Master of Taxation Degree Overview
Advanced tax expertise has almost universal value, and the demand is growing. The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) warns of a growing shortage of tax professionals who hold graduate degrees in taxation.
Portland State University’s Master of Taxation equips you to meet the needs of this growing field. Co-developed with the Pacific Northwest’s top public accountants and corporate tax specialists, our master’s degree offers specialized tax education that employers value highly.
Our hybrid format makes the Master of Taxation accessible to full- and part-time students, working tax practitioners, and other professionals with full-time jobs. You’ll build highly marketable tax expertise and develop the critical thinking skills that cannot be replaced by tax software or other technology. With our Master of Taxation degree, you’ll make immediate career progress and build a foundation for long-term success.
What can you do with a Master in Taxation?
| 100% | Employed 6 months after graduation |
| $73,020 | Average starting salary |
| 78% | Promoted/changed employers/functions within 6 months of graduation |
The Master of Taxation offers professional development that can be used for a broad range of purposes. People commonly enroll in the program to qualify for job promotions, become better long-range business planners, acquire specialized expertise for a corporate role, offer better services to their clients, or even launch a new enterprise.
Participants come from many fields and professional backgrounds, including:
| Accounting | Tax consulting | Corporate finance | Law | Investment advising |
| Entrepreneurship | Philanthropy | Estate planning | Government | Business consulting |
The Master of Taxation also serves undergraduate accounting majors who are interested in earning their CPA and want to specialize in tax.
Why Choose Master of Taxation?
- Career Readiness. Set yourself apart as a strong candidate with an outstanding writing portfolio that demonstrates a level of communication and critical thinking skills that recruiters notice. This is a rare and highly valuable advantage few programs offer. An application-focused capstone project will further enhance your resume and build your professional network.
- Professional orientation. The Master of Taxation serves a wide range of professional needs. It supports current tax practitioners and accountants who seek career growth, lawyers and business leaders who need tax knowledge to achieve their objectives, and undergraduate accounting majors who need a fifth year of education to meet CPA requirements.
- Convenient schedule. Our classes are synchronized with professional recruiting cycles. The program’s summer start for full-time and part-time students gets students ready for fall interview season; the fall start for part-time students provides an alternate starting term; the winter term is structured to accommodate full-time employment during tax season, and the spring term begins after April 15.
- Results-oriented curriculum. You’ll focus on relevant, high-impact subject matter in the Master of Taxation program. Course material applies directly to real-world tax practices, uses industry-standard technologies, and reflects the current state of tax law and the global economy. You’ll move far beyond annual tax returns and gain the ability to analyze tax issues at a strategic level.
- Expert faculty. Our Master’s courses are taught by seasoned tax professionals who have years of experience. Our faculty come from Big 4 accounting firms, regional firms, global corporations, law firms, and the government. All are experts in their fields.
- Rigorous academics. Portland State holds elite dual accreditation in accounting and business from the Association to Advance Collegiate Colleges of Business (AACSB), placing us in the upper echelon of U.S. business schools. We also have a long list of “best-of” honors from U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, CFA Institute, and other organizations.
- High-touch hybrid format. Our interactive hybrid courses enable you to communicate regularly with faculty and build close relationships with peers. You’ll also spend one weekend at the beginning of each term on our campus in downtown Portland, deepening your connections with instructors, fellow tax practitioners, and potential future employers.