Purpose

In an effort to prepare our students for the world of professional accounting, the Department of Accounting is offering its accounting majors the option of earning both a bachelors and masters degree and completing a spring internship in a five-year period. Taking advantage of this opportunity requires some planning as follows:

1. Complete the bachelors degree in 3 ½ years, graduating in December. This may require taking intersession or summer school courses.
2. Interview for a spring internship one year in advance. For example, if you want to complete an internship in spring 2014, then you must interview during the spring 2013 semester. All interviews are conducted through LSU’s Career Services using Careers2Geaux.
3. Apply for LSU’s masters of accounting program during the last semester of the bachelors program. The deadline for spring admission to the program is October 15.
4. Register for the internship course (ACCT 7231) and complete the Internship Permission Form located here during the last semester of the bachelors program. Submit this form to the internship coordinator, Mrs. Julie Chenier.
5. Complete the masters program in three semesters, or 1 ½ years.

The completion of both degrees will fulfill the 150-hour requirement for CPA exam eligibility. Work experience through an internship will provide our students with real world experience and networking opportunities with accounting professionals. For our students to maintain full-time status during the spring internship, the master’s level accounting courses will be offered as condensed 7-week courses. Therefore, part of the spring internship semester will be completing a 10-week internship, and the other part will be completing two 7-week masters accounting courses.

Getting Started

Undergraduate accounting majors who are currently enrolled have the opportunity to participate in this internship option. Click here for an example of how the curriculum could be planned to participate in the internship option and earn both a bachelors and masters degree.

Beginning summer 2011, accounting majors will be allowed to earn credit for a graduate internship, as described above, and to earn credit for an undergraduate internship. Therefore, accounting majors can participate in the Internal Audit program internships or another type of undergraduate internship and also participate in the spring graduate level internship option.

For more information on getting started with the internship option, contact Dr. Laura DeLaune at delaune@lsu.edu. More information is also located on the Accounting Den webpage.