Additional Information on the ECO-MPA Path

Purpose
MPA Program Background
ECO-MPA Path Framework
ECO-MPA Path: An Example

Purpose.  The purpose of the ECO-MPA Path is to provide outstanding economics undergraduates with graduate accounting education to maximize their career opportunities.  This goal is accomplished through a curriculum that enables these students to complete four graduate accounting courses in their senior year and reserve them for credit toward a Master in Professional Accounting (MPA) degree.

MPA Program Background.  For background information on the MPA Program, including MPA Program requirements and track options, please refer to the MPA website at:  http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/mpa.

ECO-MPA Path Framework.  The general structure of the ECO-MPA Path is as follows:

• ECO-MPA Path Admissions
   
  Economics majors apply to be nominated for Graduate Select Admission to the ECO-MPA Path in the manner described in the document "APPLICATION TO THE ECO-MPA PATH: GRADUATE SELECT ADMISSION."
   
• Advising and Registration
   
  ECO-MPA Path.  Decisions regarding admittance to the ECO-MPA Path through the Graduate Select Admission Program will be made in approximately May of the applicant's junior year.  A rolling decision process may be implemented.  This decision date will enable the following subsequent activities on a timely basis:
  

  ü    Advising.  ECO-MPA Path participants will receive initial Path advising.  Advising may include, but will not be limited to, course requirements and sequencing; information about reserving graduate coursework toward a graduate degree; and undergraduate GPA implications of taking graduate coursework. ü    Registration. The MPA academic advisor will assist students in adjusting their schedules to include the graduate courses during an add/drop access period. Students will be required to secure the appropriate signatures on the “Reservation of Course for Graduate Credit” form within the first two weeks of class in order to reserve the graduate credit toward the MPA degree.

  Graduate School.  Prompt initiation of a change from undergraduate to graduate status will give graduating seniors time to register for summer or fall graduate coursework in the McCombs School of Business.

• MPA graduate coursework
   
  Senior year—Students admitted to the ECO-MPA Path through Graduate Select Admissions will begin graduate MPA coursework in their senior year while they are still classified as undergraduates.   Senior year MPA graduate coursework will be taken concurrently with the completion of the students' economics B.A. degree requirements.  Subject to MPA Program modifications and students' academic backgrounds, the following core accounting courses are to be completed in summer, fall and spring semesters of an ECO-MPA Path participant's senior year:
   
  

  	Summer (senior year)
  	ACC 381	Financial Accounting
  	Fall (senior year)
  	ACC 387.1	Managerial Accounting
  	ACC 380K.11	Introduction to Taxation
  	Spring (senior year)
  	ACC 380K.4	Introduction to Assurance Services

  These accounting core courses are the prerequisites for subsequent coursework in the MPA Program.  Prior to acquiring graduate standing, ECO-MPA students are limited to 12 hours of graduate coursework.  The Director of MPA Degree Programs must approve modifications to this sequence.  To remain in good standing in the program, ECO-MPA Path participants must meet same standards of satisfactory performance as other MPA degree candidates.
   
  Graduate year(s)—After acquiring graduate standing, ECO-MPA Path students may continue their graduate MPA coursework, at their discretion, in the fall or summer after their B.A. degree is completed.  With graduate standing, an ECO-MPA Path participant must satisfy both MPA degree and MPA Program requirements. If a student's status is changed to graduate standing but the student is not awarded his/her B.A. degree, the graduate standing will be removed and MPA degree progress will not continue until the B.A. degree is conferred.
   

• Tuition and Fees
   
  Undergraduate tuition and fees.  As undergraduates in their senior year, entering ECO-MPA Path participants will pay the B.A. tuition and fees on all of their undergraduate and graduate coursework. ECO-MPA Path participants will have access to certain MPA resources, including academic and career advisory services, career workshops, and the MPA career fair. However, participants will not have access to the McCombs on-campus recruiting system until they are coded as graduate students.
   
  Graduate tuition and fees.  As graduate students in the MPA Program, ECO-MPA Path participants will pay all graduate tuition and fees prescribed by The University of Texas, the McCombs School of Business, and the Department of Accounting, including a one-time MPA orientation fee.  Please see the following web site for estimated MPA program costs: http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/mpa/traditional/estimatedcosts.asp.
   
• CPA Exam
   
  In general, eligibility to sit for the CPA Exam in the State of Texas includes the following educational requirements (in semester credit hours):
   
  

  	150	University hours
  	30	Accounting hours at the upper-division undergraduate or graduate level, excluding elementary-level coursework (no more than 12 hours in taxation or information systems)
  	24	Business hours at the upper-division undergraduate or graduate level (no more than 6 hours from the same discipline)
  	3	Ethics hours (Ethics course must be one that has been approved by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy.)

  The ECO-MPA Path incorporates the 150- and 30-hour requirements above. It does not incorporate the non-accounting business requirement.  To meet the non-accounting business requirement, ECO-MPA Path participants may complete courses beyond the B.A./MPA degree requirements or at other qualified non-UT institutions.

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ECO-MPA Path: An Example.  The following program is only an example. This example assumes that the ECO-MPA student is not interning, gains summer admissions to the graduate side of the McCombs School of Business, is either in the Taxation or Financial Reporting track, and does not waive or substitute any accounting coursework.  Multiple variations on these assumptions are possible. The nature and length of a student's program may vary based on his or her background, special interests, internship and coursework opportunities, CPA examination plans, and other factors.  There are limited summer offerings so substantial degree progress in the summer cannot be assured.

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