Busy professionals dreaming of a career as a certified financial planner don’t have to stop working to meet their academic requirements. According to TheBestSchools.org, which ranks degree programs and colleges, there are plenty of great online programs that prepare aspiring planners to take the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exam, a requirement of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.
Whether you are developing your financial services career or seeking to start one, CFP online certificate programs offer the necessary skills and knowledge you'll need while permitting you to study at your own pace. The flexible programs mean students don't have to make many of the professional, personal or financial sacrifices that students enrolled full-time in master's degree programs typically do.
TheBestSchools examined the quality of the online programs, the types of courses offered, the faculty, the rankings, the awards they have received and their reputation.
Here in order from last to first, are TheBestSchools’ top 10 picks to get you started in your new career as a CFP.
10. Rice University
The CFP program at the Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University–in Houston—consists of seven courses: estate planning, financial plan development, general studies, income taxation planning, insurance and risk management, investment planning and retirement and employee benefits planning. Students must complete a capstone project.
9. University of Missouri
Through a partnership with the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance, the Columbia-based Personal Financial Planning Department of the University of Missouri offers an online Family Financial Planning certificate program, registered with the CFP Board of Standards. The graduate certificate online program's curriculum consists of six courses focused on family financial planning, including risk management and employee benefits.
8. University of Florida
Through the UF Distance Learning platform, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Services of the University of Florida in Gainesville offers students an online Professional Development Program in Personal and Family Financial Planning. The non-credit graduate certificate online finance program is CFP Board-registered and prepares students to sit for the CFP exam.
7. California Lutheran University
The School of Management at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks offers a financial planning online certificate program, registered with the CFP Board of Standards, designed to prepare students for CFP certification in an average time of 18 months. The online graduate certificate financial planning program consists of eight courses.
6. DePaul University
The Financial Planning Education Center at DePaul University in Chicago offers an online e-Financial Planning graduate certificate program, registered with the CFP Board of Standards. The six-course online program enables students and financial service professionals to get the training and education they need to excel in their chosen field within an 18-month completion time line.
5. University of California - Irvine
Founded in 1962, the Division of Continuing Education at the University of California, Irvine offers an online Certified Financial Planner certificate program, registered with the CFP Board of Standards. Students should be able to complete the online program in as little as a year. After completing the graduate certificate online finance program, students may transfer their credits toward an MBA in financial planning degree program at the university.
4. University of California Los Angeles Extension
As a professional training extension of UCLA, the University of California Los Angeles Extension offers a board-registered online Personal Financial Planner certificate program. The online graduate finance certificate program consists of nine courses and a required capstone project. The school offers students numerous opportunities to network and connect in advancing their careers.
3. Kansas State University
The Institute of Personal Financial Planning, part of the College of Human Ecology at Kansas State University in Manhattan, offers a 14-month, board-registered online Graduate Certificate in Personal Financial Planning program. Students enrolled in the online graduate finance certificate program earn 18 fully transferrable credit hours that can be applied to a related master’s degree program at Kansas State University.
2. Boston University
The Center for Professional Education at Boston University in Massachusetts offers an online board-registered Financial Planning certificate program that can be completed in just nine to 12 months. The online graduate certificate financial planning program consists of seven courses and requires a capstone project upon completion.
1. The College of Financial Planning
Established in 1972, the College of Financial Planning in Centennial, Colo., is a for-profit institution of higher learning dedicated exclusively to the study of financial planning. The college founded CFP education, and in its early years owned the designation. Its CFP Board-registered Online Certified Financial Planner Certification graduate-level program, which most students complete within one to two years, is available through its exclusive MyChoice learning platform. Students enrolled in the online program can apply credits earned toward the school’s Master of Science in Personal Planning degree program.
