Certificate in the Study of Public Accountancy

Admission & Registration Process

To be considered for admission, students must have completed 56 units of college credits with a minimum 2.0 grade point average.

Because of prerequisite requirements for this program, the following is required to apply:

• a completed Application for Admission & Student Worksheet. Visit the Public Accountancy Certificates page.
  
  
• a completed SF State Extended Learning Certificate Program Application Form. Download the Certificate Application (PDF).
  
  
• All applicants must pass the ACCT 301 pre-test before being admitted to the program. Visit Testing Center : Accounting 301.
  
  
• copies of transcripts (official or unofficial)
  
  
• No application fee is required.

Send all of these required documents to:

SF State Downtown Campus
Attn: Richard Kay
835 Market Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94103

Dr. John O'Shaughnessy, Program Advisor, will review all applications and transcripts. You will be notified if you are accepted into the program. For more information, please contact Richard Kay at rkay@sfsu.edu. Courses are offered in fall and spring semesters. Some core classes are only offered in spring.

Students in this program enroll through Open University.

For a full explanation of University Academic Certificate Requirements, see Academic Credit Certificate Requirements.

Certificate Application

Download the Certificate Application.
(You will need Adobe Reader to view this PDF file.)

Certificate Completion

• Download, and complete all steps detailed for, the Certificate Approved Program form (PDF).
  
  
• Remit a $50 fee, payable to SFSU-CEL, to:
  
  SF State Downtown Campus
  Attn: Richard Kay
  835 Market Street, 6th floor
  San Francisco, CA 94103

Award of the Certificate

The certificate will be awarded by the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and will also be signed by the Program Advisor of the certificate program. Notice of issuance of the certificate will be entered on the student's official academic record.

Public Accountancy Curriculum

A 30-unit program comprised of the following ten courses (prerequisites are listed in parentheses):

1. ACCT 301: Intermediate Financial Accounting (3 units)
   (ACCT 100, ACCT 101, or pretest)
   
   
2. ACCT 302 Intermediate Financial Accounting II (3 units)
   (ACCT 301)
   
   
3. ACCT 305 Cost Accounting (3 units)
   (ACCT 301)
   
   
4. ACCT 501 Advanced Accounting (3 units)
   (ACCT 302)
   
   
5. ACCT 504 Governmental & Nonprofit Accounting (3 units) (ACCT 301)
   
   
6. ACCT 506 Auditing (3 units)
   (ACCT 302)
   
   
7. ACCT 508 Federal Tax Accounting I (3 units)
   (ACCT 301)
   
   
8. ACCT 509 Federal Tax Accounting II (3 units)
   (ACCT 508)
   
   
9. BUS 120 Legal Environment of Business (3 units)
   
   
10. BUS 320 Legal Aspects of Business Transactions (3 units)

A maximum of five equivalent courses taken from other accredited institutions can be used to waive the above required courses. Depending on the candidate's formal education, additional courses could be required as prerequisites to, or used as substitution for the above curriculum. A determination of the total curriculum by the certificate director must be made before a candidate is accepted into the program. Students in the certificate in the study of Public Accountancy and in the Professional Practice of Public Accountancy programs are required to maintain a B average to earn the certificate.

For complete information about the Public Accountancy program, see the Certificates page on their website.