​​​​​​​​​​​​​Program Description

As a student with a personal financial planning major, your goal will be to gain the expertise needed to pass the Certified Financial Planning exam. Becoming a certified financial planner opens the door to exciting careers in the financial services industry. Because the program is organized around key objectives outlined by the CFP Board of Standards, you’ll take core classes in taxation, investments, insurance, retirement planning and estate planning.

The Personal Financial Planning major prepares students for a career in personal financial planning and personal financial consulting.
Total: 36 semester hours

The student learning objectives are:

1. Professional Conduct and Regulation: Students will identify the regulatory authorities that impact elements of the financial planning process.

2. General Principles of Financial Planning: Students will identify and evaluate the assumptions used in analyzing retirement needs including: age at retirement, cash inflows and outflows in various stages of retirement, goal priority and importance, longevity, rate of investment return, market volatility, and effects of inflation.

3. Education planning: Students will calculate the funds needed to meet the education goals of a client. Students will recommend the appropriate use of funding sources including loans, scholarships, grants, and fellowships in funding education.

4. Risk Management and Insurance Planning: Students will explain the risk management process. Students will provide examples of the four primary risk management techniques available to clients.

5. Investment Planning: Students will select suitable investments for both funding and retirement distribution purposes, considering the time horizon and risk tolerance of plan owners and beneficiaries.

6. Retirement Savings and Income Planning: Students will identify and describe the components of estate planning documents, such as wills and trusts that are used to facilitate the transfer of one's assets.

7. Estate Planning: Students will identify and describe the components of estate planning documents, such as wills and trusts that are used to facilitate the transfer of one's assets.