Admissions Criteria
Admission to graduate programs in business is limited to those students who can demonstrate high promise of success in a
graduate business degree program. There are a limited number of students who can be admitted to the program. Final
admission decisions will be based on GPA, GMAT score, and letters of recommendation.
Admission standards and process for the Leadership Master of Accounting Science are:
1. GPA and GMAT * Score. The minimum criteria are a 2.75 cumulative GPA, 3.00 GPA** in Accountancy courses, 480
GMAT score, and appropriate leadership and communication skills as evidenced by letters of recommendation and
goals statement.
In addition, students must have a composite score of 1125 or higher. The composite score is calculated by the
following formula: (Cumulative GPA x 200) + GMAT score = 1125 or higher.
* The GMAT requirement is waived for NIU accountancy students who have an average GPA of 3.40 or better in
ACCY 310A, ACCY 310S, ACCY 320, ACCY 331, and ACCY 360 and; a B or better in UBUS 310, UBUS 311, and
MGMT 346. GMAT Waivers may be attained from front desk in Barsema Hall 345.
** Calculation of the 3.00 Accountancy GPA will include Phase I Accountancy courses only.
Phase I accountancy courses are:
ACCY 310A/S – Accounting Information Systems / Lab
ACCY 320 – Intermediate Cost Management
ACCY 331 – Financial Report I
ACCY 360 – Assurance Services
ACCY 432 – Financial Reporting II
ACCY 450 – Taxation of Business Entities and Individuals
2. Admission to the program is competitive and limited to candidates who demonstrate high promise. Meeting the
minimum criteria above is not a guarantee of admission into the program.
3. If the undergraduate degree is not in accountancy and/or business, the student must fulfill the Phase I College of
Business foundation courses and Phase I accountancy requirements. A student, who wishes to enroll in Phase I
courses at NIU, must be admitted to the L.M.A.S. program.
4. Admission deadlines:
Students who have all documents submitted to Graduate School by the L.M.A.S. deadline will be
considered first for admission.
Summer
L. M.A.S. Application and Fee to
the Graduate School Deadline
February 1st
All Supporting Documents
to Graduate School Deadline
June 1st
International
Students Deadline
---------*
Fall
April 1st
August 1st
May 1st
Spring
September
15th
January
1st
October 1st
* International students can not apply for summer term.
5. Complete the L.M.A.S. Information Admission Form (This form may be obtained from the Department of Accountancy
in Barsema Hall 345 or on-line at www.cob.niu.edu/accy/mas_admission.asp).This is in addition to filing all documents
with the Graduate School. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure all documents are on file with the Graduate
School by the deadline listed above. NIU students need to submit an unofficial NIU transcript to the Department of
Accountancy. The unofficial NIU transcript may be obtained on MyNIU.
6. The following documents need to be submitted to the Graduate School, along with the nonrefundable $40
application fee:

Application for graduate school including a goals statement. The online application website is:
http://www.grad.niu.edu/grad/apply/degree_seeking.shtml. Two days after applying, you will receive an e-mail
with instructions on how to follow your admission application process on MyNIU.

The Career Goals Statement is submitted as a Microsoft Word document through the MyNIU “To Do List”.
Under the “To Do List”, click on “Details”, then click the “Career Goals Statement”. A link to upload your
document will then appear. The goals statement should be two to three paragraphs explaining how the
L.M.A.S. program will help you meet your career goals.

Official GMAT score; It takes approximately 2-5 weeks for the official GMAT score to reach NIU.

Two letters of recommendation; Preferably from an academic source rather than from a work-related source.

Official transcripts (both English and native language copies if you are an international student); Transfer
students who submit official transcripts before a bachelor’s degree is earned, will need to send another official
transcript with the degree posted. NIU students do not need to submit transcripts to Graduate School for
admission purposes or to verify the degree confirmation. Transfer students must submit an official transcript
from each school attended, if you wish courses to be evaluated for Phase I requirements.

TOEFL or IELTS score (if you are an international student who has not earned a bachelor’s (or master’s)
degree from an English speaking college/university).
TOEFL (IBT)
IELTS
Total Scores
100
6.5
Writing
26
7
These minimum scores must be attained in ordered to be considered for admission.

