Graduate 
CPA Exam Requirements
The specific requirements to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination vary with each state board of accountancy. Some states require candidates to have a bachelors degree with a specified distribution of accounting and business courses as the minimum educational requirement to take the examination, whereas others require a bachelors degree and the completion of 150 semester hours of academic credit (including a specified distribution of courses) as the minimum. These standards are subject to change. Thus, students should occasionally review the requirements (including the distribution of courses) of the board in the jurisdiction in which they plan to sit for the examination. Incidentally, these are the requirements to sit for the examination, not to be certified. Most boards of accountancy require 150 semester hours of academic credit for certification.
The West Virginia Board of Accountancy requires a bachelors degree with a specified distribution of course work as the minimum qualification to sit for the CPA examination. This includes 27 semester hours of accounting (excluding principles), six hours of business law, and 27 hours of related business courses. West Virginia will require a three credit-hour ethics course for all individuals applying to sit for the exam for the first time after June 30, 2011. This course may be counted as either an accounting or a business elective. West Virginia also requires 150 semester hours of academic credit to be completed prior to certification.
For the specific requirements to sit for the CPA examination in West Virginia, visit West Virginia Board of Accountancy or call 304-558-3557.For requirements in other jurisdictions, go to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and use the links to the web pages for all boards of accountancy under the Members section.
Content specification of the CPA examination and related information may be found at www.cpa-exam.org and using the Prepare for the Exam and then How to Prepare links.
