Abstract Academicians and practitioners often lament the minimal and/or slow impact of accounting research on practice. One potential cause for this may be the limited course coverage in the accounting curriculum regarding the role of research, current research issues and findings, and the influence of past prominent writers on contemporary thought. The purpose of this study was to examine the level of student awareness concerning these issues. Questionnaires were sent to a random, national sample of 30 universities with Beta Alpha Psi chapters. Eighteen universities chose to participate, yielding 184 student responses. Students perceived a strong need for accounting research and believed that a significant amount was being performed. However, there was confusion as to which key parties (FASB, SEC, etc.) were the predominant forces in conducting research. In particular, the unique role and level of academic research was not recognized. Finally, students felt that the course coverage of accounting research and the key writers was limited. These findings suggest that curriculum coverage of research in accounting needs to be reassessed and expanded if there is to be a clear understanding by those entering practice of the nature and role of research in the field.