Haslam College of Business
Advanced IT Assurance and Assessment Graduate Certificate
Modern businesses run on systems that require accountability. The Advanced IT Assurance and Assessment graduate certificate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business prepares accountants and technology professionals to audit those systems and protect the data they hold. The certificate consists of four graduate courses that build expertise and can be completed on their own or as part of a UT master’s or doctoral degree.
Graduate Certificate
Program Overview
Haslam’s Advanced IT Assurance and Assessment graduate certificate builds skills in IT audit, IT governance and the protection of information assets. The four-course curriculum sits where accounting meets information technology. Students learn to audit the controls a company relies on, evaluate how its technology is governed and assess the security of its data, work sought after by both public accounting firms and corporate internal audit departments. Courses are taught by faculty in the college’s Department of Accounting and Information Management (AIM), whose graduate accounting programs rank among the top 25 at public universities nationally. Students can earn the certificate on its own or complete it alongside a UT master’s or doctoral degree, and applicants from outside business and computer science may be admitted after completing prerequisite coursework.
Graduate Certificate
Why Study Advanced IT Assurance and Assessment?
Almost every audit runs through a company’s technology. Financial statements depend on systems, and those systems depend on controls a professional must test and defend, and those professionals are in high-demand. This certificate program builds that specific skill in an academic department well-known in industry.
Nationally Ranked Program
Haslam’s graduate accounting programs placed No. 25 among public universities and No. 48 nationally in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Graduate Business Schools specialty rankings. The accounting program holds AACSB’s separate accounting accreditation, which a small share of business schools worldwide have earned.
Businesses Need Your Skills
Public accounting firms need auditors who can evaluate a client’s technology controls, and corporate internal audit departments need the same ability in-house. The certificate’s coursework in IT audit, governance frameworks and cybersecurity maps onto the work that fills these roles: IT general controls testing, SOC reporting and security assessment.
Built Around Your Path
Take the certificate on its own or count it toward a master’s or doctoral degree from UT. Students have five years from the date they apply to complete the program, making it ideal for professionals working full-time. A business or computer science degree is the expected starting point, and applicants from other fields can qualify by completing prerequisite coursework in introductory information systems.
Graduate Certificate
Advanced IT Assurance and Assessment Careers
IT assurance connects two high-paying fields facing a shortage of qualified professionals. Certificate graduates move into IT audit and risk roles in public accounting, IT internal audit inside corporations, IT compliance and controls work and information security. Employers include the Big Four and regional accounting firms, corporate internal audit departments and the security and risk functions of companies across most industries. The skill is portable: an auditor who understands both financial controls and the systems behind them can work in public accounting, move in-house or specialize in security.
Graduate Certificate
Featured Courses
The certificate program consists of four graduate-level accounting courses.
The four required courses include:
- INMT 540 — IT Audit, Governance, and Frameworks
3 credit hours
Focus is on IT Governance (including IT management frameworks, enterprise risks management and IT risks and controls), the IT Audit process and managing/auditing enterprise resource management systems - INMT 543 — Cybersecurity
3 credit hours
Focuses on theories, technologies and procedures underlying the protection of information assets; students work with a variety of tools to enhance their knowledge and technology skills in this ever-changing area
- INMT 544 — Corporate Applications
3 credit hours
Focus is on the design, management and auditing of corporate databases (including SQL logic and skills development) and managing and auditing systems acquisition (including introductions to project management, project governance, IT acquisition, systems development and implementation) - INMT 548 — IT Audit, Operations and Management
3 credit hours
Focus is on IT management, IT center operations, service level management and other related concepts in preparation for work in IT audit
To receive the certificate, students must:
- Complete the Graduate Certificate Course Verification Form
- Apply to graduate from the certificate program through MyUTK
Graduate Certificate
Admissions & Aid
Applications are submitted through Haslam’s application portal.
Who Can Apply
Applicants can be currently admitted to a master’s or doctoral degree program at UT or can apply solely for the Advanced IT Assurance and Assessment graduate certificate on its own. Applicants are expected to have a baccalaureate degree in accounting. Students from other disciplines may be admitted but may be required to take prerequisite courses as described in the graduate catalog. Recommended background knowledge includes introductory information systems.
Academic Standards
Students must maintain an average 3.00 graduate GPA across all certificate courses in the program and complete the requirements within five years of applying for a certificate.
Ready to learn more?
Have a question about prerequisites, courses or how the certificate might fit with a degree you’re already pursuing? Contact Haslam to learn more.