Elon’s accounting program receives top-20 national ranking

Elon’s program, part of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, ranks #19 on Accounting.com’s list of the 50 best bachelor’s in accounting programs.

The ranking is based on data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and College Navigator, sources managed by the National Center for Education Statistics. Accounting.com reviewed schools’ acceptance rates, enrollment rates, retention rates and graduation rates to create its rankings.

“We are excited to be recognized as a top-20 accounting program in the country,” said Linda Poulson, associate professor and chair of the Department of Accounting. “Our deliberate approach to mentoring and guiding our students to complete the required 150 hours of college credit and preparing them for the CPA exam has allowed our students to be placed in Big 4 and other top accounting firms across the country. This ranking is recognition of our efforts to continue building the accounting program to be the best it can be.”

The Love School of Business is accredited by Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), an honor achieved by fewer than 5 percent of business schools worldwide. All schools in the ranking are accredited by AACSB, the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), or the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE).

Accounting.com had this to say about Elon’s program:

“Because sitting for the CPA exam requires learners to have at least 150 hours of college credit, most students need to complete both a bachelor’s and master’s degree to have enough credits. However, Elon University in North Carolina has engineered their bachelor’s in accounting to allow students to meet the requirement by the time they finish the program, thereby saving them time and money.

“Offered as a bachelor of science, students must take either applied calculus or calculus I before moving into their business and accounting classes. Internships are also a required component at Elon, and students have the opportunity to complete either independent study or additional research. The accounting department, which is currently home to approximately 250 students, has seen a 90% employment rate within nine months after graduation, with students averaging a median starting salary of $50,000.”

The top 20 schools ranked by Accounting.com include the following:

1. University of Pennsylvania
2. Claremont McKenna College
3. University of Notre Dame
4. Washington and Lee University
5. Georgetown University
6. Bucknell University
7. Washington University in St. Louis
8. University of Southern California
9. Lehigh University
10. Wake Forest University
11. Emory University
12. New York University
13. University of Richmond
14. Bentley University
15. George Washington University
16. Yeshiva University
17. Trinity University
18. Muhlenberg College
19. Elon University
20. Villanova University

Accounting.com is managed by a team of researchers, writers and experts in accounting who desire to increase public knowledge of the field. The site was founded in 1996 in response to the growing need for qualified accountants in both the domestic and international labor force.