Fast-Track
To Your CPA
13-Week Summer Program
• Outstanding Career Preparation
Graduate Diploma in Accounting
The Graduate Diploma in Accounting from Smith School of Business fast-tracks your progress to the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation and establishes an outstanding foundation for your career in business.
- 13-weeks from May to July
- CPA National Accreditation
- Gain CPA core content without working full-time
- Qualify for the CPA Professional Exams (CFE) in only 15 months
- Intensive case preparation for the CPA Professional Exams (CFE)
- Multiple career path options
- Personal attention and close-knit community
- Dedicated and supportive faculty
- Exceptional learning environment
Canada's Premier Program
Smith’s Graduate Diploma in Accounting is the first and best program to prepare you for the CPA designation and a thriving business career.
Running from May to July, the GDA covers key modules of the CPA Professional Education Program in just a few weeks. This is the fastest route to the CFE exam and frees candidates from having to study during their first months of full-time work. On completion, GDA graduates hold advanced standing with every provincial/ regional CPA body.
The Smith GDA provides cutting-edge business analysis and strategy skills. Graduates are ready to be top contributors to their employers.
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“I learned that completing Smith's GDA program would accelerate my timeline to write the CFE, bypassing CPA core and elective modules that would ordinarily be completed while working full time. The convenience of completing this program immediately after my bachelor's degree made it a very attractive option for me. And let's not forget — Kingston is a great place to spend a summer!”
Power of Accounting Specialization
An accounting specialization opens a wide range of career options – from the big accounting firms, to financial services, technology companies, start-ups, not-for-profits, private equity, investment banking and much more.
Smith School of Business has a proven track record in preparing recent business undergraduates for their professional designation. Over the last five years, graduates have achieved a pass rate unprecedented in Canada for first time writers - a five-year average in excess of 90 percent.
The CPA is the most highly prized and recognized accounting designation in Canada.
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“The GDA was a stepping stone to industry — understanding complex financial transactions and accounting literature, allowing me to apply this knowledge to real world projects. I successfully passed the CFE exam and embarked on two years of postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. The GDA proved to be a valuable asset, even while pursuing a different path, demonstrating the versatility of the GDA and the accounting field. The GDA can prepare you for both conventional and unconventional paths after graduation.”