Mississippi State adds big data to accounting curriculum

Mississippi State University's Richard C. Adkerson School of Accountancy is significantly updating its undergraduate and graduate programs to give students a more future-forward curriculum.

Among the updates is an emphasis on technology and its relationship to data analytics and big data, a growing area of focus in the profession. Students will now see more data analytics content added to their current courses, as well as a mandatory data analytics graduate course. A minor in business analytics, within the Masters of Professional Accountancy and Masters of Tax programs, will also be available.

“The main objective of these changes is to ensure that the next generation of accounting professionals from Mississippi State University have the advanced technology skill set necessary to be successful in a highly complex and data-centric environment,” stated Adkerson School of Accountancy director Shawn Mauldin. “The new curriculum is structured in such a way that as new technologies evolve they can easily be incorporated into existing courses without revamping the entire curriculum.”

The school awards approximately 100 bachelor’s degrees and 40 master’s degrees to graduates each year. MSU also claims a 100 percent job placement rate among its graduates, with these recent course additions meant to make students even more sought-after.

“The inclusion of data analytics as part of the new curriculum for both Master of Professional Accountancy and Master of Taxation programs will provide the additional tools needed to keep our MSU graduates at the forefront of an ever-changing accounting profession,” said MSU College of Business dean Sharon Oswald, per a statement.

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For more on the Adkerson School of Accountancy, head to MSU's site here.

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