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Courses
Courses
Choosing a course is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make! View our courses and see what our students and lecturers have to say about the courses you are interested in at the links below.
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University Life
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About NUI Galway
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Research
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Business & Industry
Guiding Breakthrough Research at NUI Galway
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Community Engagement
Community Engagement
At NUI Galway, we believe that the best learning takes place when you apply what you learn in a real world context. That's why many of our courses include work placements or community projects.
Accounting (Master of)
Course Overview
The Master of Accounting programme’s aim is to further develop your conceptual base and knowledge and skills as an honours accounting graduate seeking a career in this area. The programme combines the advanced study of accounting as a basis for a professional career with the development of your academic and intellectual capabilities.
Chartered Accountants Ireland Exemptions
This programme has been developed with reference to the Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) syllabus. Therefore, significant exemptions from the CAI examinations are available. Graduates of the M.Acc. are granted full exemption from CAI’s CAP2 examinations, provided that they have full exemption from CAI’s CAP1 examinations before taking the M.Acc..
MAcc. graduates’ success in recent professional examinations
Our graduates consistently achieve very high places in the Final Admitting Examination of Chartered Accountants Ireland and in the final examination of the Irish Tax Institute (AITI). In the recent professional exams, our graduates Aisling Curtin and Sarah Finnegan obtained second and third place respectively in CAI’s Final Admitting Examination and Nora Cosgrove was placed second in the final examinations of the Irish Taxation Institute.
KPMG-led Analytics Summer School
NEW FOR 2017-2018! The M.Acc. programme now includes summer school on “Audit and Accounting in the 21st Century: Data & Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Related Technological Tools”.

The class are pictured with Laurence May (KPMG Director), Darina Barrett (KPMG Financial Services Partner) and Prof Breeda Sweeney at a 30% Club event that took place on campus which was sponsored by KPMG.
Mr. Damien Flanagan, Director R&D Incentives and Capital Allowances Practice KPMG delivering seminar to Masters of Accounting students “Research in Practice: The KPMG Innovation Monitor”.
Applications and Selections
The programme starts in early September each year. Applications are made online to the Postgraduate Applications Centre (PAC) (www.pac.ie). The PAC application code is GYC00.
Who Teaches this Course
The following staff from the Accountancy and Finance Discipline at NUI Galway are involved in teaching the MAcc program:
- Ms. Mary Barrett
- Mr. Frank Conaty
- Mr. John Currie
- Dr. Emer Curtis
- Ms. Patricia Martyn
- Dr. Emer Mulligan
- Dr. Geraldine Robbins
- Professor Breda Sweeney
- Mary Cosgrove
- Cathal O’Curraoin
In addition, staff from the Discipline of Management and the Discipline of Business Information Systems each contribute a module to the program.
Visiting lecturers from the accounting profession, industry, and academia also contribute to the program.
Requirements and Assessment
Semester One exams: December.
Semester Two exams: April/May.
A range of assessment methods are integrated and assessed throughout the programme. These include projects, reports, presentations, case studies and debates.
Summer schools: May and June.
Key Facts
Entry Requirements
Additional Requirements
Duration
1 year, full-time
Next start date
September 2017
A Level Grades ()
Average intake
35
Closing Date
Offers are made on a rolling basis.
Next start date
September 2017
NFQ level
Mode of study
Taught
ECTS weighting
90
Award
CAO
PAC code
GYC00
Course Outline
The programme includes modules in:
• Financial Reporting
• Management Accounting and Control
• Taxation
• Auditing
• Finance
• Skills for Accounting Research and Practice
• Management Information Systems
• Strategic Management
In addition students complete EITHER two summer schools OR a research dissertation. Recent and forthcoming summer schools include:
• Advanced Taxation.
• Management Control Systems and Innovation.
• Audit and Accounting in the 21st Century: Data & Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Related Technological Tools
Further Education
Exemptions:
Graduates of the MAcc are granted full exemption from CAI’s CAP2 examinations, provided they have full exemption from CAI’s CAP1 examination before taking the MAcc.
Why Choose This Course?
