Suzanne Youngberg is the M.S.T. advisor. Her office is located at 345Y Barsema Hall. You can contact her by phone (815-753-6099) or email: youngberg@niu.edu.
The basic requirements for admission are:
The following application deadlines are set by the Graduate School:
| M.S.T. Deadline |
All Documents to Grad School Deadline |
International Students Deadline |
|
| Summer | April 1st | June 1st | _____* |
| Fall | June 1st | July 15th | May 1st |
| Spring | November 1st | December 10th | October 1st |
* International students can not apply for summer term.
The Graduate School deadline for each term is the latest that you can apply. We begin to review applications once the M.S.T. deadline has passed. You should apply by the M.S.T. deadline date to have the best chance of acceptance into the program.
Students who miss the application deadlines or students who want to “test-drive” the program may still take classes prior to admission by applying to the NIU Graduate School for "student-at-large" status. However, a maximum of nine semester hours earned as a student-at-large will qualify for the M.S.T. degree once a student is admitted to the program.
After the Graduate School has received and processed all of your documents, it will ask Prof. Youngberg for a recommendation. The Graduate School and Prof. Youngberg will notify you of their decision.
The Graduate School prefers that admission applications be submitted online. Applications are also available at Graduate School, 102 Adams Hall, (815-753-0395) or at the Graduate School website.
Students who want to “test-drive” the program may take up to three classes prior to admission by applying to the NIU Graduate School for "student-at-large" status.
You may request information about the GMAT by phone (1-800-462-8669), mail, or web site www.gmac.org. The GMAT is a computer-adaptive test that is available year-round at test centers throughout the United States. The fee to take this exam is $250. It is possible to schedule your test within a few days of registering, but popular dates (weekends, especially) book quickly. Consider admission deadlines, then call early to increase your chances of getting your preferred test date at the center most convenient to you. Besides DeKalb, test sites closest to DeKalb are in Westchester, Lombard, Northbrook, Chicago, and Peoria. Check the web site for specific locations.
Since the GMAT does not test you on your accounting and business knowledge, you should take the GMAT at least seven to twelve months before the start of Graduate School. By taking the exam early, you will have time to retake the exam if necessary. GMAT requires you to wait one month between test dates. If you take the test more than once, your highest score will be used.
Whether to take a review course or not is up to you. You can purchase review manuals, such as Kaplan and Princeton. These manuals contain CDs that provide you with a simulated exam.
Courses meet on weekday evenings at the NIU Hoffman Estates campus. We consciously designed the program in this way to meet the needs of working professionals who want to earn this degree while continuing to work full-time.
While all MST courses are offered in Hoffman Estates, four of the five required courses in the M.S.T. program [ACCY 645, ACCY 647, ACCY 649, ACCY 656] are also taught in the MAS program in DeKalb. Most MAS classes are offered once a week in the afternoon. The cost of these courses can be found in the MAS frequently asked questions.
Check out our current course offerings for Fall 2008 through Spring 2010.
Yes.
To obtain the M.S.T. degree, a student will be required to successfully complete 30 semester hours of graduate study exclusively in the areas of federal, state, and international taxation with a 3.00 grade point average on a 4.00 scale within 6 consecutive years. All 30 semester hours required for the degree must be in graduate-level tax courses. No electives outside of the tax area are permitted toward the M.S.T. degree.
All students are required to complete five core courses (15 semester hours) which provide a common foundation of knowledge and skills:
ACCY 645 Professional Tax Research
ACCY 647 Corporate Taxation
ACCY 649 Partnership Taxation
ACCY 651 Federal Estate and Gift Taxation
ACCY 656 Tax Concepts and Property Transactions
In addition to the five core courses, all students must complete an additional five elective courses (15 semester hours) from the following:
ACCY 605 Independent Study in Taxation
ACCY 646 Tax Administration and Practice
ACCY 648 Advanced Corporate Taxation
ACCY 652 Taxation of Estates and Trusts
ACCY 654 Special Tax Topics
ACCY 655 International Taxation
ACCY 657 Taxation of Compensation & Benefits
ACCY 658 State and Local Taxation
ACCY 659 Tax Accounting Methods and Periods
ACCY 660 Advanced Partnership Taxation
ACCY 673 Internship in Accounting
This course is for those students who want to engage in the comprehensive study of a topic or topics that are not part of our regular course offerings (or are covered only briefly in our courses). The study normally requires between 125 to 150 hours of work and results in a paper of 60 to 75 pages. The hours and work product guidelines are set to equate this experience to a 3 semester hour class - 42 hours of class time and about 2 hours of study outside of class for each hour in class. The study needs to be approved by the MST Advisor or Director and must be supervised by a professor with expertise in the student's area of interest.
Additional information about the M.S.T. program can be obtained by emailing Suzanne Youngberg or calling her at (815)753-6099 (please provide a mailing address when you email or call). In addition, detailed program information (including course descriptions) is available in the Graduate Catalog .
| 2008-2009 Academic Year1 | In-State | Out-of-State |
| Tuition Regional Delivery Fee Total Tuition and Fees Plus: Technology Surcharge (≤ 6 hours) |
$ 762 / 3 credit class $ 945 / 3 credit class $1,707 / 3 credit class plus: $ 50 / semester |
$1,524 / 3 credit class $ 945 / 3 credit class $2,469 / 3 credit class plus: $ 50 / semester |
1All amounts are rounded. Tuition and fees are subject to change by the Board of Trustees at any time without notice. Program cost does not include textbook, ancillary expenses, and specific course fees.
Yes, the Graduate School has definite deadlines to apply for graduation and to attend commencement ceremonies.
| Graduation Date | Deadline to Apply | |
| May | November 1 | |
| August | N/A | There is no summer commencement ceremony. Summer grads may attend either the May or December ceremony by submitting a complete graduation application. |
| December | April 1 |
You must get a graduation application from Suzanne Youngberg. The graduation application plus a $35 fee must be submitted to the Graduate School by the deadline. If you do not graduate in the term you declared, you must submit a "Reactivation Application for a Degree" form with the Graduate School.
All NIU commencement ceremonies occur in the Convocation Center on the DeKalb campus. Ceremonies are scheduled at the end of the fall and spring semesters. The ceremony for graduate degree-recipients occurs the day before the undergraduate commencement ceremonies. There is no commencement ceremony at the conclusion of the summer semester.