Personal Financial Planning has two graduate degree programs: (1) Master’s of Science and (2) Graduate Certificate, both of which meet the education requirements to sit for the national CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) exam.
Master of Science
The Master of Science (MS) is a 33-hour, non-thesis, distance education program that is registered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. The MS degree includes the 18 credit hour requirements for the Graduate Certificate in Personal Financial Planning. When students are admitted to the MS degree, they are also admitted to Graduate Certificate program. Upon successful completion of the Graduate Certificate portion, students will have completed the education requirements necessary to sit for the national CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) exam. This is one of four requirements leading to the right to use the CFP® mark as a financial service professional. The other requirements are passing the national CFP® exam, gaining industry-relevant experience, and agreeing and adhering to the CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct.
MS coursework is designed to broaden the understanding of the various factors which can affect and enhance household financial well-being. Coursework culminates in a creative component, which is a major project that provides students an opportunity to integrate theory and practice in a critical study of a personal financial planning problem or issue. Graduates of this program typically enter the financial services industry and consider the master’s degree as their terminal degree.
Please visit Missouri Online for application instructions, requirements, and additional information for the MS program.
Graduate Certificate
The Graduate Certificate is an 18-hour program. This program is registered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. Graduates of this program will have completed the education requirements necessary to sit for the national CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) exam. This is one of four requirements leading to the right to use the CFP® marks as a financial service professional. The other requirements are passing the national CFP® exam, gaining industry-relevant experience, and agreeing and adhering to the CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct.
Please visit Missouri Online for application instructions, requirements, and additional information for the Graduate Certificate program.
Graduate Program Handbook
The PFP Graduate Program Handbook (PDF) describes the requirements and procedures that students are expected to follow to complete their degrees.
Contact
Please contact Starla Ivey, PhD, Graduate Program Coordinator, at iveysl@missouri.edu for additional information.