Accounting Major Choice in Iranian Universities

Process of students' major choosing can be affected by several factors some of which are investigated by this study. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors influencing in choosing accounting major in Iranian universities. The research method is descriptive-survey and the sample consists of 180 accounting students selected from Tehran, AllamehTabataba'i, ShahidBeheshti, Shiraz, Ferdowsi Mashhad and Tabriz Islamic Azad Universities using the random sampling. To collect data, a questionnaire is designed with 32 items. Validity of contents and structure of the questionnaire is reviewed by experts and exploratory factor analysis, respectively. Reliability of tools is confirmed through Cronbach's alpha. Data are analyzed using principal components analysis, one-sample T-test, Friedman test and triangular fuzzy numbers. One sample t-test results show that the Guidance Factor (3. 24) and Career Expectation Factor (3. 86) have more than average effect and Perception (2. 75) and Personal Characteristics (2. 86) Factors have less than average effect on choosing accounting major. Also, results from Friedman test as well as triangular fuzzy numbers show that the Career Expectation Factor and Guidance Factor are the most important criteria for choosing accounting major, respectively. Thus, personal characteristics factor and perception factor place in the later ranks, respectively.