Accounting is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #10 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools in District of Columbia to determine which ones were the best for accounting students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 179 master's degrees in accounting to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Accounting School for Your Master's Degree
The accounting master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to accounting students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - The number of accounting students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How much debt accounting students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized accounting related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for accounting students working on their master's degree.
The accounting school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Accounting Master's Degree Schools in District of Columbia.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Accounting in District of Columbia
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in accounting.
Top District of Columbia Schools for a Master's in Accounting
George Washington University is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a master's degree in accounting. GWU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.
Master's recipients from the accounting degree program at George Washington University make $5,733 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
It's hard to beat American University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in accounting. The American University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.
Master's recipients from the accounting program at American University get $2,779 above the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Strayer University - Global Region is a wonderful option for students pursuing a master's degree in accounting. Located in the city of Washington, Strayer University - Global Region is a private for-profit university with a large student population.
Soon after graduating, accounting master's recipients typically earn about $54,322 in the first five years of their career.
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in accounting has to look into Strayer University - District of Columbia. Strayer University - District of Columbia is a fairly small private for-profit university located in the city of Washington.
After graduating, accounting master's recipients typically earn about $54,322 at the beginning of their careers.
Gain the competitive edge required to advance in today's financial environments with this online graduate degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
college factual
The accounting master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
