Especially for Students

Academic Advising
Academic Advising is required for all students before registration. Current UM Accountancy students may click the button below to make an appointment for academic advising with the Assistant to the Dean.

Student Organizations
Information about several School of Accountancy student organizations.

Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions that most students want to know.

Scholarship Information
The Patterson School of Accountancy offers four scholarships, the McCarty, Friou, Davis, and Peery, to qualified entering freshmen, planning to major in Accountancy. These awards are valued at $3,000 per year for four years. Students receiving an accountancy scholarship are required to continue majoring in Accountancy all four years as well as maintain a certain grade-point-average. To apply for these scholarships, please submit the university-wide scholarship application available through the Office of Financial Aid. On this application, there is a section which speaks specifically to the School of Accountancy scholarships.

Student Organizations

Associated Accounting Student Body

The purpose of Associated Accounting Student Body is to familiarize students with the accounting profession, enhance understanding between faculty and students, work with the administration in all matters affecting the welfare of accounting students, and to promote the School of Accountancy and all of its programs. Any student who is duly registered in the School of Accountancy pre-accountancy or professional programs, or any student who is duly registered in the graduate program specializing in accountancy, shall be deemed an eligible member of this organization.

Beta Alpha Psi

Beta Alpha Psi is a national scholastic and professional fraternity for financial information students and professionals. The primary objective of the fraternity is to encourage and give recognition to scholastic and professional excellence in the business information field. This includes promoting the study and practice of accounting, finance and information systems; providing opportunities for self-development, service and association among members and practicing professionals, and encouraging a sense of ethical, social and public responsibility. Visit bap.org for the national BAP Web site.

Tau Alpha Chi

Tau Alpha Chi is a professional organization established to promote scholastic excellence in the field of taxation. Founded in 1983 at Georgia State University, Tau Alpha Chi has initiated more than 1,000 members. Membership is open to undergraduate, graduate and law students with a common interest—the area of taxation. Visit taualphachi.org.

VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance)

The VITA Program offers free tax help to low- to moderate-income (generally, $40,000 and below) people who cannot prepare their own tax returns. Patterson School of Accountancy students volunteer to provide free income tax assistance through a local VITA site. The students receive income tax training so that they may prepare basic tax returns for needy individuals. To learn more about the program, visit www.irs.gov or contact the Office of the Dean.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change my major?
Can I pursue two degrees at the same time?
Why do I have an adviser hold?
How can I drop/add a class?
Am I allowed to take classes at another school?
How can I find out how close I am to graduating?
How do I apply for my degree?
What is the Buckley Amendment?
What if I want to take a class to reserve for graduate credit?
What if I want to study abroad?

How do I change my major?

To change your major, you need to go to the dean’s office of the school to which you wish to change and declare your new major. Be sure to bring copies of all transcripts with you to the dean’s office.

Some schools have requirements you must meet to change to a major within them. The School of Accountancy requires currently enrolled UM students to have a residence (UM course work only) GPA and an overall (includes transfer work) GPA of at least 2.0 to be admitted into one of the degree programs in our school.

Can I pursue two degrees at the same time?

If you wish to add a second degree, you will need to go to the dean's office of the school at which you would like to pursue your second degree. Be sure to notify the dean’s office that you are working on more than one degree. The student information system will list you in both majors but will only show the first school you were in, as well as the first adviser to whom you were assigned. Although you may have your advising hold lifted by your original adviser, it is strongly recommended that you see an adviser in both of your majors each semester to make sure that you stay on track with your course requirements for each major.

Why do I have an adviser hold?

At some point before registration opens for the next semester, an adviser hold is placed on each student’s account. To have that hold lifted so that you can register, you must see the academic adviser in the dean’s office to help you make out a schedule for the upcoming semester.

How can I drop/add a class?

