By: The Capella University Editorial Team with Bradly E. Roh, PhD, DBA and Interim Dean and Vice President for the School of Business, Technology and Health Care Administration
Reading Time: 10 minutes
Job growth projections and salary figures are drawn from Lightcast data and reflect national trends. Actual outcomes vary based on factors such as experience, industry, location, skills and economic conditions, and are not representative of Capella University graduate results.
An online accounting degree can be a great option. Consider whether the program is accredited, meets your state’s certified public accountant (CPA) credit-hour requirements and fits how you actually work.
Program quality varies across online universities, so it’s worth confirming what you’re actually signing up for before you commit.
Here’s how you can evaluate credible online accounting degrees: understanding course content, navigating CPA licensure requirements and knowing key factors to evaluate before enrolling.
Program definition: An online accounting degree is a bachelor’s or master’s program delivered fully online through an accredited institution. It covers the same core coursework and exams as its on-campus equivalent.
Accreditation and state rules: Institutional and programmatic accreditation determine a degree’s legitimacy. Always confirm CPA credit-hour requirements with your state board, as credits do not automatically transfer between all states.
Selection criteria: Online accounting programs primarily differ in their specialization options, delivery formats (self-paced vs. structured) and course availability.
An online accounting degree is a real investment of time and tuition. Most prospective students look at similar factors: whether online degrees carry weight, whether they deliver the same quality education as on-campus programs and whether employers view them as legitimate.
Accreditation is a key factor that answers these questions through two essential evaluations.
There are two types of accreditation: institutional and programmatic, and each addresses a different question.
Institutional accreditation: Confirms that a college or university meets baseline standards for faculty qualifications, financial stability and student services from an institutional accreditor, like the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Always make sure the institution is accredited by an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Programmatic accreditation: Applies to the business or accounting program itself, not the institution in general. Two established accreditors of accounting programs are the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), and neither accredits based on delivery format: a fully online program can hold the same programmatic accreditation as its on-campus counterpart.
Capella University, for example, is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. That accreditation confirms the university meets standards for faculty quality, learner services and fiscal stability.
Capella’s Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business, Accounting falls under the university’s ACBSP-accredited BS in Business, so it carries that programmatic accreditation directly.
Before you apply to any degree, explore the following.
Institutional accreditation: search the school’s name on the relevant institutional accreditor’s website, not the school’s own page.
Programmatic accreditation: while not required to succeed in accounting, a program’s accreditation provides assurance that it meets standards for curriculum and faculty quality. Accreditation can be verified on the accreditor’s website.
Online learning is becoming the way many working adults finish a degree, since they find it convenient to fit coursework around a job or a family schedule. Growth in this space has produced more variety in how programs are structured, so the format matters as much as accreditation once you start comparing options.
Online accounting degrees are typically delivered in one of two formats: self-paced or structured formats.
Both formats can deliver an entire degree online, though some formats cap how many courses you can take in a term. Not every school offers every format, and the same institution may run a different format at the graduate level than at the undergraduate level.
Self-paced formats: Let you move through coursework on your own timeline within a broader term, often completing units as soon as you demonstrate mastery rather than waiting for a fixed weekly schedule.
Structured formats: Follow a set schedule with fixed start and end dates, weekly deadlines and sometimes scheduled live sessions, keeping students on a defined track while still delivering coursework online.
With Capella’s FlexPath learning format (available in select programs), you can move through coursework at your own pace as you demonstrate mastery, rather than on a fixed weekly schedule. With the GuidedPath learning format, you get a more structured option with set weekly deadlines to keep you on track.
If your schedule is unpredictable, a rigid calendar can be harder to sustain than a self-paced one, and the reverse is true if you do better with externally imposed deadlines.
Curriculum is one of the more consistent things across accredited accounting programs, online or on campus. Expect a core built around four areas.
Financial and managerial accounting: financial statement analysis that external stakeholders, investors, lenders and regulators rely on
Auditing: testing whether an organization’s financial statements and internal controls hold up to independent scrutiny
Taxation: individual and corporate tax preparation and compliance
Accounting information systems (AIS): the automation accounting software based on generally accepted accounting principles, and the data infrastructure that accounting runs on
Beyond that core, programs diverge in specialization options, elective depth and how much the curriculum leans into current practice versus theory.
When comparing programs, review official course catalogs and detailed syllabi alongside program overview pages to see full course details and electives.
Comparing distance education programs one browser tab at a time can be slow, and it’s easy to miss a difference that matters to your cost or schedule. A short, repeatable framework works better.
Accreditation type: Confirm the institutional and programmatic ones, verified independently rather than taken from the program’s own description.
Total cost structure: Check the tuition per credit, fees and how many credits the program requires to graduate.
Program flexibility and pacing: Does the distance education format match how you work and how you’d like to study?
Curriculum relevance to your goals: Does the program offer the specialization or elective depth that matches the career path you’re aiming at, public accounting, corporate finance or a CPA track?
