(Davis, CA) — The UC Davis Graduate School of Management will become the first University of California school to offer a master’s degree in professional accountancy—a response to major changes in educational requirements and the resulting need for improved training of certified public accountants in California.

“We are delighted we can now offer this degree,” said Steven Currall, dean of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. “The degree will provide a vital educational offering for the residents of California, as well as serve as a valuable component of the Graduate School of Management’s academic portfolio and business model. Offering this degree is both timely and essential.”

The first students will be admitted in fall 2012, Currall said.

The establishment of the new degree comes on the heels of new educational requirements for those seeking to become a CPA. A California law passed in 2009, Senate Bill 819, significantly revised the educational requirements for CPAs. The new law requires, starting in 2014, an additional year of post-secondary education before a candidate can become a CPA in California.

Students with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, and who meet the minimum entrance requirements, may apply to the master’s degree program. The Graduate School of Management accepts the GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test) or the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) in its application process

The MPAc program, largely designed around California’s new law, would require students to pass an examination after advancing to candidacy, and at the end of all coursework, in order to receive the degree.

Robert Yetman, associate professor and faculty director of the MPAc program at UC Davis, said there are great employment opportunities for graduates of an MPAc program because the demand for highly trained accountants in California exceeds the supply.

“Already some accounting firms in California only interview and hire students who meet these new requirements,” he said.

UC Davis will begin accepting applications for the new degree Dec. 15. Other deadlines are Feb. 15, 2012; March 31, 2012; and June 1 if space is available.

For more information about the MPAc program, visit gsm.ucdavis.edu/MPAc

About the UC Davis Graduate School of Management

The UC Davis Graduate School of Management is consistently ranked among the premier business schools in the United States and internationally. The school has nearly 600 MBA students enrolled in Daytime MBA and Working Professional MBA programs on the UC Davis campus, in Sacramento and in the San Francisco Bay Area. U.S.News & World Report ranks UC Davis among the top 6 percent of MBA programs in the nation. The Economist ranks the school’s faculty quality No. 6 in the world. Learn more at gsm.ucdavis.edu.

Media Contacts:

Karen Nikos, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-6101, kmnikos@ucdavis.edu

Tim Akin, UC Davis Graduate School of Management, (916) 402-9270, tmakin@ucdavis.edu