History and Overview

Accounting has been one of the basic academic programs at the University of Florida for more than 70 years. In 1977, the School of Accounting was established as a separate school within the College of Business Administration by the Board of Regents and was endowed in 1985 through the generosity of alumnus Frederick E. Fisher. The Fisher School's primary mission is to provide a professional program within which students develop the knowledge, learning capabilities, professionalism, interpersonal skills and adaptability necessary to assume leadership roles in a changing professional and business environment. The school's degree programs are consistently ranked in the top ten in the nation by various academic and professional surveys. Most recently (2001), the graduate and undergraduate programs were ranked 5^th and 15^th respectively by the Public Accounting Report.

Programs

All Fisher School of Accounting programs are fully accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The school was one of the first in the country to meet the new accreditation standards for all of its accounting programs. UF's undergraduate and graduate programs in accounting and business were re-accredited by AACSB in April 1998.

With the importance of globalization, the school, and the Warrington College of Business, are the first business and accounting programs in the United States to be fully accredited by the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS). EQUIS is an international system of strategic audit and accreditation designed by Europeans for the assessment of institutions in widely different national contexts.

The school offers the Bachelor of Science in Accounting (B.S.Ac.) and Master of Accounting (M.Acc.) and coordinates the accounting concentration for the Ph.D. in business administration. The Fisher School of Accounting and the College of Law offer a program of study leading to the joint awarding of the Juris Doctorate and M.Acc. degrees (JD/M.Acc.).

Students who choose to complete the four-year undergraduate program will receive the Bachelor of Science in Accounting. These graduates will have the requisite accounting, business and general education to pursue a variety of career opportunities in accounting and business and to apply to graduate and professional degree programs in accounting, business or law.

Students wishing to prepare for a professional career in accounting should complete the five-year 3/2 program, which results in the joint awarding of the Bachelor of Science in Accounting and the Master of Accounting upon satisfactory completion of the 152-hour program. The recommended entry point into the 3/2 program is the beginning of the senior year. Interested students are encouraged to take the GMAT in their junior year. Additional information is available from the Fisher School of Accounting, P.O. Box 117166, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7166.

Prospective students should know the five-year post-secondary education requirement to sit for the Certified Public Accountants examination in the state of Florida. Contact the Florida Board of Accountancy, www.state.fl.us/dbpr/cpa/index.shtml.