BBA in Accounting

Why pursue an accounting degree at North Central College?

Our accounting degree will help you become professionally indispensable—one of those rare people who can analyze complex quantitative problems and explain them to everyone from CEOs to stockholders. You’ll learn to identify key economic issues affecting business strategy and interpret and prepare critical financial reports and analyses. Our professors also weave writing and presentation skills into every accounting course, so you’ll become a skilled communicator—and that will set you head and shoulders above your peers.

You can also:

• Secure internships with some of the most prestigious accounting firms, like PwC, EY, Deloitte, RSM, and many other local and regional firms.
• Participate in our Student Accounting Society which hosts speakers, networking events, and social gatherings.
• Work closely with faculty mentors to conduct research, explore graduate study, and consider internship opportunities and career options.
• Complete the required 150 credit hours to sit for the CPA examination in Illinois and most other states in four years by working closely with your academic advisor, enrolling in summer coursework, and completing advanced placement credits.
• Explore opportunities to complete the required credit hours for the CPA examination through graduate study—whether through North Central’s or other schools' masters’ programs.
• Apply for one of the 10 scholarships awarded annually for study materials and fee waivers to take the Certified Management Accountant examination.
• Enhance classroom learning by participating in a variety of community engagement opportunities like the volunteer income tax preparation program and attestation services for local not-for-profit entities.
• Conduct market research and engage in data analytics using our state-of-the-art, 10-station Bloomberg Laboratory.

Since 1861, North Central has been a place where new ideas lead to unlimited possibilities. We’re an independent college dedicated to the power of the liberal arts and sciences to transform students into leaders both in their careers and communities. Our nearly 3,000 students study across more than 65 undergraduate and graduate programs, with their education, made richer by supportive faculty and staff, world-class facilities, and countless opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.

A College on the move

Building on the foundation of more than 150 years of excellence, North Central continues to grow with numerous new facilities, programs, and initiatives in the works.

The College opened with 40 students in a single two-story building in Plainfield, Illinois. Since then we’ve changed names twice (to North-Western, then North Central), moved once (from Plainfield to Naperville), and grown steadily (to about 3,000 students).

Over the years, thousands of dedicated students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends have helped us thrive through the toughest challenges – wars, economic crises, social upheavals, and more – and build a future brilliant with hope and promise.

We’ve met the changing needs of students from Civil War veterans to millennial entrepreneurs. And we’ve always stayed true to our heritage of moral courage and forward-thinking.

Today we’re a top-ranked private comprehensive college of the liberal arts and sciences. U.S. News & World Report counts us among “America’s Best Colleges,” one of the top six schools in the Midwest for a “strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” Students choose from more than 55 undergraduate majors and five graduate program areas.

Although the College originally discouraged organized athletics as a distraction from weightier matters, our 26 intercollegiate sports in NCAA Division III make our athletic department the largest in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW). North Central is proud of its 32 team national championships and 123 individual national champions.

Though affiliated with the United Methodist Church, we welcome and encourage students and staff of all faiths. We are thoughtfully expanding our academic programs to respond to the needs of our ever-changing world, recently adding Middle Eastern and North African Studies, along with Arabic. And we’re transforming our facilities – most dramatically with a new interdisciplinary Science Center located at the corner of Brainard Street and Van Buren Avenue.

It’s been an amazing 150+ years. But it’s clear that the best is yet to come!