Texas A&M University Accounting Degree Programs. “Aggies” All The Way?


Known for the fighting spirit of its football team supporters, this school achieved second ranking in the US News and World Report’s best value public university survey. We take a look at whether Texas A&M University accounting degree programs are the ones you should be fighting for.

Texas A&M University: Facts and Figures

Situated in the twin towns of Bryan/College Station, 90 miles from Houston, Texas A&M is the sixth largest university in the nation and the largest in the large state of Texas, with 58,000 student enrolments. So it’s, err, quite big then.

Texas A&M opened in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. The A&M part of the college’s name is a symbolic reference to its original name, and past and present Texas A&M students are known as “Aggies”. The Aggie spirit of service and desire to support is a major part of the university’s culture, in particular when it comes to football. 

In fact, Aggie fans are known as “The 12th Man”, in reference to an instance when a former player stood by the sidelines in case his team needed him during a particularly hard-fought game. Since the tradition started in 1922, Aggie fans stand during the whole game, and with their home ground being redeveloped to a 102,500 person capacity, it’s about to get even more intimidating for opposition teams.

Texas A&M is also one of six US Military Colleges; this background also contributing to its values of community, tradition and loyalty.

Mays Business School

The Mays Business School educates around 5,000 students and offers a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate degrees. It consistently ranks highly in national surveys of business schools, particularly compared to other public universities.

We were particularly impressed with Texas A&M placing as the second best university in The Wall Street Journal hiring survey conducted with corporations, non-profit entities and government agencies. 

Mays Accounting Undergraduate Program

Speaking of rankings, the Mays Business School undergraduate program was placed seventh overall by BusinessWeek in 2013, to go along with several other top ten rankings by various media outlets, demonstrating how respected the program is.

Mays offers a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting as its undergraduate program.

Mays Accounting Master’s Program

The Mays Master of Science in Accounting is non-thesis, and offers an opportunity to specialize in one of two different tracks: Assurance/Information Management and Tax Consulting/Financial Planning. The first track is ideal for those looking to start their career in audit or consulting before potentially moving into accounting and finance for a corporation; while the second track provides the foundations for a career in tax.

By completing the Master’s degree, graduates satisfy the entrance requirements for the CPA examination.

Mays Accounting PhD Program

Having started in 1972, the Mays Accounting PhD program has seen 141 students graduate with Doctorate degrees. For such a large university, around three per year is a small number, especially when we’ve seen smaller schools take up to ten. We’re not sure whether this is due to the exclusivity of the program, or if Mays just isn’t somewhere many people go to do a PhD in Accounting. In the absence of any direct feedback, we’ll assume it’s the former.

Texas A&M University Accounting Degree Programs: Summary

When talking about their university, one of the major themes that current and past students of Texas A&M mention is the welcoming environment. That’s right, good ol’ Texas hospitality. A&M is a big, conservative Texas school that doesn’t try and hide away from its personality, or its military-based ideals for that matter.

And the famous Aggie traditions? Well, if you don’t want to gather with 30,000 people for yelling practice the night before a football game, you don’t have to. But embrace them, and you’ll see why Aggieland is known for the type of people who use their camaraderie for strength in the face of adversity.

As well as being proud of a couple of centuries worth of traditions, if you graduate from the Texas A&M University accounting degree programs, you’ll be proud of your academic achievements too.