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Accounting & Finance

Types of Degrees Accounting & Finance Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Accounting & Finance have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	141
Associate’s Degree	491
Bachelor’s Degree	799
Master’s Degree	2,071

What Accounting & Finance Majors Need to Know

Programs in Accounting & Finance emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Accounting & Finance graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Accounting & Finance emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Economics and Accounting — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Accounting & Finance program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Accounting & Finance careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Accounting & Finance graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Working with Computers	4.4 / 7
Processing Information	4.4 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.0 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.0 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Accounting & Finance professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	✓
Yardi software	Data base user interface and query software	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	✓
Structured query language SQL	Data base user interface and query software	✓
Oracle Hyperion	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Oracle PeopleSoft Financials	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Fund accounting software	Accounting software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Accounting & Finance graduates include:

• Cost Accountant
• Equity Research Analyst
• Bond Analyst
• Analyst
• Securities Analyst
• Securities Research Analyst
• Securities Consultant
• Corporate Securities Research Analyst
• Precious Metal Appraiser
• Personal Property Assessor
• Jewelry Appraiser
• Tangible Personal Property Appraiser
• Commercial Property Appraiser
• Physical Appraiser
• Review Appraiser

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Accounting & Finance graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	49.1%
Master’s degree	16.0%
Some college courses	7.6%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	7.4%
Doctoral degree	6.1%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	5.3%
High school diploma or equivalent	4.3%
First professional degree	4.0%
Post-master’s certificate	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Accounting & Finance?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 63% of Accounting & Finance degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	2,205	63.0%
Men	1,297	37.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Accounting & Finance graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,896	54.1%
Asian	215	6.1%
Hispanic or Latino	458	13.1%
Black or African American	527	15.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native	35	1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	7	0.2%
Two or More Races	94	2.7%
Race Unknown	150	4.3%
International Students	120	3.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Accounting & Finance Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Accounting & Finance graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$57,191
4 years	$61,213
5 years	$69,643

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $69,643 — roughly 22% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Accounting & Finance Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for Accounting & Finance. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	25	8
Bachelor’s	4	3
Master’s	25	2

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Accounting & Finance Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Accounting & Finance graduates earn a median of $61,213 four years after completion — roughly 61% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Accounting and Related Services	52.03
Accounting and Business/Management	52.0305
Accounting and Related Services, Other	52.0399
Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping	52.0302
Accounting	52.0301
Auditing	52.0303
Finance, General	52.0801
Public Finance	52.0808
Financial Risk Management	52.0810
International Finance	52.0806
Investments and Securities	52.0807
Actuarial Science	52.1304

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.