Accountants are the financial professionals that are tasked with the responsibility of maintaining, preparing, and examining the many different types of financial records required to appropriately run a business, organization, or even one’s personal life.
And while accounting professionals will always find their skills leads to gainful employment, it is those professionals who earn an on-campus or online doctorate in accounting degree who will have the experience and education to reach for positions of leadership and tremendous responsibility – as a chief financial officer, or finance manager, among other accounting occupations.
An on-campus or online doctorate in accounting degree is considered a terminal degree (i.e., the highest degree awarded in a specific academic discipline), which mandates degree candidates to complete not only coursework but original research that is then defended by the doctoral candidate. The robust research portion of the doctoral level degree requires students to gather, integrate and draw conclusions about data regarding a specific area in which a doctoral candidate chooses to focus.
Those who have an interest in earning a doctorate in accounting will discern during their program/school research is that there are two types of doctoral programs that primarily lead to a Ph.D. level degree –a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) with an academic concentration in accounting or a Ph.D. in Accounting.
Ph.D.s and DBAs are very much alike. The fundamental difference between the two degrees has to do with the program’s curriculum. From a general perspective, a Ph.D. candidate focuses on the more theoretical aspects, including research that is often published as academic papers or in journals. DBAs will also be required to complete a dissertation at the doctorate level; however, the dissertation tends to be more pragmatic and easily applied to real-world applications in the realm of public, private, and corporate settings.
An online doctorate in accounting degree program often provides the flexibility many students require, should they also have other life commitments to juggle while earning their online doctorate in accounting degree.
Most online doctorate in accounting programs mandate that doctoral students complete between 54 and 75 credits to graduate. On average, doctoral students earn their degree in three to seven years, although some candidates finish earlier if they have sufficient time to devote to their studies.
The Best 10 Online Doctorate in Accounting Programs
1. California Southern University (CSU)
California Southern University (CSU)offers a Doctor of Business Administration with an academic concentration in financial management that prepares doctoral candidates for roles as business and economic leaders. Coursework for this online doctorate in accounting degree program includes financial statement analysis, corporate finance, and managerial economics, to name a few.
- Tuition Fees – $ $ 545 per credit unit.
- Credit Units Required to Complete Degree – 60 credit hours.
- Average Completion Time – 4 years at full-time.
- Accreditation – WASC & ACBSP
2. Atlantic International University (AIU)
Atlantic International University’s (AIU) Business & Economics School offers a Doctor of Accounting Degree that prepares doctoral candidates with the conceptual framework of all advanced accounting methods. AIU’s online doctorate in accounting degree program is customizable to meet the education and career goals of doctoral candidates. Classes for this degree include accounting research methods, regulations research, capital markets, and corporate financial reporting, among others.
- Tuition Fees – $ 611 per credit hour.
- Credit Units Required to Complete Degree – 60 credit hours.
- Average Completion Time – 3 to 6 years.
- Accreditation – ASIC
3. South University (SU)
South University (SU) offers a Doctor of Business Administration degree (DBA) program that prepares students for rewarding careers as senior managers, consultants, and educators in academia. Classes for this South University interdisciplinary online doctorate in accounting degree program includes statistics for research, seminar in ethics and social responsibility, and instructional design, to name a few.
- Tuition Fees – $ 650.00 per credit hour.
- Credit Units Required to Complete Degree – 72 credit hours.
- Average Completion Time – approximately four years.
- Accreditation –– HLC
4. Saint Leo University (SLU)
Saint Leo University (SLU) offers a DBA – a Doctor of Business Administration degree program with an emphasis on Accounting that prepares doctoral degree candidates for rewarding careers in teaching, consulting, or academic management, among others. Classes for this degree include research method – quantitative and qualitative, applied management theory, global leadership, and ethics, and a directed research project that concludes with an oral defense of the dissertation.
- Tuition Fees – $ 900 per credit hour
- Credit Units Required to Complete Degree – 57 credit hours.
