, services and information.
• Describe the concept of competitive advantage and how it may be achieved through strategic and tactical methods.
• Analyze the information content of organizational processes.
• Define markets and apply marketing concepts and principles using a customer focus to effectively sell products and services.
• Recognize and appropriately respond to ethical, legal and strategic concerns relating to human resource and organizational management.
• Make basic investment and financing decisions for a business using financial management concepts, and methods.

Accountancy major requirements are divided into two parts – lower-division and upper-division. The lower-division business core program involves completion of courses within the first and second year (see core curriculum below) that build a solid foundation for the upper-division accountancy and business curricula. The lower-division business core course work may be completed at OSU or any accredited college or university that offers equivalent courses transferable to OSU. Students entering OSU on the Corvallis campus as their first college experience are required to participate in Innovation Nation, the College of Business Living-Learning Community (LLC). 

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11 credits from lower-division coursework satisfy University General Education Requirements

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3 credits from the upper-division business core satisfy University General Education Requirements

Business Administration Core Curriculum (95)¹

The business administration core curriculum provides students with a broad overview of business; basic skills in accounting and quantitative methods; an understanding of the legal and social environment of business; a background in management and organizational behavior, marketing, finance, and operations management; an understanding of the entrepreneurial process; and the opportunity to integrate course work and further develop decision-making skills through the analysis of business cases.

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Baccalaureate Core Course (BCC)

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Writing Intensive Course (WIC)

¹

MTH 241; ECON 201 and ECON 202; WR 222, WR 323 or WR 327, and COMM 111, COMM 114 or COMM 218 meet the university's Baccalaureate Core requirements for mathematics, social processes and institutions, writing II, and speech, respectively. All students must meet the other Baccalaureate Core requirements and the other requirements for baccalaureate degrees

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For students who transfer into College of Business business-related programs, the Blueprint transition courses meet the same outcomes as the professional development (Blueprint) course series accounting for the student’s academic year when they transfer into the business program

Accountancy CURRICULUM (40)

Major Code: 641

Degree plans are subject to change and the following is only an example of how students may complete their degree in four years. Students should consult their advisor to determine the best degree plan for them. Contact details for advisors can be found on the Academic Advising page.

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Baccalaureate Core Course (BCC)

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Writing Intensive Course (WIC)