Career services and employment support: What a program offers beyond the classroom, for example, career coaching, employer relationships and recruiting events.
Here is how Capella’s BS in Business, Accounting answers each of those five evaluation points.
| What to compare | Capella’s BS in Business, Accounting |
|---|---|
Accreditation type |
Institutional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission, plus ACBSP programmatic accreditation through the broader BS in Business |
Total cost structure |
Current tuition and fees and up to 75% of a bachelor’s degree may be eligible to transfer in |
Program flexibility and pacing |
FlexPath (self-paced) and GuidedPath (weekly structure) are available for the degree |
Curriculum relevance to your goals |
The BS in Accounting course list shows exactly which classes count toward the CPA-track curriculum; completion of the program alone does not qualify someone to take the CPA exam |
Career services and employment support |
Capella’s accounting career skills resources map coursework to specific career competencies |
Earning an accounting degree is the foundation for a business career, but completing a degree alone does not automatically make you a certified public accountant. CPA certification and CPA licensure require passing the uniform CPA exam and meeting specific state board requirements. Certification means passing the exam, while licensure is granted by the state board to practice and use the CPA title, which typically requires professional experience under a licensed CPA’s supervision. That means you can get certified without being licensed yet.
Most states require 150 credit hours of education to sit for the CPA exam, 30 hours beyond a standard 120-credit bachelor’s degree. How those hours must be earned and whether they need to be in accounting specifically varies by state board.
This is not a claim about any specific program’s outcomes. Confirm your state’s exact CPA certification requirements directly with your state board of accountancy before choosing any coursework.
Recent model legislation from National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has also opened an alternative pathway in some states: a bachelor’s degree in accounting plus two years of supervised professional experience, without the additional 30 credit hours. Adoption varies by state and is still rolling out, so check whether your state has adopted it.
If your state still requires the full 150 hours and your bachelor’s only gets you to 120, here are the common ways to close the gap.
A Master of Accounting (MAcc) or Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAcc)
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) or other business master’s degree
Additional undergraduate credits in accounting or a related field
Community college coursework, where your state board accepts it
An accounting degree opens up a few distinct career tracks.
Client-facing paths: accounting services, tax preparation, advisory or consulting, financial aid and direct client contact in accounting firms, all of which may be the fastest route to CPA careers
Internal paths: business finance, government or nonprofit accounting, financial aid for one organization with a steady scope
Specialized paths: insurance or healthcare accounting, for example, narrowing the focus and often layering industry-specific credentials on top of the base degree
Some roles prefer or require additional experience or licensure beyond the degree. Capella University cannot guarantee that a graduate will secure a state license, any specific job title, promotion, salary increase or other career outcome. Individual outcomes depend on factors such as prior work experience, geographical location, individual skills and market demand.
Job growth projections and salary figures are drawn from Lightcast data and reflect national trends. Actual outcomes vary based on factors such as experience, industry, location, skills and economic conditions, and are not representative of Capella University graduate results.
Lightcast labor market data (July 2024 to July 2026, Accountant occupation, based on 301,381 salary observations) shows median advertised salary up 4% over that two-year window.
The full-window median sits at $81.3K, with observations ranging from below $48K to above $112K and the heaviest concentration between $64K and $88K.
On education requirements, the same dataset shows 97% of matching job postings list a bachelor’s degree as accepted or required, against 14% listing a master’s, 6% an associate degree in accounting and 67% a high school diploma or GED.
Putting it simply, a bachelor’s degree is the baseline credential in this labor market, and additional credentials are common but not universal.
Legitimacy comes down to accreditation, not delivery format. CPA eligibility comes down to your state board total credit hours and content, not a program’s name or how it’s structured. And a five-point comparison will help you get closer to the decision.
Whatever program you choose, run it through these five comparison points before enrolling. That diligence is how you can decide if a degree worth the investment.
An associate degree in accounting is the standard two-year credential, usually an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) or Associate of Science (AS), covering foundational bookkeeping, cost accounting and tax basics. Many of those credits transfer directly into a bachelor’s program, making it a common first step for students planning to pursue CPA eligibility down the line.
Yes. Fully online bachelor’s and master’s programs in accounting are common, and coursework, including exams, can be completed remotely. The CPA exam itself is the main exception: it’s administered at approved in-person testing centers, so even a fully online degree won’t get you out of sitting for it in person once you’re ready to test.
Curriculum and accreditation standards are generally the same. The bigger differences show up outside the classroom: online programs typically pair coursework with academic coaching and virtual tech support rather than in-person office hours, and on-campus programs offer face-to-face networking that online programs replace with virtual student communities and alumni networks instead.
It’s possible, though not guaranteed by any degree. Lightcast data for the broader Accountant occupation puts the median well below that mark, with senior, specialized or credentialed roles the more likely path to $100,000 or more. Experience, certification (like a CPA license), industry and location all influence individual salary outcomes.
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