Golden Gate University's School of Taxation offers the best programs in taxation on the West coast. (New York University offers the superior program on the East coast.) The School of Taxation offers an M.S. in Taxation. The School of Law offers an LL.M in Taxation. The required courses for both of these programs are taught by the same professors, who are drawn from the ranks of attorneys, certified public accountants, and financial planners, all of whom have real world, practical experience in their field of expertise. The quality of the professors is excellent and the course materials for all of my classes have been well organized and presented.

For those who don't want to spend the time or money to obtain a full degree, GGU's School of Taxation also offers Graduate Certificates in Estate Planning, in Taxation, and International Taxation, as well as a U.S. Federal Tax Practice Certificate.

While GGU has campuses all over the greater San Francisco Bay Area, the university is increasingly committed to distance learning via its Cybercampus. Students now have the option to enroll in person at a local campus or take a course online. I have taken one course at GGU's San Jose campus and two courses at their main campus in San Francisco. I am personally not a fan of GGU's Cybercampus and prefer to take my classes in person, real time, at a local campus. I tried my first class via the Cybercampus and dropped out. The two main difficulties that I see with the Cybercampus are 1) the inability to put together a study group because no one lives or works in your area, and 2) the inability to get your questions answered in depth and in a meaningful timeframe. The Cybercampus works like a messageboard - it is not real time - and I think this is its biggest drawback. There is no real opportunity for back and forth with the professor. However, when technology improves and online videoconferencing becomes more widely available I believe this will be the solution to these problems.

Regular classes are now also being web-enabled, meaning that the syllabus and other course information will be posted at GGU's website for all enrolled students. In addition, course materials and textbooks can be purchased from GGU's bookstore via efollett.com and delivered to your door, overnight if necessary. I have done this for every class, as I have a one hour drive from work to class and don't have enough time in between to go to the bookstore. Their customer service is excellent. Since most of GGU's students appear to be full time professionals taking evening classes, the convenience and accessibility this provides is very important.

Tuition at $1650 per course in the School of Taxation is pricey, but I think well worth it, given the quality of the education and GGU's name recognition in the tax community. Fortunately, I have a tuition reimbursement program that pays for most of my tuition. GGU has a tuition reimbursement payment option that you can use, if necessary. It involves paying an extra $50 to defer payment of the full tuition until you get reimbursed by your employer.

The only other negative is the limited course offerings, particularly in the Spring semester. It seems that, given the crush of work during tax season, GGU often doesn't have enough students enrolled to offer a given tax course - the minimum is five students - so the course gets cancelled. Tax professionals are simply too busy during this time period to take classes, so students should contemplate taking the Spring semester off, rather than the Summer semester.

Recommended: Yes