Master's Degree Programs for Under $25,500

Getting a master's degree in accounting can help further your career, but the cost of most degree programs prevents many people from taking advantage of the opportunity. However, 30 schools are now offering master's degrees in accounting for less than $25,000, allowing more students than ever to gain valuable qualifications that could help them pursue successful careers.

Weber State University tops the 2015 list of the 30 least expensive accounting master's degrees, with a program that starts at $18,486. Students who are residents of Utah can access this master's program even more cheaply, with in-state tuition coming in at only $8,970. Students must have a bachelor's degree in accounting to start the program.

Ryan Pace, director of the master's degree program in accounting at Weber State University, issued a statement saying that the school is pleased to be recognized as the nation's most affordable AACSB-accredited master's degree. He emphasized that the low cost of Weber State's program does not mean that students are compromising on tuition quality. "Students who attend Weber State's master of accounting program receive high-level instruction from experienced professors," Pace said in his statement.

Two Missouri schools take second and third places in the list of the 30 most affordable master's degrees in accounting. Missouri State University offers a master's degree for $19,282 to out-of-state students, with Missouri students paying only $10,999. At the University of Central Missouri, out-of-state students pay $19,282, while Missouri residents can earn a master's degree in accounting for just $10,595.

Twenty-five other schools on the list also offer master's of accounting degree programs for less than $25,000, with many of them offering discounts for in-state students. While most schools only offer discounts for students who are residents of the same state as the school, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville charges just $10,790 for residents of Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

A master's degree in accounting can help new graduates find work in a top accounting firm. However, companies also look for other skills in their candidates, including knowledge of current accounting trends, foreign language skills and a proven track record of improving the bottom lines of companies they have worked for in the past. Job seekers in the accounting industry also need to demonstrate soft skills, such as organization, flexibility and the ability to problem solve.

According to Dee Barizo, editor of Accounting Degree Review, the low-cost programs appearing on this list offer high-quality education. Every one of the schools mentioned here offers a masters degree that is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). This means that the masters degree programs have been scrutinized to make sure they are an adequate preparation for new entrants to the accounting industry.

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