March 26, 2024

Average College GPA by Major and School Type

Additionally, some jurisdictions want CPA candidates to have certain college courses, like tax or accounting classes. And although being an accounting major isn’t always necessary to pass the CPA Exam, an accounting degree can prepare you for a career as a CPA. Accounting bachelor’s degree graduates from the University of Virginia won’t have a tough time joining the highest-paying and most prestigious accounting firms in the country. Nor will they have a challenging time finding a school—whether that’s UVA or elsewhere—to complete the requirements to sit for the CPA exam. This program encourages you to pursue internships in accounting. The Office of Career Management reports that 95% of accounting majors hold an internship before they graduate.

These career paths require graduate school, in the form of a Ph.D., J.D., or both. Physics makes this list because of the long hours students have to spend getting ready for class each week. A highly conceptual field, physics may be right for you if you like to think abstractly about how forces and objects interact. Keep in mind that pursuing a career in physics often requires you to get an advanced degree after graduating from college.

Wake Forest University ranking

The majors I’ve listed here come from a 2010 report by Dr. Kevin Rask of Wake Forest University. It’s difficult to say what the average GPA for one major is when you’re looking across a bunch of different schools. Each program is different, so the average GPA for these same majors at your college might be much higher or lower than indicated in the table. One factor might be that professors are the average american’s charitable donations more vulnerable to student critiques in online forums and are sometimes forced to answer to angry parents if they give poor grades.

Plus, some programs specifically design the curriculum to help students study for this challenge. Your college GPA is a long-lasting measure of your academic performance in college. Many graduate programs have stringent GPA requirements, and employers often consider GPA when evaluating potential hires. Your GPA will remain significant even after graduation day, so it’s important to start keeping track of the number early in your college career.

Average pay for accountants with an accounting degree is $78,000/year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. High-paying industries include finance and insurance, management, and tax preparation. To join the competitive BSBA/MSACC Professional Degree Program, students must have a 3.6 or higher high school GPA, a 26 or higher ACT score, and at least six AP credits. Students must maintain a 3.4 or higher GPA to remain in the BSBA/MSACC Professional Degree Program. Another perk at Weber is that you can complete your schooling full-time during the day or part-time at night or during the evenings. To have a good chance of admission, have a 3.0 or higher GPA, reasonably high standardized test scores, and a clear commitment to accounting.

The 10 Hardest and Easiest College Majors

This could be because grading is (somewhat correctly) viewed as more subjective in humanistic and arts disciplines. Instructors who have both little incentive to grade harshly and more power over subjectively determining grades will understandably assess students more favorably. An individual’s GPA is specific to their overall performance, amortization of premium on bonds payable even as they are frequently competing academically within individual classes. Thus, a student’s GPA contains almost no direct information about where they ranked relative to their classmates. Colleges sometimes, though not frequently, make average GPAs publicly available. However, the National Center for Education Statistics published a report with data that helps establish a universal baseline.

Integrated degrees

The nine (9) units are courses that are equivalent to ACCT 201, ACCT 202, or ACCT 301. At least 50% of the required units in this major must be completed at Towson University. Contact the department for the current list of courses that are eligible to be transferred from another institution. In fact, BYU online classes are only available through BYU-Idaho. However, that campus has a limited number of BYU online accounting courses through a Bachelor’s of Applied Business Management. Brigham Young’s Mariott School of accounting policies examples Business is known for its rigorous programs and experimental curriculum.

Electrical Engineering majors put in some of the longest hours of all college students, but the return on investment (ROI) is very high.
Students learn how to apprehend, reprimand, and rehabilitate those who commit crimes.
It is hard work to earn a degree in chemistry, but once you do, a wide range of career options open to you.
And the MAcc has two tracks—tax and professional accountancy—depending on your career goals.
This is promising for graduating students interested in a career in corporate accounting.
A grade of C or higher is necessary for each course required for admission.

Average Student Loan Debt in 2025

First, it might be useful to review the basics of how GPAs are measured.
North Carolina State University is known as the largest university in the Carolinas.
Once you are accepted into an accounting program at a college of business, most schools require students to maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all their courses.
With a teaching minor or summer program, you can easily fulfill your requirements to become a teacher.
In the chart below, you’ll find some basic information for the top 5 CPA Exam performances by school.
That average is much lower than what many colleges frequently advertise, perhaps because the diversity of postsecondary institutions it studied.

As an underclassman, you may encounter academic programs or majors that accept only students who meet a minimum GPA requirement. Once you’ve gained entry into a selective academic program or earned a merit scholarship, you will likely have to maintain a certain GPA to remain in good standing. Wharton offers a BS in Accounting, which is a 4-year program that requires broad classes in subjects from economics and finance to the humanities and science. Therefore, as a University of Pennsylvania accounting major, you’ll get a comprehensive background in both business and the liberal arts. Students can pick from several University of Texas at Austin accounting programs. For example, UT Austin accounting students can pursue a BBA, or Bachelors of Business Administration, with a focus on Accounting.

Any advice on how to get into Rice University?

There’s no doubt that college can be stressful, especially when exam season kicks in and you have to juggle multiple assignments and exams together. Accounting companies and firms might look at your GPA as one of the many hiring factors. However, we must emphasize that it is rarely the only aspect of your personality and work they look at. Hence, while it is an essential element, it is not the sole deciding factor regarding whether you will get accepted. But if you were wondering if there is a minimum GPA requirement to take the CPA exam, well, there isn’t. However, they do recommend aiming for a GPA of 3.5 or higher if you want to apply to work with one of The Big 4.

Student Loan Default Rate: Facts and Statistics

Specific expectations vary among employers and graduate programs. Maintaining a GPA above 3.5 is considered strong and can enhance job prospects or opportunities for further education in accounting-related fields. With over 50,000 students, it’s surprising that the University of South Florida is only the fourth-largest school in Florida. But the size is large enough for the school to house over 180 undergraduate and graduate programs that compete with some of the best schools nationwide. Inventors at the University of South Florida have been granted more patents than all but nine other universities worldwide. If so, public relations & advertising may be the field for you.

Others distinguish between the grade-point value of an A+ and an A, such as Columbia, where an A+ is worth 4.3 grade points. Check your university’s grading policies for specific details about calculating your GPA, then try crunching the numbers yourself using an online GPA calculator. Departments then use evaluations to make decisions about pay, promotions, and retention of instructors.