Undergraduate Certificate in Financial Planning

Edward S. Ageno School of Business
Undergraduate Programs

Many business professionals recognize the importance of university coursework in financial planning, but have neither the time nor the need to complete the requirements for a traditional academic degree. For such students, certificate programs combinations of for-credit courses focusing on specific business areas are the ideal solution.

Of particular interest to some students will be the fact that completion of the undergraduate financial planning certificate meets the educational requirement of the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP™) designation, and the undergraduate certificate in finance can be structured to serve as preparation for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam.

Most of the courses available as part of certificate studies can be taken via the Internet, through Golden Gate University's innovative CyberCampus.

Undergraduate Financial Planning Certificate

The undergraduate financial planning certificate requires the completion of six courses (18 semester units), plus any necessary prerequisite courses. No comprehensive examination is required. Since three of the six required courses are not offered in the university's undergraduate curriculum, students in the UFPC program must take three graduate financial planning courses (FI 422, FI 426 and FI 483).

The certificate program is registered with the CFP Board. Completion of the certificate program authorizes students to sit for the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP™) examination. The GGU coursework can be taken in class, or in a combination of in-class courses and online courses through GGU's CyberCampus.

The six courses required for the undergraduate financial planning certificate are listed below. Please note that some courses taken as part of certificate programs will have prerequisites. These prerequisites must be satisfied (through transfer of equivalent course work or through taking the courses at Golden Gate) before the certificate courses can be completed. Certificate students can apply their UFPC coursework toward undergraduate degree requirements.*

REQUIRED - 18 units
· ACCTG 108A Federal Income Tax I
· FI 120 Investments
· FI 160 Personal Financial Planning
· FI 483 Insurance Planning
· FI 422 Retirement and Employee Benefits Planning
· FI 426 Estate Planning