Attitude of accounting students towards master's degree

The purpose of the present study is to explore the attitude of accounting students towards the master's degree. The current research is qualitative research and was conducted using the theme analysis method. The statistical population includes students and graduates of master's degrees in accounting from public universities of the country, who were selected by the snowball method. Data collection continued until theoretical saturation was reached. In the present research, after conducting 14 interviews with students and graduates of public universities, theoretical saturation was determined. The results of this research introduce four main themes, including economic, political and cultural contexts, expected points from continuing education, the gap between expectations, and optimal solutions for conducting the master's course from the students' point of view. Economic, political and cultural contexts affect the attitude of accounting students towards the master's degree. Also, accounting students entered this course hoping to get different points, and due to the issues that exist, their expectations have not been met sufficiently.Contribution: By identifying the motivational factors of accounting students, the present research can provide solutions to law-making institutions such as the Ministry of Science and universities to meet the needs of students and professionals with master's degrees.