The Best Accounting Programs in New York for 2026

Fordham's Gabelli School of Business runs its core Accounting major as a choice between two tracks: Public Accounting, a 120-credit option that often serves as a lead-in to a dual degree program toward CPA licensure, and Public Accountancy, a five-year, 150-credit program built specifically to cover the extra credit hours New York requires for CPA licensure. A third option, Accounting Information Systems, pairs the accounting core with the technology skills firms are hiring for. Core courses include Individual and Business Taxation and Assurance and Auditing, with electives like Business Analytics and Advanced Python with AI layered on top, and select seniors can land a "Winternship," interning at an international firm while taking graduate-level business courses in their final semester.

This track shares Fordham's schoolwide numbers: an 82% graduation rate, a 59% admit rate, and a Hakia Score of 93.0, fourth among the four New York accounting programs profiled here. Tuition is a flat $62,990 a year with no in-state discount; stretched across the five-year, 150-credit Public Accountancy path, that is close to $314,950 before aid, the real cost of clearing New York's CPA hour requirement in one continuous program rather than adding a separate master's year. The 150-credit track fits a student who has already decided on the CPA license and wants Fordham's Big Four recruiting pipeline, which has placed more than 90 recent graduates at PwC alone, to help get there.

Yeshiva University's Sy Syms School of Business offers a B.S. in Accounting with a 27-credit major requirement, preparing students for roles in accounting departments, government agencies, financial analysis, law firms, and investment banks. The program runs out of YU's Wilf Campus at 500 West 185th Street in Manhattan, on separate men's and women's undergraduate campuses, and frames its coursework around Jewish values inside what the school calls a "small, close-knit community." Sy Syms points students toward a network it lists at more than 70,000 alumni across major firms.

Sy Syms carries a 91.8 Hakia Score, good for the No. 5 spot in Hakia's 2026 New York accounting ranking and the highest score of the four programs profiled here, built on an 83% graduation rate against a 56% admit rate. As a private university, Yeshiva charges one flat rate, $47,150 a year, with no in-state discount; that is more than six times University at Buffalo's $7,070 in-state tuition. At 6,965 total enrollment, Sy Syms fits a student who wants a small, values-based campus in New York City and can pay full private tuition to get it.

Excelsior University runs its accounting track as a concentration inside an IACBE-accredited, asynchronous online Bachelor of Science in Business. The 120-credit degree splits into 30 credits of general education, 48 credits of major core, and 15 credits of concentration work, with up to 113 credits transferable from prior college work, military training, or industry certifications. The accounting concentration itself centers on budgets, audits, and core accounting practices, with new terms starting every eight weeks.

Excelsior carries a 91.4 Hakia Score, the No. 6 New York accounting program in Hakia's 2026 ranking, and enrolls 12,941 students, a scale that reflects its transfer-heavy, adult-learner model; per-school graduation and admit-rate figures were not published for this listing. Cost is the differentiator: instead of per-credit billing, Excelsior charges an all-inclusive fixed rate of $3,200 per trimester, or $800 a month, covering tuition, course materials, the Academic Services Fee, and the Technology Fee. That structure fits a working adult who can transfer in credits and wants predictable monthly cost over a traditional four-year, on-campus track.

University at Buffalo's School of Management offers a BS in Accounting that pairs core accounting coursework with marketing and human resources classes to round out business skills. The page is direct about licensure: New York requires 150 credit hours to sit for the CPA exam, and UB's route is a one-year MS in Accounting, a state-registered program that gets automatic approval on the educational requirements rather than a case-by-case government review. Staying in the major requires a 2.950 major GPA, a 2.750 overall UB GPA, minimum B grades in MGA 201 and MGA 202, and minimum C grades in MGA 301, 311, 302, and 312.

UB carries a 91 Hakia Score, No. 7 in Hakia's 2026 New York ranking, with a 75% graduation rate and a 74% admit rate, the most accessible admit rate of the four programs profiled here. The tuition split is the headline number: $7,070 a year in-state versus $27,670 out-of-state, a $20,600 annual gap. At 31,903 total enrollment, UB is by far the largest school on this list. This is the pick for a New York resident who wants the lowest sticker price with a built-in path to the 150-hour CPA requirement; out-of-state students need to weigh that $20,600 premium.

SUNY Geneseo's B.S. in Accounting sits inside a liberal arts framework and is registered by New York State to qualify graduates to sit for the CPA exam; students can layer on the state's 150-hour requirement through Geneseo's one-year M.S. in Accounting. The page cites award-winning faculty (a mix of PhDs, CPAs, and SUNY-system teaching-award winners), a dedicated in-house career coach, an annual Accounting and Finance Internship and Job Fair each September, and an annual October field trip to accounting and finance firms in New York City. Faculty also mentor students through the Accounting Society and the CFA Research Challenge.

