(a) An applicant shall meet the board's accounting course requirements in one of the following ways:
  (1) Hold a baccalaureate or higher degree from a board-recognized institution of higher education as defined by §511.52 of this chapter (relating to Recognized Institutions of Higher Education) and present valid transcript(s) from board-recognized institution(s) that show degree credit for no fewer than 21 semester credit hours of upper division accounting courses as defined in subsection (e) of this section; or
  (2) Hold a baccalaureate or higher degree from a board-recognized institution of higher education as defined by §511.52 of this chapter, and after obtaining the degree, complete the requisite 21 semester credit hours of upper division accounting courses, as defined in subsection (e) of this section, from four-year degree granting institutions, or accredited community colleges, provided that all such institutions are recognized by the board as defined by §511.52 of this chapter, and that the accounting programs offered at the community colleges are reviewed and accepted by the board.
(b) Credit for hours taken at board-recognized institutions of higher education using the quarter system shall be counted as 2/3 of a semester credit hour for each hour of credit received under the quarter system.
(c) The board will accept no fewer than 21 semester credit hours of accounting courses from the courses listed in subsection (e)(1) - (14) of this section. The hours from a course that has been repeated will be counted only once toward the required 21 semester hours. The courses must meet the board's standards by containing sufficient business knowledge and application to be useful to candidates taking the UCPAE. A board-recognized institution of higher education must have accepted the courses for purposes of obtaining a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent, and they must be shown on an official transcript.
(d) A non-traditionally-delivered course meeting the requirements of this section must have been reviewed and approved through a formal, institutional faculty review process that evaluates the course and its learning outcomes and determines that the course does, in fact, have equivalent learning outcomes to an equivalent, traditionally delivered course.
(e) The subject-matter content should be derived from the UCPAE Blueprints and cover some or all of the following:
  (1) financial accounting and reporting for business organizations that may include:
    (A) up to nine semester credit hours of intermediate accounting;
    (B) advanced accounting; or
    (C) accounting theory;
  (2) managerial or cost accounting (excluding introductory level courses);
  (3) auditing and attestation services;
  (4) internal accounting control and risk assessment;
  (5) financial statement analysis;
  (6) accounting research and analysis;
  (7) up to 12 semester credit hours of taxation (including tax research and analysis);
  (8) financial accounting and reporting for governmental and/or other nonprofit entities;
  (9) up to 12 semester credit hours of accounting information systems, including management information systems ("MIS"), provided the MIS courses are listed or cross-listed as accounting courses, and the institution of higher education accepts these courses as satisfying the accounting course requirements for graduation with a degree in accounting;
  (10) up to 12 semester credit hours of accounting data analytics, provided the institution of higher education accepts these courses as satisfying the accounting course requirements for graduation with a degree in accounting (while data analytics tools may be taught in the courses, application of the tools should be the primary objective of the courses);
  (11) fraud examination;
  (12) international accounting and financial reporting;
  (13) at its discretion, the board may accept up to three semester credit hours of accounting course work with substantial merit in the context of a career in public accounting, provided the course work is predominantly accounting or auditing in nature but not included in paragraphs (1) - (12) of this subsection (for any course submitted under this provision, the Accounting Faculty Head or Chair must affirm to the board in writing the course's merit and content); and
  (14) at its discretion, the board may accept up to three semester credit hours of independent study in accounting selected or designed by the student under faculty supervision (the curriculum for the course shall not repeat the curriculum of another accounting course that the student has completed).
(f) The board requires that a minimum of two semester credit hours in research and analysis relevant to the course content described in subsection (e)(6) or (7) of this section be completed. The semester credit hours may be obtained through a discrete course or offered through an integrated approach. If the course content is offered through integration, the institution of higher education must advise the board of the course(s) that contain the research and analysis content.
(g) The following types of introductory courses do not meet the accounting course definition in subsection (e) of this section:
  (1) elementary accounting;
  (2) principles of accounting;
  (3) financial and managerial accounting;
  (4) introductory accounting courses; and
  (5) accounting software courses.
(h) Any CPA review course offered by an institution of higher education or a proprietary organization shall not be used to meet the accounting course definition.
(i) CPE courses shall not be used to meet the accounting course definition.
(j) Accounting courses completed through an extension school of a board recognized educational institution may be accepted by the board provided that the courses are accepted for a business baccalaureate or higher degree conferred by that educational institution.
(k) Credits awarded for coursework taken through the following organizations and shown on a transcript from an institution of higher education may not be used to meet the requirements of this chapter:
  (1) American College Education (ACE);
  (2) Prior Learning Assessment (PLA);
  (3) Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES);
  (4) Defense Subject Standardized Test (DSST); and
  (5) StraighterLine.

Source Note: The provisions of this §511.60 adopted to be effective February 2, 2022, 47 TexReg 302; amended to be effective October 4, 2023, 48 TexReg 5664; amended to be effective February 7, 2024, 49 TexReg 552