Texas MPA Tracks
You can tailor your coursework to specific career goals by choosing one of four tracks. In each track, core courses provide a solid accounting foundation while relevant electives provide specialized knowledge. Each of the tracks focuses on developing written and verbal communication skills, which are vital to a successful career.
Financial Reporting and Assurance
- Focuses on interpretation, preparation and certification of publicly disclosed financial and other data
- Provides a solid knowledge base in financial reporting and in the expanding area of assurance beyond traditional audits of financial statements
- Provides an excellent foundation for other professional services such as forensic accounting and consulting opportunities
- Career outlook: Industries hire for positions in financial reporting, internal audit, capital budgeting, project analysis, and other areas. Financial management and assurance are also critical functions in government and non-government organizations.
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Managerial Accounting and Control
- Focuses on how accounting and auditing information assists managers in making informed decisions in planning, evaluating and controlling an entity.
- Teaches students how to prepare reports for external groups such as shareholders, creditors, regulatory agencies and tax authorities
- Career outlook: Professional services firms such as enterprise risk management, internal audit services, forensic accounting and litigation support hire MPAs with a managerial specialty. Industry careers may involve work in a variety of different departments: controller’s office, internal audit, treasury and finance, cost accounting and planning and budgeting. Public service offers positions in government entities and nonprofit organizations
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Taxation
- Designed for students seeking employment in public accounting and private industry, or with governmental and regulatory agencies
- Emphasizes the role of taxation in planning and structuring business transactions
- Career outlook: An excellent foundation for career mobility within and outside of the tax field in all sectors of the economy, from leading public/professional service firms to industries of all types, to local, state and federal levels of government, as well as non-governmental organizations
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Generalist
- Design your own area of specialization
- Have the flexibility to select your own coursework beyond the accounting core, including classes that cover the full range of accounting offerings as well as a maximum number of non-accounting graduate electives, including finance, information technology, strategy, management and international business, among others.