- Average Completion Time –
- Accreditation – SACSCOC & ACBSP
5. George Fox University (GFU)
The Business College at George Fox University (GFU) offers a limited-residency Doctor of Business Administration degree program (DBA) that is designed for those accounting professionals who want to become college educators or professional consultants. Doctoral degree candidates are required to attend two residencies in Newberg, Oregon, during their tenure.
- Tuition Fees – $ 954.00 per credit hour.
- Credit Units Required to Complete Degree – 56 credit hours.
- Average Completion Time – 4 to 5 years.
- Accreditation – NWCCU & ACBSP
6. Trident University (TU)
Trident University (TU) offers a Ph.D. in Business Administration (PHDBA) with an academic emphasis in Accounting. Trident University provides a tuition discount to both current and retired military members and their families. Coursework for this online doctorate in accounting degree program includes an introduction to data analysis, advanced data management, and current research in business, to name a few.
- Tuition Fees – $ $990 per credit unit
- Credit Units Required to Complete Degree – 56 credit hours.
- Average Completion Time – 2 to 4 years.
- Accreditation – HLC
7. The University of Dallas (UD)
The Gupta Business College at the University of Dallas (Dallas) offers a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) with an accounting emphasis that is the only AACSB-accredited doctoral in business administration available in the Lone Star State. CEO Magazine has recognized UD’s online doctorate in accounting degree program among the premier programs in the nation.
- Tuition Fees – $ 1,263.89 per credit unit.
- Credit Units Required to Complete Degree – 61 credit hours.
- Average Completion Time – 3 years, with some residency required.
- Accreditation – SACSCOC & AACSB
8. Northcentral University (NCU)
Northcentral University (NCU) offers a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Business Administration with an advanced accounting specialization that can be completed entirely online. Students interested in Northcentral University’s online doctorate in accounting degree program have the option of beginning at any time during the year, with the flexibility to complete the degree on a student’s time schedule.
- Tuition Fees – $ 1,283 per credit unit.
- Credit Units Required to Complete Degree – 60 credit hours.
- Average Completion Time – approximately 4 years on average.
- Accreditation – WASC & ACBSP
9. The University of Wisconsin (UW Whitewater)
The Business & Economics College on the Whitewater Campus of the University of Wisconsin (UW) offers a limited residency online doctorate in accounting degree program. Classes for this Doctor of Business Administration with an accounting emphasis includes applied regression analysis, technology & entrepreneurship, advanced multivariate methods, and a directed study and DBA dissertation, to name a few.
- Tuition Fees – $ 1,432 per credit unit.
- Credit Units Required to Complete Degree – 60 credit hours.
- Average Completion Time – 5 years on average.
- Accreditation – HLC & AACSB
10. Creighton University (CU)
The Heider Business College at Creighton University (CU) offers a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree program that provides the AACSB ‘scholarly academic’ classification when complete. Creighton University’s interdisciplinary online doctorate in accounting degree program is available for part-time or full-time students.
- Tuition Fees – $ $1,950 per credit hour.
- Credit Units Required to Complete Degree – 54 credit hours.
- Average Completion Time – 3 years, with some residency required.
- Accreditation – HLC & AACSB
Our Ranking Methodology
The online doctorate in accounting degree programs analyzed above offers an objective cross-section of some of the available online doctorate in accounting degree programs in the nation.
The analysis that ultimately generated the ranking of these online doctorate in accounting degree programs uses data that was sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) website, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and each website hosted by the university or school.
These online doctorate in accounting degree programs are ranked, with the most affordable programs list first. The tuition fees and expenses have been sourced from the school or government website and represent the per-credit tuition cost for each doctoral accounting program for the school year of 2020 to 2021 or 2019 to 2020.
Each online doctorate in accounting degree program includes relevant information to help prospective students make their best-educated decision. This includes –
- The required credits units that must be earned to graduate.
- The average completion time for the program, as noted by the school’s previous doctoral students.
- Accreditation data at both the regional and specialized level.
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