Master of Science in Taxation (TAX) - Program Requirements | Tseng College - California State University, Northridge (CSUN)

Classification Requirements

Hold a post-baccalaureate degree earned at a regionally accredited institution and 2.5 GPA in either the undergraduate cumulative GPA or the last 60 units.
The GMAT is not required for applicants with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher.
CPA designation, Enrolled Agent credentials or 4 years of professional tax work experience may substitute for the GMAT for candidates with a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.5 but lower than 3.0.
While tax work experience, CPA designation or Enrolled Agent credentials are valued in the ranking of applicants, they are not required for admission.
General University requirements also must be met. Carefully consult other sections of the CSUN catalog for details. These requirements include passing the Upper Division Writing Proficiency Exam (UDWPE) with a score of 8 or higher.

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Self-Paced Tax Bootcamp

All admitted students must complete a non-credit, cost-free, self-paced Tax Bootcamp before the first semester which aims to ensure that students feel confident when entering the Masters. Completion of all Tax Bootcamp modules is required as a part of completing the program and will constitute 8% of the student's grade in ACCT 509: Tax Ethics, Research and Communication and ACCT 520: Income Tax Concepts and Their Business Applications. Students can expect to complete the Bootcamps modules in about 16-40 hours depending on their prior experience and knowledge.

Graduation Requirements

Completion of a minimum of 30 semester units of approved graduate courses;
Completion of all course work with a GPA of at least 3.0;
Completion of Directed Comprehensive Studies in Taxation;
Students must be fully classified at the time of graduation (in order to be fully classified, students must have the following: Bachelor's degree from an accredited university, 3.0 GPA in their cumulative post-graduate course work, and have completed the UDWPE requirement).

Steps Required to Complete Your Degree

Classified Graduate Status

It is important to achieve full Classified standing prior to completing 12 units of graduate work.

Graduation with Honors

Students who satisfy all program requirements and maintain a grade point average of 3.885 or higher on their coursework will receive their Master of Science in Taxation degrees with distinction. The notation "with distinction" is posted on the transcript and will appear on the diploma.

Applying for the Degree

Graduate students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 and earn a grade of a C (2.0) or better in each course. Any student whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.0 for two consecutive semesters will be disqualified from the program and prohibited from enrolling in classes in the program. All cohort students should be enrolled in all of the courses of the pre-set schedule each semester throughout the duration of the program.

Students eligible to apply for graduation will receive an email from the Office of Graduate Studies with information regarding how to complete the online graduation application. To be eligible, students must be classified and completed 18 units OR be classified and be in progress of completing 18 units. This application will initiate a graduation evaluationâ€”which advises students of existing requirements for their degree. Graduate students are required to be enrolled the semester in which their degree is to be awarded.

Graduation Application Deadlines

https://www.csun.edu/graduate-studies/graduation-deadlines

How to Apply for Graduation Online

CSUN's Application for Graduation is now available online. To be eligible to apply, graduates will need to have completed/be in progress of completing 18 units. Students should apply one year in advance of their intended graduation date. Students that are eligible to apply will receive an email from Graduate Studies. A $47 fee is required.

Online Graduation How to Guide (.pdf)

Reinstatement to the Program

If a student withdraws from a cohort, s(he) may be admitted to another cohort at a later date. The reinstated student will be assessed the same tuition and nonrefundable fees as apply to all other students in the new cohort.

Note: All cohorts, once begun, will be taught out through to completion. However, there is no guarantee that new cohorts will follow in a specific area or within a specific amount of time.