Geneseo carries an 88.5 Hakia Score, No. 8 in Hakia's 2026 New York ranking, with a 71% graduation rate and a 66% admit rate, on tuition of $7,070 in-state versus $17,640 out-of-state, a $10,570 gap, narrower than UB's out-of-state premium. The school's own figures back its outcomes claim: job placement from the high 90s to 100%, with an average starting salary of $62,000, a figure that sits below the $87,660 national BLS median for accountants and auditors, likely reflecting first-job pay rather than a full-career figure. At 3,945 total enrollment, Geneseo is the smallest school on this list, a fit for a student who wants a public-school price with a small, liberal-arts-integrated accounting program.

Based in Albany, NY, University at Albany is a public institution. Its Bachelor's in Accounting program lands at #9 of the 12 ranked here, earning an 88.2 Hakia Score that weighs graduation rate, cost, selectivity, and outcomes. That sits below the 90.6 group average, in the lower third of the 12 ranked programs, 6.1 points behind top-ranked Syracuse University. The program graduates 61% of its students, below the 75% average across the ranked schools. University at Albany admits 69% of applicants, less selective than the 62% average for the group. That is more open than the 46% rate at Syracuse University, the most selective program on this list. Its completion rate lands toward the lower end in a group where graduation runs from 61% to 84%.

On cost, University at Albany charges $7,070 a year in-state, roughly 4x the $27,460 out-of-state rate. Over four years that is about $28,280 in tuition for residents, against $109,840 for non-residents. That puts it among the most affordable on this list, where annual in-state tuition runs from $6,930 at CUNY Bernard M Baruch College to $63,710 at Syracuse University. Graduates step into a field with an $87,660 national median salary reported by the BLS. For prospective students, the main draw here is its low in-state cost.

Ithaca College is a private, nonprofit institution in Ithaca, NY. Its Bachelor's in Accounting program ranks #10 of the 12 analyzed here with an 87.9 Hakia Score, a composite of graduation rate, cost, selectivity, and graduate outcomes. That sits below the 90.6 group average, in the lower third of the 12 ranked programs, 6.4 points behind top-ranked Syracuse University. The program graduates 76% of its students, above the 75% average across the ranked schools. Ithaca College admits 69% of applicants, less selective than the 62% average for the group. That is more open than the 46% rate at Syracuse University, the most selective program on this list. Its completion rate lands in the middle of the pack in a group where graduation runs from 61% to 84%.

On cost, Ithaca College charges $52,616 a year in-state. Over four years that totals about $210,464 in tuition. That puts it mid-pack on price on this list, where annual in-state tuition runs from $6,930 at CUNY Bernard M Baruch College to $63,710 at Syracuse University. As a private institution, its tuition does not change with residency, unlike the public universities on this list. Graduates step into a field with an $87,660 national median salary reported by the BLS. For prospective students, the main draw here is its above-average completion.

Hofstra University is a private, nonprofit institution in Hempstead, NY. Its Bachelor's in Accounting program ranks #11 of the 12 analyzed here with an 87.4 Hakia Score, a composite of graduation rate, cost, selectivity, and graduate outcomes. That sits below the 90.6 group average, in the lower third of the 12 ranked programs, 6.9 points behind top-ranked Syracuse University. The program graduates 69% of its students, below the 75% average across the ranked schools. Hofstra University admits 68% of applicants, less selective than the 62% average for the group. That is more open than the 46% rate at Syracuse University, the most selective program on this list. Its completion rate lands in the middle of the pack in a group where graduation runs from 61% to 84%.

On cost, Hofstra University charges $56,545 a year in-state. Over four years that totals about $226,180 in tuition. That puts it at the higher end on this list, where annual in-state tuition runs from $6,930 at CUNY Bernard M Baruch College to $63,710 at Syracuse University. As a private institution, its tuition does not change with residency, unlike the public universities on this list. Graduates step into a field with an $87,660 national median salary reported by the BLS. It earns its place in the top 12 on the balance of cost, completion, and outcomes.

SUNY Oneonta is a public institution in Oneonta, NY. Its Bachelor's in Accounting program ranks #12 of the 12 analyzed here with an 87.1 Hakia Score, a composite of graduation rate, cost, selectivity, and graduate outcomes. That sits below the 90.6 group average, in the lower third of the 12 ranked programs, 7.2 points behind top-ranked Syracuse University. The program graduates 69% of its students, below the 75% average across the ranked schools. SUNY Oneonta admits 70% of applicants, less selective than the 62% average for the group. That is more open than the 46% rate at Syracuse University, the most selective program on this list. Its completion rate lands in the middle of the pack in a group where graduation runs from 61% to 84%.

On cost, SUNY Oneonta charges $7,070 a year in-state, roughly 2.5x the $18,020 out-of-state rate. Over four years that is about $28,280 in tuition for residents, against $72,080 for non-residents. That puts it among the most affordable on this list, where annual in-state tuition runs from $6,930 at CUNY Bernard M Baruch College to $63,710 at Syracuse University. Graduates step into a field with an $87,660 national median salary reported by the BLS. For prospective students, the main draw here is its low in-state cost.