Career Opportunities
A wide range of career choices are open to graduates, in particular in the accounting and tax consultancy professions. Most participants on the programme are sponsored (and subsequently employed) by major accounting firms, such as KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and Ernst & Young
Chartered Accountants Ireland Exemptions
This programme has been developed with reference to the Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) syllabus. Therefore, significant exemptions from the CAI examinations are available. Graduates of the M.Acc. are granted full exemption from CAI’s CAP2 examinations, provided that they have full exemption from CAI’s CAP1 examinations before taking the M.Acc..
MAcc. graduates’ success in recent professional examinations
Our graduates consistently achieve very high places in the Final Admitting Examination of Chartered Accountants Ireland and in the final examination of the Irish Tax Institute (AITI). In the recent professional exams, our graduates Aisling Curtin and Sarah Finnegan obtained second and third place respectively in CAI’s Final Admitting Examination and Nora Cosgrove was placed second in the final examinations of the Irish Taxation Institute.
KPMG-led Analytics Summer School
NEW FOR 2017-2018! The M.Acc. program now includes summer school on “Audit and Accounting in the 21st Century: Data & Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Related Technological Tools”.
Who’s Suited to This Course
Learning Outcomes
Work Placement
Study Abroad
Related Student Organisations
Course Fees
Fees: EU
Fees: Tuition
Fees: Student levy
Fees: Non EU
Postgraduate students in receipt of a SUSI grant – please note an F4 grant is where SUSI will pay €2,000 towards your tuition. You will be liable for the remainder of the total fee. An F5 grant is where SUSI will pay TUITION up to a maximum of €6,270. SUSI will not cover the student levy of €224.
Postgraduate fee breakdown = tuition (EU or NON EU) + student levy as outlined above.
Find out More
Ms Emma Brinton
T +353 91 492 308
E emma.brinton@nuigalway.ie
What our Employers Say
Colm Gorman | Head of KPMG
Since its inception, KPMG has sponsored students on the Master of Accounting programme in NUI Galway. We are delighted with the results. In its graduates, KPMG looks for rounded individuals with well-developed thinking and interpersonal skills. We really notice these skills in those who have completed the Master of Accounting in NUI Galway. It is the combined focus on technical skills development and personal development that we believe prepares students well for a career in business
What our Students and Graduates Say
Zhang Xiaolin | CURRENT MASTER OF ACCOUNTING STUDENT
The subjects in this Master of Accounting programme are very appropriate for your future career. You get to develop and practice your presentation and research skills through various assignments. From the programme, you will not only acquire knowledge but you will also develop an ability to solve real world problems. There is a good mix of international and national students in the class. The group work on various courses allowed me to experience working on problems with students from different cultural backgrounds. Staff are all very professional and friendly. The staff know that as an international student you live far away from your family and friends and they try to help and encourage you.
Alphonsa Cherukodath | CURRENT MASTER OF ACCOUNTING STUDENT
This programme has helped me to gain practical knowledge through problem solving in the various accounting and finance modules. It has made me more professionally competent as a result of the presentations, case study analysis and debates that are all part of the programme. The teaching faculty of the programme are very professional and all have industry experience which helps me to understand the topics more easily. Galway is a diversified city with very good infrastructural facilities and people are very friendly. The weather in the city was a completely new experience, but I have adjusted!"
Hanhuz Wang | CURRENT MASTER OF ACCOUNTING STUDENT
Courses arranged in this programme are essential and helpful for my future career in accountancy. I like that this study year is a challenge for me. I believe the year will help me develop my professional knowledge and skills and will greatly improve my job prospects. All staff teaching on this programme have excellent professional knowledge and teaching skills. They are nice, enthusiastic and helpful to me. I enjoy being here and am having a really good time in Galway. I regard Galway as my second hometown.
Ciarán O’Donnell | Associate, Ernst & Young
“I would certainly recommend studying the Master of Accounting degree at NUI Galway. My experience and time at Galway was without a doubt a positive and very enjoyable one. The facilities at the J.E Cairnes Business School are top class and are entirely conducive to an effective study environment. The programme lecturers are very much approachable, friendly, and hardworking. Furthermore the course offers a great platform for developing those skills necessary in progressing in the workplace and also with the professional exams. Lastly it needs to be mentioned that Galway City itself is a fantastic location to study in and the contacts you develop during the program are, in my opinion, invaluable.”





