Course overview
This one-year full-time course offers a postgraduate route to a career in professional accounting. It offers you the chance to complete much of the study and examination requirements involved in qualifying as an accountant. Upon successful completion of all requirements of the course, you will gain full exemption from all but the Final Admitting Examination (FAE) of Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI).
The course offers more than exemptions. As well as intensive tuition in the core technical materials assessed in the professional examinations, you will gain exposure to the emerging contemporary issues in accounting and finance that will shape your working environment and the future economy. Personal competencies and skills in commercial judgment are also developed to give you a competitive edge as you embark on your career in accounting. In addition, MAcc graduates qualify for exemption from all papers in part 1 of the AITI Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) qualification.
Job outcomes
- Accountant
- Senior roles in general management
Study method
- In-class
- Blended
- Online
Duration study load
- 1 Year Full-time
Entry requirements
Applicants must have:
at least a Second Class Honours Grade I in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) with a significant accounting specialisation and expect to qualify for exemption from the CA Proficiency 1 examination of Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI).
Applicants who do not meet the exemption requirement in full by the registration date may only be admitted in exceptional circumstances following approval by the Programme Board and the School of Business.
Applicants who meet the requirements in full, with the exception of CAP 1 Taxation, may be admitted but must fulfil the Taxation requirement by taking specific elective modules during the programme.
For Applicants with Qualifications Completed Outside of Ireland
Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements. For more information, please submit an enquiry.
International/Non-EU Applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure, please submit an enquiry.
- In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.
- Note that not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants; please check the fact file above. For more information, please submit an enquiry to find out more.
English Language Requirements
Applicants who are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements.
Assessment
Assessment for the taught modules is by a combination of end-of-year written exams and continuous assessment in the form of interim exams and projects.
Who's it for?
The course prepares you for employment as a trainee accountant and it has been designed with significant contributions from partners, directors, and training managers in major accounting firms.
Each of the ‘Big 4’ firms (Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PwC) has indicated a willingness to support students who wish to complete the MAcc at UCC prior to undertaking professional training.
Delivery
Lectures take place Monday-Thursday in Room 3.14, O’Rahilly Building, UCC. This dedicated room in the department is available to MAcc students for individual and group work on Fridays and weekends. Occasional seminars, site visits and other professional training activities also take place on some Fridays.
There is also a significant commitment in terms of assignments, case study preparation and individual study. The workload reflects the demands expected in the early stages of a professional career, and students should plan their year on the basis that this is a full-time course.
There may be opportunities for students to act as undergraduate tutors.
The academics who teach this course are all experienced professionals who have worked in a variety of major accounting firms, financial institutions, and leading industrial companies both nationally and internationally. All hold accounting qualifications and/or have significant industry experience. Our academic staff are also actively engaged in professionally relevant research and publication.
Subjects
Students take a total of 90 credits. Part I consists of taught modules to the value of 60 credits. Part II consists of 30 credits devoted to the development of independent research skills relevant to the work of a modern professional accountant in practice, industry and financial services.
Students who successfully achieve the pass standard in Part I may opt not to proceed to Part II and may opt instead to be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Accounting.
About University College Cork
University College Cork is ranked in the top 1.1% of universities in the world. It is Ireland’s leading institution for the delivery of research impact and the top Irish institution for highly cited researchers. We are the leading global university for sustainability and the Irish university with the highest level of industry collaboration.
The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Colleges located in Belfast, Cork, and Galway. It became University College, Cork, under the Irish Universities Act 1908. The Universities Act 1997 renamed the university as National University of Ireland, Cork, and a Ministerial Order of 1998 renamed the university as University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork, though it continues to be almost universally known as University College Cork.
