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Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning

Sarah Sprague
is a Product Manager of Personal Finance at MoneyLion.

Graduate, Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning
Read Sarah Sprague's Story

UC Berkeley Extension's Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning provides an academic path to the financial planning profession. Through the curriculum, you learn to analyze and advise in all core areas of personal financial planning. Students who register for and complete this certificate are eligible to take the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) Certification Examination.

The curriculum is overseen by an advisory board of investment, financial planning and education leaders and taught by working professionals with many years of practical experience in financial services.

2019 Career Planning Night: Join our Personal Financial Planning (PFP) Program Industry Advisory board members, our PFP students, alumni and members of the Bay Area professional financial planning community on December 9, 2019. Register for this event on Eventbrite.

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Courses

Required Courses

Expand or collapse Required Courses
Minimum Required

8 Course(s)

Maximum Allowed

0 Course(s)

  • BUS ADM X433 Survey of Personal Financial Planning
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Classroom

    Status

    Available

  • BUS ADM X433.1 Income Taxes and Personal Financial Planning
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Classroom

    Status

    Available

  • BUS ADM X433.3 Investments in Personal Financial Planning: General Principles and Methods
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Classroom

    Status

    Available

  • BUS ADM X436.7 Behavioral Finance
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Online

    Status

    Available

  • BUS ADM X433.8 Insurance in Personal Financial Planning
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Classroom

    Status

    Available

  • BUS ADM X433.6 Employment Benefits and Retirement Planning
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • BUS ADM X433.2 Estate Planning
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Classroom

    Status

    Available

  • BUS ADM X433.7 Personal Financial Planning Capstone
    Units / CEUs

    3

    Delivery Options

    Classroom

    Status

    Available

Electives

Expand or collapse Electives
Minimum Required

1 Course(s)

Maximum Allowed

0 Course(s)

  • BUS ADM X429.5 Stock Compensation and the Management of Concentration Risks and Opportunities
    Units / CEUs

    1

    Status

    Not Available

  • BUS ADM X433.5 Real Estate Investments for Financial Planners
    Units / CEUs

    1

    Delivery Options

    Classroom

    Status

    Available

  • BUS ADM X416.8 Retirement Income Planning
    Units / CEUs

    1

    Delivery Options

    Classroom

    Status

    Available

  • BUS ADM X419.5 Taxation for Corporations and Other Flow-Through Entities
    Units / CEUs

    3

    Status

    Not Available

Finding Her Home in Personal Financial Planning

Photo of Jesse Pence in front of a brick wall

I’m on the phone with Jesse Pence, and her love for the personal financial planning professional is practically oozing out of the handset.

Continue Reading this Post

Certificate and Program Policies

  • Substitutions and Waivers
  • Transfers
  • Financial Aid
  • Transcripts and Records

PFP Events, Programs and Resources

The Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning provides students with two evening events sponsored by the program's advisory board: Career Planning Night and Awards Dinner. Learn more about these events.

Program Staff

Heather Liston

Heather Liston
Program Director

Contact Information

To contact the department office, email extension-business@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-4231.

Tentative Course Schedule*

REQUIRED COURSES SUMMER FALL SPRING
Survey of Personal Financial Planning (X433)
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Income Taxes and Personal Financial Planning (X433.1)
Classroom
Classroom instruction
NA
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Investments in Personal Financial Planning: General Principles and Methods (X433.3)
NA
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Behavioral Finance (X436.7)
Online
Online
instruction
Online
Online
instruction
Online
Online
instruction
Insurance in Personal Financial Planning (X433.8)
NA
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Estate Planning (X433.2)
Classroom
Classroom instruction
NA
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Employment Benefits and Retirement Planning (X433.6)
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Classroom
Classroom instruction
NA
Personal Financial Planning Capstone (X433.7)
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Classroom
Classroom Instruction (Berkeley)
ELECTIVES SUMMER FALL SPRING
Retirement Income Planning (X416.8)
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Real Estate Investments for Financial Planners (X433.5)
Classroom
Classroom instruction
NA
Classroom
Classroom Instruction (Berkeley)
Stock Compensation and Concentration Management (X429.5)
NA
Classroom
Classroom instruction
NA
Taxation for Corporations and Other Flow-Through Entities (X419.5)
NA
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Classroom
Classroom instruction
OTHER SUMMER FALL SPRING
Basic Financial Mathematics & Financial Calculators (BUS ADM 1002)
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Classroom
Classroom instruction
Classroom
Classroom instruction
*We provide this information to assist students in planning ahead. Please note that all course schedules are subject to change.

