Tax Practice Certificate

The Certificate in Tax Practice, offered by the Lucas Graduate School of Business , provides nine units of graduate-level tax research and tax foundation skills and knowledge to students who already have either an undergraduate or graduate degree in accounting. This certificate can also assist anyone seeking nine units to help meet the required 150 units to become a CPA. It can help with career advancement and passing the CPA examination. The nine units can be applied to the MST program (if within the required time limits for degree completion).

University Advanced Certificate Requirements

Advanced certificate programs offer post-baccalaureate students coursework leading to a specific, applied, focused goal. In order to be eligible for admission to an advanced certificate, students complete an intake form or apply through CalState Apply and submit an official transcript(s) (noting the completion of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from an accredited and/or recognized institution from a foreign country). To be admitted, students must have a minimum of 2.5 undergraduate GPA.

Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 in all advanced certificate coursework, and no course with a grade less than “C” may be counted toward the certificate. A maximum of 4 units of coursework with a grade of “C” can count toward an advanced certificate. A maximum of 4 units of coursework may be repeated. Undergraduate lower division courses are not applicable to advanced certificates.

Generally, a maximum of 33% of advanced certificate units (e.g., 3 units for a 9-unit certificate) can be completed in non-matriculated status at SJSU with approval from the department or school. In some cases, an advanced certificate may be completed entirely in non-matriculated status if the student has received approval from the department or school and the Associate Dean of Graduate Programs in the College of Graduate Studies.

A maximum of 30% of any graduate degree program units (e.g., 9 units for a 30-unit Master’s degree) can be completed from another institution and/or units from Open University (including advanced certificate courses) at SJSU with approval from the department or school.

The choice of grading requirements may have implications for transferability to degree programs (University Policy S16-17).

The advisor/director of the program is responsible for verifying a student’s satisfactory completion of the academic requirements established for the program and for forwarding a copy of the certificate audit completion form to the Office of Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations. The Office of the Registrar records the completion of the program on the student’s transcript.

Certificate Requirements (9 units)

BUS 223A - Tax Research and Decision Making 3 unit(s) (GWAR)

Complete Six Units From:

BUS 223F - Tax Accounting Methods/Periods 3 unit(s)
BUS 223G - Taxation of Business Entities 3 unit(s)
BUS 225E - Data Analytics and Security 3 unit(s)
BUS 225F - State Taxation Fundamentals 3 unit(s)
BUS 225H - Taxation of Property Transactions 3 unit(s)
BUS 225L - Accounting for Income Taxes 3 unit(s)
BUS 225W - Introduction to International Taxation 3 unit(s)
BUS 227A - Individual Tax Compliance 1 unit(s) (3 units required)
BUS 227B - Ethics for Tax Practitioners 1 unit(s) (3 units required)
BUS 227C - Tax Symposium 1 unit(s) (3 units required)
BUS 227D - Employment Taxation and the Modern Workforce 1 unit(s) (3 units required)
BUS 227E - Foundation for Understanding Taxation 1 unit(s) (3 units required)
BUS 227F - Personal and Business Leadership Skills for Tax Practitioners 2 unit(s)

Total Units Required (9 units)

Conditional on the approval of the program director, a student may select one other BUS elective course to substitute one of the elective courses listed above.