Rutgers University offers undergraduate students a chance to combine their liberal arts degree with the M.B.A. in professional accounting (M.B.A.-P.A.) graduate program and earn an M.B.A. in professional accounting degree with only two additional months of study.

Students complete their undergraduate core and major requirements during the first three years of their undergraduate college. The fourth year is completed at Rutgers Business School: Graduate Programs-Newark and New Brunswick where students are enrolled full-time in the 14-month M.B.A.-P.A. program. The first two semesters at the graduate school are counted as electives for completion of the baccalaureate degree requirements. These two semesters also are counted toward the M.B.A. degree. The M.B.A. is awarded after two additional semesters at the graduate school. The graduate program is offered on a trimester basis, so students graduate only two months later than they would have if they completed their senior year at the undergraduate college.

The program has many advantages:

• The tuition costs are lower because students pay undergraduate tuition and fees for the first two semesters at Rutgers Business School.
• Students qualify to sit for the CPA examination following graduation, the same qualifying date if a student completed a baccalaureate degree alone.
• Students can complete three years of liberal arts study, one more year than is possible if they complete the accounting program as an undergraduate student.
• The 150-credit hour educational requirement for the CPA examination is met.
• Students are eligible to apply for paid internships that are a part of the M.B.A.-P.A. program.