After your application has been up-loaded into the student database by the Graduate School, you will be able to
track your progress through the admission process via the self-service area of MyNIU. Any outstanding
documents which are necessary to process your application will be on your “To Do List” on your MyNIU page. It
may take several days for MyNIU to reflect the actual receipt of documents to the Graduate School.
MyNIU will ask for a NIU Z-ID and a password. If you do not have a Z-ID, you need to go to
http://www.newstudents.niu.edu/its/audience/newstudents.shtml for obtaining your log-on information. To check
your admission status go to http://www.niu.edu/myniu.
All admission decisions will be made according to the following schedule. Students must have submitted all documents to
Graduate School by the admission deadline below to be considered. The department's admission committee meets after the
department deadline and considers all complete applications for admission. Applications submitted after the department
deadlines will be considered if additional space in the L.M.A.S. program is available.
Accountancy Department
Admission Decision
Admission Term
Graduate School Admission
Decision Sent to Student
Summer
Mid-February
Beginning of March
Fall
Mid-April
Beginning of May
Spring
Beginning of October
End of October
Once you receive an official Graduate School acceptance letter, you must confirm on MyNIU that you plan to attend NIU.
To answer questions about the L.M.A.S. program, contact Rowene Linden, M.A.S. Advisor, at 1(815) 753-6200.
Questions concerning applications, documents and process should be directed to Graduate School.
Graduate School Mailing Address:
The Graduate School
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
General Graduate School Phone Number: (815) 753-0395
Toll Free Number: (800) 892-3050
Email Address: Domestic Applicants: gradsch@niu.edu
International Applicants: internationalgrads@niu.edu
For financial aid questions, please refer to Frequently Asked Questions section. Questions concerning financial aid/loans
should be directed to:
NIU Financial Aid Office
Swen Parson Hall 245
2
815-753-1395
Leadership M.A.S. Curriculum
9/10
Business Phase One Foundation
Business Phase One requirements must be included in a student’s program of courses unless a grade of C or better has been
earned in corresponding undergraduate courses. Phase One deficiencies/waivers are determined by transcript evaluation. The
university requires that you submit all degree transcripts including baccalaureate, master’s, doctoral, and associate’s degrees.
If you have taken course work at schools other than one(s) from which you received degree(s) and you took classes that may
waive a Phase One requirement, you are encouraged to submit any such transcripts to the Graduate School for review.
Note: For Graduate students who are on financial aid and are planning to take undergraduate level courses, there may be
special
implications to receiving financial loans. Please contact the NIU Financial Aid office to discuss and verify
assistance.
All Business Phase One foundations should be completed prior to enrollment in Phase Two courses. Phase One
exemption exams may be used to waive any or all of the above courses. You may attempt an exemption exam only once for a
given Phase One course. For additional details about College of Business Phase One courses, please contact the MBA
Program Office.
College of Business Phase One Foundation
(Courses in parentheses are NIU undergraduate equivalent courses. Courses taken at off-campus sites include additional delivery
fees.)
ACCY 505 (ACCY 206):
ACCY 207:
FINA 500 (ECON 260 + ECON 261):
FINA 505 (FINA 320):
MGMT 505 (MGMT 333):
MGMT 511 (MGMT 217):
MKTG 505 (MKTG 310):
OMIS 505 (OMIS 338):
OMIS 507 (OMIS 351):
OMIS 524 (UBUS 223):
MATH 210:
Note:
Financial Accounting Concepts (2)
Introductory Cost Management (3)
Survey of Business Economics (2)
Fundamentals of Financial Management (2)
Principles of Management (2)
Legal Aspects of Business (2)
Graduate Survey of Marketing (2)
Principles of Operations Management (2)
Business Information Systems (2)
Business Statistics (2)
Finite Mathematics or a course in calculus
OMIS 507 is met with ACCY 510A and ACCY 510S (see below)
MGMT 511 is waived if credit is earned in MGMT 512, Advanced Topics in Business Law (see Phase Two
courses)
Accountancy Phase One Foundation
The Accountancy Phase One requirements must be included in the student’s program unless a grade of C or better has been
earned in corresponding undergraduate courses, or the student has passed the first and only attempt of the Phase One
exemption examination. A student with a baccalaureate degree in accountancy and acceptable undergraduate grades may have
already satisfied Phase One Accountancy requirements. Exemption exams are available for ACCY 520, 531, 560, and 532.
See Dr. John Simon concerning details for exemption exams.
A student must have a C or better in each Phase One accountancy course. A student enrolled in Phase One courses may take
Phase Two courses at the discretion of the graduate adviser provided the student has successfully completed all prerequisites
for the Phase Two courses and has maintained a 3.00 GPA in Phase One courses. However, any student who has not completed
all Phase One courses must maintain a 3.00 GPA or above in all Phase One accountancy courses in order to register for any
Phase Two course. None of the required Phase One accountancy courses may be counted as accountancy electives in Phase
Two.
Phase I GPA does not count towards the graduation requirement of a minimum 3.00 GPA in the final 30 hours of Phase II
graduate courses.
3
Accountancy Phase One Foundation
ACCY 510A:
Accounting Information Systems (3)
ACCY 510S:
Accounting Information Systems Lab (1)
ACCY 520:
Intermediate Cost Management (3)
ACCY 531:
Financial Reporting (4)
ACCY 560:
Assurance Services (3)
ACCY 532:
Financial Reporting II (3)
ACCY 550:
Principles of Taxation (3)
Leadership M.A.S. Program Requirements
(30 semester hours)
The Leadership M.A.S. student selects specific courses leading to one of three tracks (financial reporting and assurance,
managerial accounting systems, or taxation). In addition to specific courses, all Leadership M.A.S. students must complete the
coaching and mentoring activities required by the program.
Students must earn a minimum GPA of a 3.00. This average must be earned over all NIU graduate courses required with
student’s program of courses (excluding Phase I deficiency courses taken for graduate credit) as well as overall graduate work
taken at NIU.
Financial Reporting and Assurance Track
ACCY 633:
Advanced Financial Reporting
ACCY 650:
Advanced Issues in Taxation
ACCY 664:
Financial Statement Auditing
ACCY 670:
Accounting Research
ACCY 679:
Seminar in Accounting
ACCY 690:
Accountancy Capstone/Financial Statement Analysis and Business Valuation
MGMT 615:
Seminar in Managerial Leadership
Nine College of Business elective hours, with at least three of these hours outside the Department of Accountancy.
Complete required coaching and mentoring activities outside the classroom.
Managerial Accounting Systems Track
ACCY 611:
Advanced Accounting Information Systems
ACCY 622:
Managerial Accounting Information Systems
ACCY 650:
Advanced Issues in Taxation
ACCY 670:
Accounting Research
ACCY 679:
Seminar in Accounting
ACCY 690:
Accountancy Capstone/Financial Statement Analysis and Business Valuation
MGMT 615:
Seminar in Managerial Leadership
Nine College of Business elective hours, with at least six of these hours in Operations Management and Information Systems
courses. Complete required coaching and mentoring activities outside the classroom.
Taxation Track
ACCY 645:
ACCY 647:
ACCY 649:
ACCY 656:
ACCY 679:
ACCY 690:
MGMT 615:
Professional Tax Research
Corporate Taxation
Partnership Taxation
Tax Concepts and Property Transactions
Seminar in Accounting
Accountancy Capstone/Financial Statement Analysis and Business Valuation
Seminar in Managerial Leadership
Nine College of Business elective hours, with at least three of these hours outside the Department of Accountancy.
Complete required coaching and mentoring activities outside the classroom.
4
Graduate assistantships
Eligibility requirements for graduate assistants
Students enrolled in the masters in accounting science (MAS) program or the masters in taxation (MST) program
are eligible for graduate assistantships in the Department of Accountancy. Graduate students in programs other than
the MAS and MST programs will not be considered for an assistantship in the Department of Accountancy.
Types of graduate assistantships
There are two types of graduate assistantships:
 teaching (ACCY 206 or ACCY 310) and
 research (working for one or more professors and doing a variety of tasks).
Application and selection dates