Prerequisites

We recommend you have a bachelor's degree and at least two years of professional experience in a financial services field to register for the Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning.

If you don't have experience using financial calculators, we recommend that you take Basic Financial Mathematics and Financial Calculators BUS ADM 1002 before enrolling in Survey of Personal Financial Planning BUS ADM X433.

Curriculum Requirements

The curriculum consists of 8 required courses and 1 elective course for a total of 18 semester units (270 hours of instruction). Candidates must pay a nonrefundable program registration fee.

You must take all courses for a letter grade. To receive the Award of Completion, you must maintain an overall minimum 2.5 grade point average, with a grade of C or better in each course. A Certificate with Distinction will be awarded to those who complete the certificate with a GPA of 4.0 or higher (effective to those who register beginning Sept. 1, 2017). All coursework must be completed within five years.

How to Register

By registering, you declare your intention to complete the curriculum. To register online for the Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning, complete these two steps:

  1. Submit the online registration, and complete your student account profile if you are a new student.
  2. Pay the nonrefundable registration fee through your shopping cart. Please allow 3–5 business days for the registration to appear in your student account.

Estimated Cost

Each course is priced individually, and you pay the course fee at the time of enrollment. The program has an estimated cost of $8,755 (not including course materials or registration fee). Course fees are subject to change.

Certificate and Award Request

Once you have completed the program coursework, notify UC Berkeley Extension that you have completed the curriculum and request your Award of Completion. Send an email to extension-business@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-4231. After your records have been reviewed, verified and approved (usually within two to three weeks), your Award of Completion will be mailed to you.

After grades and course completion have been verified, the CFP Board will be notified of the student's eligibility to take the national exam.

Additional Information

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.
The Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning is accredited and registered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. This registration allows those who have successfully completed the UC Berkeley Extension program and who wish to obtain the CFP certification to take the national CFP Certification Examination. Coursework is designed to cover 101 topics tested on the exam. To sit for the exam, please email us at extension-business@berkeley.edu for additional details.

CFP® and Certified Financial Planner™ are federally registered marks of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. See the CFP Board for details.

UC Berkeley Extension does not certify individuals to use the CFP and Certified Financial Planner designations. CFP certification is granted only by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards to those persons who, in addition to completing an educational requirement such as this CFP Board–registered program, have met its ethics, experience and examination requirements.

For information regarding CFP certification, please write to the CFP Board at 1670 Broadway, Suite 600, Denver, CO 80202; call (303) 830-7500; or email mail@cfp-board.org.

Advisory Board

Brian Kozel, CFP®
Partner, Lead Adviser
North Berkeley Investment Partners

Chair, Advisory Board
UC Berkeley Extension

Chuck Bowes, CFP®
Co-Founder and Senior Wealth Manager
Waypoint Wealth Partners

Kurt F. Carrasquilla, M.B.A.
Vice President, Wealth Management
Financial Adviser
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Gordon Dunne
THE Financial Services NETWORK

Eric Flett
CEO and Principal
Concentric Wealth Management

Campbell Judge
Senior Vice President
Fidelity Investments Institutional Services

Craig Kirkpatrick
President
Orinda Funds

Tim Kochis, J.D., M.B.A., CFP®
Founder
Kochis Global

Daniel Lee, CFA®, CFP®
Wealth Manager
Plancorp

Michael Ma, CFP®, ChFC®
Principal
Parallel Advisors

Baie Netzer, CFA®, CFP®
Senior Vice President
Regional Investment Manager
Wells Fargo Bank

Terrance Odean, Ph.D.
Rudd Family Foundation Professor of Finance
UC Berkeley Haas School of Business

Frank Paré, CFP®
President
PF Wealth Management Group

Marilyn Suey, CFP®, AIF®, PPC®
Principal and CEO
The Diamond Group Wealth Advisors
 

Kate Wilusz, CFP®
President, Financial Advisor
Wilusz and Associates

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