If you’re considering obtaining an accounting degree, you certainly have questions about the underlying requirements to complete successfully this course of study. You may have a general idea of some of the basic course requirements associated with obtaining an accounting degree, you may have questions about related graduation requirements. For example, you may wonder whether you need to complete an internship in order to obtain an accounting degree.
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Specific Institutional Requirements
The reality is that individual colleges and universities establish their own degree requirements. This includes the field of accounting. In other words, some institutions of higher learning include an internship among the requirements for graduating with a degree in accounting and others do not.
If an accounting program at a particular college or university has an internship requirement, the department typically maintains resources to assist students in finding an intern position. A school is apt to have direct connections with businesses and organizations that routinely make available internship positions to students.
There are also instances in which a college or university offers internship positions on campus for students seeking accounting majors. These intern positions may be found in different areas within a college or university, including school administration, the athletic office, and so forth.
Value of Internship
Even is an internship is not a specific requirement of graduation, a student seeking an accounting degree certainly can voluntarily seek to participate in this type of endeavor. The reality is that there are real benefits to be derived from participating in an internship, whether a specific degree requirement or not.
A common challenge faced by a recent college grad is that while he or she has a solid educational background, that individual lacks actual work experience. An accounting internship while in college permits a person to obtain hands-on, real-world experience in the field even while still a student.
As is the case at institutions that require an internship in order to obtain an accounting degree, colleges and universities that don’t have that requirement nonetheless are apt to have on-campus resources that can assist in finding an internship. In addition, there may be internship opportunities on campus for accounting students as well.
Internship and Academic Credit
If an internship is a required element of an accounting degree curriculum, a person is nearly certain to get academic credit for participation in this type of endeavor. For example, if a person embarks an internship during the summertime, he or she obtains a certain number of credits for being an intern.
In a situation in which an internship is not required, a student typically can make a proposal to the accounting department to obtain approval for academic credit for undertaking an internship.
Conclusion
There are over 1.4 million positions in the United States for people with accounting degrees at this time, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Bureau anticipates that the number of accounting positions in the country will grow at a pace similar to the job market as a whole.
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