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Personal Financial Planning
A future by design
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Certificate Description
The only CFP™® Board-registered program in Silicon Valley
The only CFP® Board registered program in Silicon Valley. At its core financial planning is about goal setting and practical problem solving. Financial planning helps people plan for common, real-world challenges such as how much to save for retirement, whether or not to pay off a mortgage, and how to ensure college education.
UCSC Extension financial planning students gain a strong foundation in retirement planning, tax planning, risk management, estate planning, and investments that can be applied both personally and in a professional practice. Our training fulfills the educational requirements set by the Certified Financial Planning™ Board.
Upon successful completion of coursework, students may sit for the rigorous CFP® examination. Our program partners with the Financial Planning Association of Silicon Valley providing you with unique networking opportunities in the Silicon Valley Financial advising community.
Personal Financial Planning certificate program objectives
- Understand applied mathematical concepts for financial planning
- Identify and solve estate problems from the financial planning perspective
- Decode the retirement planning process, including how to determine the adequacy of your client’s resources and income
- Apply risk management to financial decision-making
- Understand the structure, regulation and operation of investment markets
To learn more about our student discount on Personal Financial Planning texts, please click on the Recommended Course Sequence section.
Program Overview
Estimated Cost: Starting at $6,020. (You pay only for courses you enroll in.) | International Tuition Cost
Program Requirements: 8 courses (29.5 units)
Minimum Hours of Instruction: 295 hours of instruction.
Estimated Duration: A full-time student can complete the certificate in 12 months.
Courses
1. Required Course(s): Foundation Courses
2. Required Course(s):
3. Capstone Course:
4. Completion Review:
5. Education Verification: Only if sitting for CFP® Board Exam.
6. Related Course(s): These courses are not part of the certificate program
Meet Our Instructors
Certificate Inquiry Form
Recommended Course Sequence
Please follow this sequence. The two foundation courses—Applied Mathematics for Financial Planning and Personal Financial Planning, Survey—must be completed prior to enrolling in the remaining courses. The final course for all candidates is Personal Financial Planning, Practicum.
Substitutions
Program Requirements
You must take all eight courses and attain an overall average of 3.0 to qualify, including a B or better in “Applied Mathematics for Financial Planning,” “PFP, Survey” and “PFP, Practicum,” and a C or better in each of the other courses.
Course work must be completed within three years of declaring candidacy.
Courses completed more than five years prior to date certificate is issued cannot be used to fulfill requirements.
To receive your certificate. Upon completion of the course sequence, please apply for your Personal Financial Planning Certificate Completion Review.
*Student Discount on Texts
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Personal Financial Planning students may buy most required textbooks at a 15 percent savings through Money Education with a student discount code.
Discount is applicable to texts in the following courses:
- Personal Financial Planning, Survey | FPLN.X400
- Employment Benefits and Retirement Planning in Personal Financial Planning | FPLN.X411
- Estate Planning | FPLN.X402
- Income Taxation in Personal Financial Planning | FPLN.X410
- Investments in Personal Financial Planning: Principles and Methods | FPLN.X401
- Risk Management in Personal Financial Planning | FPLN.X405
To receive your student discount code 10 days before your course starts, please enroll at least two weeks before your class starts. If you enroll fewer than 10 days prior to the class starts, please contact the Tanya Doyle, program manager, to request the student discount code.
Professional Development
Transfer your credits to a master's program
California Lutheran University Master's Degrees in Financial Planning
- Accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
- Courses satisfy the initial education requirements necessary to sit for the CFP® Certification Examination.
- Ranked by U.S. News and World Report among the top 20 schools in the Western U.S.
- Listed as one of the Top Schools in Financial Planning Magazine
Completion of the eight courses (29.5 quarter credits) of the UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Financial Planning certificate equates to 15 graduate credits toward a California Lutheran School of Management's MBA in Financial Planning or MS in Financial Planning. Note that the UCSC certificate must be completed prior to consideration for admission and students must receive a grade of B or higher in each UCSC PFP course to qualify. Courses must be taken within seven calendar years from the time of admission to be accepted for transfer to these programs. There may be restrictions for course substitutions.
