SJSU MST Program

The SJSU MST Program began in the 1980s and has over 800 alumni. This innovative program served both working tax professionals and recent accounting graduates with many courses focused on the issues and transactions of high technology companies. The program also helped students seeking additional units to meet the 150-unit requirement to become a CPA.

A description of this 30-unit program follows to serve as a record for anyone curious about what was involved in earning an MST degree from SJSU.

For information on current graduate level tax courses offered by SJSU, please see information about our 9-unit Tax Practice Certificate.

Given its location in the innovative and global high technology environment of Silicon Valley, SJSU's MST program has many courses focused on the issues and transactions of high technology companies. Yet, the program also offers a wide selection of courses to benefit students interested in tax compliance and planning for individuals and businesses outside of the high tech sector as well.

Earning your MST degree requires completion of 30 units. All courses can be in tax or you may replace up to two with other approved graduate business courses. Instead of a master thesis requirement, the MST program includes an individual project in the capstone MST course (BUS 223H).

Required courses (12 units):

Course Number/Course Name

• BUS 223A Tax Research & Decision Making (Must be taken first term)
• BUS 223F Tax Accounting Methods/Periods
• BUS 223G Taxation of Business Entities
• BUS 223H Tax Policy Capstone

Required Electives (6 units):

Choose at least one class from the following for your required business entities course (others may be used for additional electives below):

Course Number/Course Name

• BUS 223B Taxation of Partnerships
• BUS 225B Taxation of Corporate Reorganizations
• BUS 225G Taxation of S Corporations
• BUS 225S Consolidated Returns

Choose at least one class from the following for your required multijurisdictional course (others may be used for additional electives below):

Course Number/Course Name

• BUS 225C International Tax - US Corporations with Foreign Activities
• BUS 225F State Taxation Fundamentals
• BUS 225P Advanced International Tax - US Corporations with Foreign Activities
• BUS 225U Fundamentals of Transfer Pricing
• BUS 225W Introduction to International Taxation
• BUS 225X International Taxation- US and Foreign Individuals

Additional electives (12 units):

Choose 12 units of additional MST electives (or any classes above that were not used to meet the business entities or multijurisdictional requirement).

Course Number/Course Name

• BUS 225A Taxation of Estates & Trusts
• BUS 225E  Data Analytics and Security
• BUS 225F State Taxation Fundamentals
• BUS 225H Taxation of Property Transactions
• BUS 225I Tax Practices & Procedures
• BUS 225K Advanced Individual Taxes (online)
• BUS 225L Accounting for Income Taxes
• BUS 225Q Tax Practicum
• BUS 225V Tax Considerations for High Tech Companies
• BUS 227A Individual Tax Compliance (1 unit)
• BUS 227B Ethics for Tax Practitioners (1 unit)
  Note: This course counts toward the required ethics courses to become a CPA in California
• BUS 227C Tax Symposium (1 unit)
  Note: Topic changes each time offered; may be taken more than once.
• BUS 227D Employment Taxation & the Modern Workforce (1 unit)
• BUS 227E Foundation for Understanding Taxation (1 unit)
• BUS 227F Personal Leadership and Business Skills for Tax Practitioners  (2 units)
  Note: This course counts towards the required ethics courses to become a CPA in California
• BUS 227G Tax Compliance & Planning (TCP) (1 unit)
• BUS 280IS Independent Study (1 - 6 units)

The program is designed to enable students to study either part-time or full-time.

Classes are offered over shortened semesters (8-10 weeks) so as to not conflict with busy tax season times. Fall semester begins after September 15. Spring semester consists of two sessions: "Early" in January and February and "Late" starting after April 15 and running until mid-June. Summer semester begins in mid-June and ends in mid-August. Classes meet in the evenings and occasionally on Saturday mornings.

Students in the program have access to RIA Checkpoint and CCH AnswerConnect online tax research tools.

Learning Objectives

Goal One: Global Economy

Evaluate tax compliance and planning issues within the context of our global economy.

Goal Two: Research

Prepare tax research reports based on primary authority.

Goal Three: Communication

Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills for tax compliance and planning.

Goal Four: Tax Policy

Explain policy principles for existing tax law and proposals for change.

Goal Five: Ethics

Evaluate appropriate approaches to the ethical issues of tax compliance and planning.

Goal Six: Professional Development

Demonstrate skills for effective and inclusive tax practice to excel in the tax profession.

For a pdf of these MST Program Learning Objectives with a brief explanation of each, click here [pdf].