Pursuing higher education is a barrier for many working professionals, but PwC’s latest program is helping diverse students earn a free master’s degree on the job.
The Big Four firm partnered with Northeastern University to create a masters in accounting program that
The PwC program is also seeking to close the diversity gap in the accounting industry by choosing 40 Black and Latinx students from across the nation to participate in their free masters program. As an industry, accounting lacks diversity; of the 1.9 million accountants in the U.S., only less than 9% of them are Black, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lack of representation is even more staggering for the coveted CPA role, which are held by less than 1% of Black employees.
“The numbers just don’t match — the accounting profession is not reflective of the general population,” says Leah Houde, chief learning officer at PwC. “Historically, the accounting profession has lacked diversity because of barriers to entry; one of our goals is to help break down these barriers.”
Becoming a CPA is difficult for underprivileged groups because of the 150 credit requirement, Houde says. Most four-year accounting degree programs are 30 credits short of this goal; students interested in becoming a CPA typically need to enroll in a post-graduate program to earn them. Students can become accountants with a four-year degree, but they can’t take the exam to become a CPA without those additional credits. PwC is searching for candidates who’ve graduated from
“We wanted to create an opportunity pipeline for those who might not be able to earn those credits.” Houde says. “Not only are you not coming out of this with additional student debt, but you’re getting paid.”
Getting paid to earn a masters degree isn’t the only benefit of this program, Northeastern educators say. It makes work experience count for something.
“Students are able to apply the content they learn from classroom instruction immediately into the workplace,” says Raj Echambadi, the dean of Northeastern’s business school. “You’re not going to get the same ROI with a traditional education.”
PwC’s master degree program will last for one year, starting in July. During the summer, students will focus on online coursework, then progressively shift to working with clients as the firm’s busy season approaches. Once they complete the program, PwC hopes to offer these students full-time employment with the firm.
“We don’t just want to say we support diversity, we actually want to do something about it,” Houde says. “Our goal is to expand this program so we can continue to open up opportunities in the accounting industry.”
