Admission to the Master of Science in Taxation program is competitive. At a minimum, applicants must meet the admission requirements of the NIU Graduate School. An applicant is also required to have a baccalaureate degree or a master's degree from an accredited institution with at least 15 semester hours in accounting (including an income tax concepts course) or department approval (prior work experience will be given consideration), or a law degree (J.D.) from an institution accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA).

If applicants do not have a law degree from an ABA-accredited institution or a graduate business degree from an AACSB-accredited institution, they must have a minimum GPA of 2.75 (on a 4.00 scale) in the last 60 semester hours of the baccalaureate program or a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 (on a 4.00 scale) at the baccalaureate institution. An applicant whose native language is not English must present an IELTS score of 6.5 or alternatively, a TOEFL score of at least 80 on the TOELF ibt. Normally, to be considered for admission, a non-U.S. citizen shall have completed a four-year undergraduate degree. A minimum 2.75 overall GPA on a 4.00 system or a 3.20 GPA with 15 or more semester hours of graduate work at an accredited institution.