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Accounting
The ledger of financial strategy
Certificate Description
Note to Prospective Students
Dear Prospective Accounting Student,
We are excited that you are interested in pursuing a career in Accounting, which continues to be a critical and versatile career in today's economy. We are, however, making some changes to our curriculum. While you are invited to enroll in any open course and pick up practical skills for the field (some courses apply to the certificate in Business Administration) we are not accepting new certificate program candidates at this time. We will provide an update to the program shortly.
Questions? Please reach out to Tanya Doyle, program manager, at tdoyle@ucsc.edu.
Thank you!
— UCSC Silicon Valley Professional Education
Understand the bottom line of your organization
Help build its future. In our four-course accounting certificate program you learn to analyze transactions, prepare financials, and explore complex issues so you can collaborate with management and communicate financial needs of an organization. This is a great foundation for someone interested in pursuing a career as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA®) or Certified Management Accountant (CMA®). Start building your career network with working professionals in the area.
Accounting certificate program objectives
- Analyze transactions
- Prepare financial statements
- Understand complex accounting issues—investments revenue recognition, leases, bonds, and pensions; and
- Collaborate with management to analyze and plan organizational financial needs.
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Learn about this career.
Program Overview
Estimated Cost: Starting at $3,100. (You pay only for courses you enroll in.) | International Tuition Cost
Program Requirements: 4 courses (16 quarter units). End with certificate of completion review.
Minimum Hours of Instruction: 160 hours of instruction.
Estimated Duration: A full-time student can complete the certificate in 9–12 months.
Courses
1. Required Course(s):
2. Completion Review:
Certificate Inquiry Form
Recommended Course Sequence
- Introduction to Accounting I: Financial Accounting
- Introduction to Accounting II: Managerial Accounting
- Intermediate Accounting I
- Intermediate Accounting II
Substitutions
To receive your certificate
Professional Development
Professional Credit
Your accounting courses may qualify for professional education or recertification credit.
- HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®)
- Professional in Human Resources® (PHR®)
- Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)
- Global Professional in Human Resources® (GPHR®)
Please verify with your professional organization for more information.
Become a CPA® or a CMA®.
If you’ve completed the UCSC Extension Accounting certificate, explore our CPA® preparation courses.
Earn grad school credit
Want to apply for an M.S. or an M.B.A? Some of our courses are recognized for credit at graduate programs.
Licensure and Certification
Please see our Licensure and Certification Policy to learn more.
Requisite Knowledge
Please review the course descriptions to ensure that you have taken necessary prerequisites or meet the requirements through job experience or previous education.
Advisory Board
Certificate Program Chair
DIANNE V. CONRY, M.S. in financial accounting, CPA, is a consultant with Kranz & Associates and has more than 20 years of accounting experience both in public accounting and in private industry. She is an experienced instructor and has taught financial accounting at several area colleges.
Certificate Program Advisory Committee
SHAUNA BARKER, M.B.A, CPA (inactive)
CFO Consultant
San Francisco Bay Area
SUE CHEUNG Ph.D., CPA.
CFO
QuickLogic Corp.
Sunnyvale, CA
DIANNE CONRY M.S., CPA,
Consultant
Kranz & Associates
Menlo Park, CA
Chair/Instructor, Accounting Certificate Program
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension
THARAN (TERRY) LANIER M.B.A., CPA,
Principal
Seeba & Associates, Inc.
Instructor, Accounting Certificate Program
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension
TERRY MULLIN M.B.A, M.S, M.S
Professor of Business and Accounting
Cabrillo College
Instructor, Accounting Certificate Program
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension
HAONING RICHTER CPA, CIA, CCEP
Founder
HYR Consulting LLC.
Instructor, Accounting Certificate Program
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension
Establish Candidacy
Establish candidacy in a certificate or specialization
Once you create your student account, you can establish candidacy in a certificate or specialization program any time during your studies.
The benefits of enrolling early
- Lock in your certificate requirements.This means that even if program requirements change, the requirements to complete your certificate will remain the same for you
- Receive program updates
- Set your intention
- It’s free
To complete a program, you must enroll in the certificate program before enrolling in the Certificate Completion Review.
You have five years to complete all necessary courses in a certificate program or three years to finish up a specialization program.
All the necessary units in a certificate must be completed within this window.* The clock begins on the first day of your first course in the certificate program. For example, if you started a course on Sept. 5, 2017, you would have to complete all of the required units in this certificate by Sept. 4, 2022.
Note:
Enrolling in a certificate program does not trigger the beginning of the five-year window. It begins the first day of the first course that applies to a certificate program. The Certificate Completion Review process does not have to occur within the five-year timeframe.
For more information: How do I get my certificate or specialization?
* Students participating in a special program, such as workforce, international, Personal Financial Planning, or curriculum partner programs (Udacity, Microfacturing Institutes) may have a shorter completion requirement.
Grade Requirements
Please note that only letter grades of C or higher may be applied to a certificate, and in some programs, students may have more stringent requirements. Students in most employer- and government-sponsored payment programs, such as workforce development, as well as international students on F-1 visas, need to maintain a B average to meet their requirements. Personal Financial Planning students have additional grade requirements for individual courses to attain a certificate.
See Grading and Credits Policy for further information.