Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning

Lori Bodenhamer is a financial planner at Abundo Wealth.

Graduate, Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning

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.

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Courses

Required Courses

Minimum Required

8 Course(s)

Maximum Allowed

0 Course(s)

BUS ADM X433 Survey of Personal Financial Planning

Units / CEUs
2

Status
Not Available
BUS ADM X433.1 Income Taxes and Personal Financial Planning

Units / CEUs
2

Status
Not Available
BUS ADM X433.3 Investments in Personal Financial Planning: General Principles and Methods

Units / CEUs
2

Status
Not Available
BUS ADM X436.7 Behavioral Finance

Units / CEUs
2

Status
Not Available
BUS ADM X433.8 Insurance in Personal Financial Planning

Units / CEUs
2

Status
Not 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

Status
Not Available
BUS ADM X433.7 Personal Financial Planning Capstone

Units / CEUs
3

Status
Not Available

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

Status
Not Available
BUS ADM X416.8 Retirement Income Planning

Units / CEUs
1

Delivery Options
Online

Status
Available
BUS ADM X419.5 Taxation for Corporations and Other Flow-Through Entities

Units / CEUs
3

Status
Not Available

Certificate and Program Policies

PFP Events, Programs and Resources

The Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning provides students with a Career Planning Night event sponsored by the program's advisory board. Learn more about this event.

Contact Information

To contact the department office, email extension-business@berkeley.edu.

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.

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 certificate, you must complete each course with a grade of C or better. 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:

Submit the online registration, and complete your student account profile if you are a new student.
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 $10,700 (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 certificate. Send an email to extension-business@berkeley.edu. After your records have been reviewed, verified and approved (usually within two to three weeks), your certificate will be mailed to you.

Upon your request, we will notify the CFP Board of your eligibility to take the national exam after your grades and course completion have been verified.

Videos

2021 Personal Financial Planning Career Night

2020 Personal Financial Planning Awards Recognition

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.
Financial Adviser
Morgan Stanley

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

Lieve Mertens, CFA^®, CAIA^®, CFP^®
Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager
Bank of America Private 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