Alexandra White (department head)

The accounting major prepares students for career opportunities in public accounting, corporate finance, manufacturing, government service, health care, and nonprofit organizations. Students are also encouraged to design their Luther College curriculum to support future graduate studies.

Required for the major: The foundation courses which include ECON 130; MGT 150 or MATH 115 or an equivalent statistics course; ACCTG 120; MGT 250; MATH 140 or higher. Courses in which grades below C- are earned will not count toward fulfilling the foundation requirements and students must achieve at least a C average (2.0 GPA) in these courses. Ideally, these foundation requirements should be completed by the end of the sophomore year.

Also required are ACCTG 220, 320, 353, 354, 368, 465, 467, 490. The ACCTG 490: Senior Project 4 credit course is required to complete an accounting major. This course is intended to be a capstone for the major and includes a research component and presentation. The writing requirement is completed with ACCTG 467. (Accounting courses numbered above 300 are intended for students with junior standing.)

Students majoring in this area are encouraged to consider the following courses as electives: ECON 247, 248, MGT 353, COMS 132, SOC 101, POLS 130, PSYC 130, Data Science and Computer Science offerings.

Credits earned through internships may not be counted toward the total hours required for the major.

States require 150 credit hours of postsecondary education prior to licensing as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Because of the state-by-state variation in these requirements, students interested in the CPA certification (or other professional certifications) should consult with an accounting faculty member to plan their program of study.