| This dissertation develops a consistent structure that documents the state of undergraduate and graduate accounting education in the United States and how it has changed from the 1960s to the present. It includes a literature review that summarizes major developments affecting accounting education to provide a historical context relevant to current efforts to accomplish educational change. The analysis identifies patterns in educational requirements and compiles information that may instruct educational policy discussions. It considers the recommendations of the Beamer Committee, policy statements of the AICPA, and the influences of accounting accreditation and the move to 150-hour educational requirements. In combination, these two influences provide strong impetus for the documented changes that have been studied. An increase in the availability of professional accounting graduate programs and broad consistency among program requirements are documented. Future prescriptive or diagnostic efforts can utilize the solid foundation developed in this research.;In addition, analysis of faculty characteristics reveals decreases in proportions of faculty members at doctoral-granting institutions with professional certifications or with tenure-track appointments. The analysis identifies potentially productive areas for future consideration of causes and implications of the observed differences in faculty characteristics between types of institutions and over time. |