Applications should be submitted to me by March 31 for the following fall and spring semesters.
You should attach your goals statement to the application.
Applications are available in the Department of Accountancy.
Selection of graduate assistants will begin in April for the following fall and spring semesters. Students
selected will be notified by email.
Selection criteria
Graduate assistants in the Department of Accountancy are selected based on several criteria. These criteria include:


Achieving a minimum undergraduate grade point average (overall and accounting) of 3.00/4.0 for domestic
students;
Having good communication and computer skills.
Maintaining an assistantship
Graduate assistants will be retained if they


Are in good academic standing (maintaining a minimum graduate GPA of 3.0) and
Satisfactorily do the work assigned to them by their professors.
Other information
Mailing address for MAS Director (e-mail is jsimon@niu.edu) and office location
John R. Simon
Department of Accountancy
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
My office is 345 CC Barsema Hall, and my phone number is (815) 753-6203.
5
MAS GRADUATE ASSISTANTS FOR 2010-2011

TEACHING ASSISTANTS FOR ACCY 206 AND ACCY 310
11

RESEARCH ASSISTANTS IN ACCY
34

RESEARCH ASSISTANTS IN MGMT, ,MKTG, FINA, OMIS
AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS
11
TOTAL MAS STUDENTS WITH GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS
FINANCIAL BENEFITS

TUITION WAIVER

SALARY (2010-2011):


TEACHING ASSISTANTS

15 HOURS PER WEEK
$692/MONTH

20 HOURS PER WEEK
$922/MONTH
RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

10 HOURS PER WEEK
$410/MONTH

15 HOURS PER WEEK
$615/MONTH

20 HOURS PER WEEK
$820/MONTH
6
55
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