Any student may drop or add a course online using his or her WebID provided this is done before the drop/add deadlines. These deadlines are very important to keep in mind. They may be found on the Office of the Registrar’s home page under the heading Academic Calendars.

After the final day for course withdrawals, as posted by the Office of the Registrar, the decision to allow a student to drop a course rests with his or her academic dean. No accountancy student will be permitted to withdraw from a course after the withdrawal deadline except for a documented extreme and unavoidable emergency as deemed appropriate by the Office of the Dean of the School of Accountancy.

Am I allowed to take classes at another school?

If you wish to take courses at another institution during the summer while you are at home, you must first obtain permission from the dean's office. You will be given a form to fill out in which you will provide the name of the institution you wish to attend, as well as the numbers of the courses in which you wish to enroll.

A few UM policies are important to remember, however, regarding transfer courses:

Course work completed at another institution while a student is on academic suspension or dismissal will not transfer to UM.
No more than 6 of your last 21 hours may be from another institution.
No more than half of your total hours toward your degree may be from a community or junior college.
At least 25 percent of your total credit hours toward your degree must be taken from UM.
Students are not allowed to take courses from another institution while enrolled at The University of Mississippi during the fall and spring semesters.

How can I find out how close I am to graduating?

Our office recommends that students request a degree audit during the first semester of the senior year to verify the remaining degree requirements.The academic adviser can review your records to determine how close you are to graduating. We also strongly suggest that you review the audit with your academic adviser.

How do I apply for my degree?

During the first semester of the senior year, graduating seniors will receive a degree audit during their advising appointment. Once students know that they will graduate the following semester, they will submit an online diploma application through MyOleMiss and will need to do so before the deadline determined by the Office of the Registrar. If a student is not authorized to complete the application, he or she will need to contact the adviser in the dean’s office.

What is the Buckley Amendment?

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Buckley Amendment) is a federal law that governs access to students’ education records. This law grants students guaranteed access to their educational records; such access includes the right to inspect and review educational records, the right to obtain copies of the records (a copying fee may be charged), and the right to challenge or supplement information on file to prevent flawed interpretation. Certain records (i.e., medical records) are not deemed to be educational records and are therefore not accessible to students. Additionally, the Buckley Amendment prohibits the disclosure of “personally identifiable information” to third parties without the prior written consent of the student. Exceptions may be made only for university officials and others with legitimate educational interests. The university may disclose “directory information” unless the student notifies the university to the contrary. Directory information is defined as a student’s name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, date and place of birth, major field of study, student activities, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and the most recent educational agency or institution attended by the student. You may access your privacy preferences through MyOleMiss. If you have questions about the law or want more information, please contact the Office of the Registrar at 662-915-7226.

What if I want to take a class to reserve for graduate credit?

Under certain conditions, University of Mississippi seniors within 15 semester hours of the bachelor’s degree may enroll for a maximum of 3 semester hours of graduate courses at the 500 level. Seniors within 12 semester hours of the bachelor’s degree may enroll for a maximum of 6 semester hours of graduate courses at the 500 level on which graduate credit will be given toward a degree program in the Graduate School. The conditions are that the student must have an overall grade-point average of at least 3.0 on the last 60 hours of undergraduate work and be otherwise qualified for admission to the Graduate School; that these courses must not be counted towards satisfying the requirements for the bachelor’s degree; and that the department chair concerned and the dean of the Graduate School must have approved the courses for graduate credit before the undergraduate enrolls in them. In no case may more than 6 semester hours be earned by an undergraduate for graduate credit. Courses taken by undergraduates for graduate credit must be designated with the suffix G. Under no circumstances may undergraduates enroll in courses at the 600 level or above. Students must file the Reserve Graduate Credit form prior to the semester during which they take the course; this form can be found on the Graduate School Web site: www.olemiss.edu/depts/graduate_school/.

What if I want to study abroad?

For any courses you wish to take abroad, you must obtain an application form from the Study Abroad office and follow the procedure for submitting that form.