CFP®-approved
Once you’ve completed the requirements for the Personal Financial Planning certificate and enrolled in the Personal Financial Planning Certificate Completion Fee (O-CE0163), you may sit for the rigorous CFP exam. You will need to provide them with some information about your training:
- Our government FICE code is 001321.
- Our CFP program code is 99984.
Enrolling in the CFP exam
Important Note: If you have applied to sit for the CFP exam, please enroll in the CFP®️ Board Education Verification Fee at least 6-8 weeks before the exam date to make the $195 verification payment.
Personal Financial Planning Program students and alumni are welcomed into the professional network of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Financial Planning Association (FPA-SV).
Discounted Association Access. UCSC Extension students benefit from discounted events and association membership.
Licensure and Certification
The Personal Financial Planning certificate program satisfies the coursework education requirement to apply for the Certified Financial Planner CFP® certification from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. Certification is optional to practice in this field. Please see our Licensure and Certification Policy to learn more.
Requisite Knowledge
To pursue a certificate in Personal Financial Planning and take the CFP® examination, you should hold a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from an accredited U.S. college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Advisory Board
Certificate Program Chair
RENÉE SNOW, Ph.D., CFP®, CDFA®, EA, has worked as a Certified Financial Planner® for the past 20 years and has combined technical expertise with psychology and philosophy in service to her clients. She earned an M.S. degree in accountancy and worked eight years for a large regional CPA firm. She manages her own firm and specializes in tax planning, asset management, and the psychological aspects of wealth management. As a financial planning instructor at UCSC Extension, she grounds students in the philosophy of economics while giving them the practical tools to work in the financial services industry. The focus of her research has been an inquiry into the ancient texts of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism as they apply to financial management. Snow has published works in the areas of leadership and behavioral finance. She currently serves as chair of the Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program Advisory Board for UCSC Extension.
Certificate Program Advisory Committee
MANDY ANDREI, CFP®, AAMS®
Financial Advisor, Limited Partner
Edward Jones
Mountain View
JAMES PARK, BS, APMA
Registered Principal and Branch Manager
Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
Campbell
CYNTHIA RILEY, B.S.
Financial Planner
Equinox
Instructor, Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension
RENÉE SNOW, Ph.D., CFP®, CDFA®, EA
Registered Principal/Investment Advisor Representative
Instructor and Chair, Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension
ERIC SOLVE, BA, CFP®, EA
Senior Advisor and Partner
Wade Financial Advisory
Instructor, Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension
Establish Candidacy
Establish candidacy in a certificate or specialization
Once you create your student account, you can establish candidacy in a certificate or specialization program any time during your studies.
The benefits of enrolling early
- Lock in your certificate requirements.This means that even if program requirements change, the requirements to complete your certificate will remain the same for you
- Receive program updates
- Set your intention
- It’s free
To complete a program, you must enroll in the certificate program before enrolling in the Certificate Completion Review.
You have five years to complete all necessary courses in a certificate program or three years to finish up a specialization program.
All the necessary units in a certificate must be completed within this window.* The clock begins on the first day of your first course in the certificate program. For example, if you started a course on Sept. 5, 2017, you would have to complete all of the required units in this certificate by Sept. 4, 2022.
Note:
Enrolling in a certificate program does not trigger the beginning of the five-year window. It begins the first day of the first course that applies to a certificate program. The Certificate Completion Review process does not have to occur within the five-year timeframe.
For more information: How do I get my certificate or specialization?
* Students participating in a special program, such as workforce, international, Personal Financial Planning, or curriculum partner programs (such as GreenFig or CLS by Barbri) may have a shorter completion requirement.
Grade Requirements
Please note that only letter grades of C or higher may be applied to a certificate, and in some programs, students may have more stringent requirements. Students in most employer- and government-sponsored payment programs, such as workforce development, as well as international students on F-1 visas, need to maintain a B average to meet their requirements. Personal Financial Planning students have additional grade requirements for individual courses to attain a certificate.
See Grading and Credits Policy for further information.