Accounting–Education Requirements for CPA Exam Candidacy and Licensure
For curriculum information, contact the Business and Computer Systems Division—Room DH-239—443-518-1520.
This course of study is designed for students who hold a bachelor’s degree. HCC offers accounting courses that meet the education requirements for CPA Exam Candidacy as provided by the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy. HCC offers business courses that are required for CPA Licensure. As of October 2011, individuals can qualify for CPA Exam Candidacy upon the attainment of a bachelor’s degree in accounting or its equivalent (i.e., 120 semester hours) and completion of certain courses in accounting and ethics. Business-related courses are required to total 150 semester hours to obtain a CPA license as provided by the Maryland Board. See below for the Maryland Board’s education requirements for both CPA Exam Candidacy and CPA Licensure. HCC does not award a degree or certificate for this course of study.
Maryland’s Education Requirements for CPA Exam Candidacy:
An applicant must have successfully completed 27 credit hours (9 courses, 3 credits each) in accounting subjects and 3 credit hours (1 course, 3 credits) in ethics. Applicants must complete 6 of the 9 accounting courses in the 4 groups listed below. The remaining 3 required accounting courses can be from any of the 4 groups of accounting courses. The courses shown below are HCC’s accounting and ethics courses that match the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy’s list of courses.
1. COST ACCOUNTING (minimum 1 course required)
2. FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING (minimum 3 courses required)
3. U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX (minimum 1 course required)
4. AUDITING (minimum 1 course required)
5. ETHICS (minimum 1 course required)
Maryland’s Education Requirements for CPA Licensure:
Individuals who pass the CPA Exam need a minimum of 150 semester hours of college education to fulfill the education requirements to obtain a CPA license. To qualify for a license, a minimum of 21 credit hours (7 courses, 3 credits each) in 5 of the following 9 business subjects are required. The courses shown below are HCC’s business courses that match the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy’s list of courses.
1. STATISTICS (minimum of 1 course if claiming this subject)
2. CORPORATE/BUSINESS FINANCE (minimum of 1 course if claiming this subject)
| - | HCC does not offer a course in this area | |
3. MANAGEMENT (minimum of 1 course if claiming this subject)
4. U.S. BUSINESS LAW(minimum of 1 course if claiming this subject)
5. MARKETING (minimum of 1 course if claiming this subject)
6. ECONOMICS (minimum of 1 course if claiming this subject)
| ECON-101 | Principles of Economics (Macro) | 3 |
| ECON-102 | Principles of Economics (Micro) | 3 |
7. BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (minimum of 1 course if claiming this subject)
8. QUANTITATIVE METHODS (minimum of 1 course if claiming this subject)
| - | HCC does not offer a course in this area | |
9. IT/INFORMATION SYSTEMS (minimum of 1 course if claiming this subject)
| CMSY-154 | Protecting the Virtual Office | 3 |
| CMSY-162 | Introduction to Network Security Systems | 3 |
For additional information about the Uniform CPA Exam in Maryland, please visit the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy’s website at http://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/CPA/.