A change in the student’s program of study or concentration is accomplished through the use of a Program Change Form. This form is available online or in Brightspace. Once completed, submit it to an academic advisor for processing and approval by the Director. A new curriculum checklist will be issued to the student. When changing programs or concentrations, it is possible that not all courses the student has taken will apply to the student’s new program of study.

For individuals interested in pursuing a second degree, nine credits from your first degree may be used toward the second degree upon the approval of the Director of Graduate Programs. Second degrees may be pursued concurrent with, or after you have completed, your first degree. A six year time limit for completion of all requirements also applies to second degrees. Students interested in pursuing a second degree must submit a Graduate School online application for the second degree. An MBA student may not pursue a second MBA.

A student, who wishes to request a change in degree requirements or any deviation from existing policies, must submit a detailed petition to the Director of CoB Graduate Programs. The petition must be submitted using an online Petition Form. Petitions are only available to students admitted to a CoB Graduate Program and are not open to non-degree students or engineering management students.

Electives for each degree program may be selected at the discretion of the student within the following guidelines:

1. Gateway or Foundation courses cannot be taken as electives.
2. Workshop credits will not be accepted for elective credit.
3. Elective credit cannot be obtained for a graduate course that duplicates a course that was taken for undergraduate or post-baccalaureate credit at The University of Akron or elsewhere.
4. No more than six (6) credits of electives may be at the 500 level.
5. Course prerequisite requirements must be satisfied.

Special permission to enroll in courses offered by another college within The University of Akron may be obtained prior to enrollment in the course. Permission may be granted when the student files a written petition identifying the course and demonstrating the substantive relationship of the course to the student's degree program.

A student who has completed a particular course for undergraduate or post-baccalaureate credit at The University of Akron or elsewhere is not eligible to earn graduate credit for an equivalent graduate course (e.g., 6200:431/531 Business Entity Taxation).

Transfer of Courses – Other Business Schools

A maximum of nine graduate credits may be transferred from an AACSB accredited college or university for non-Gateway or non-Foundation coursework in the MBA program. Accounting coursework to be transferred must be from an AACSB accredited accounting program. All transfer credits must be at the A or B grade level and must be relevant substitutes for the curriculum requirements of the degree program and fall within the Graduate School’s six-year time limit. However, students transferring credits from a conferred Master’s degree are not limited to six years.

Generally, courses which are not exclusively for graduate students will not transfer. A student seeking to transfer graduate credits must have full graduate status and be in good standing at both The University of Akron and the school at which the credits were earned. Transfer credits will not be recorded until the student has completed twelve semester credits at The University of Akron with a grade point average of 3.0 or better. In general, coursework from Law Schools may not transfer as graduate credit.

Transfer credits from other institutions shall not be computed as part of a student's University of Akron grade point average. In addition to these stipulations, a student who begins a CoB graduate degree at The University of Akron must formally petition, and receive permission in advance from the Director of CoB Graduate Programs to take equivalent courses elsewhere.

Transfer of Courses – UA School of Law

A maximum of nine credits of UA School of Law courses may be applied toward the JD/MBA, JD/MTax or JD/MSA programs. An MBA Interdisciplinary concentration is available which could allow a student to transfer any nine law credits to the CoB after approval of the Director. For the JD/MTax program, three credits must be in taxation core courses and six in taxation electives that satisfy MTax curriculum requirements.

Nine credits may be transferred in total and may consist of any valid combination of courses from other AACSB accredited business schools or approved law school courses. Therefore, additional graduate credits may not be transferred if nine law credits have been used to satisfy degree requirements. Requests for transfer of School of Law credits to the CoB will not be considered until the student has completed at least 12 CoB credits with a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.00 or better.

In order to apply toward the MBA, MTax or MSA program requirements School of Law courses selected for transfer must be:

1. related to the student’s field of study;
2. approved in advance by the Director of CoB Graduate Programs;
3. graded at the A or B grade level;
4. completed within the six-year time limit.

Waivers are only available for the MSA and M. Tax programs. Only courses in the Foundation or Pre-MSA Financial Reporting classes portion of a program are eligible for waiver based on prior academic coursework. Waivers will NOT be applied toward non-Foundation/Pre-MSA courses. Course waivers are considered on a case by case basis. For a course to be waived the grades obtained in the equivalent coursework must be at the level of B- or higher.

All international students are required to take 6400:655 Government and Business and 6400:602 Managerial Finance. International students who have graduated with a three-year degree can expect to be required to take all remaining Gateway/Foundation level courses for their program. Students with a three year degree plus one year of a master’s level degree may be waived from the remaining Gateway/Foundation courses provided that the criteria for those waivers is met.

Most Foundation courses will not be waived for international students in the MS Accountancy program. MSA students will need to consult with the Chair of the School of Accountancy to determine which waivers may be approved.