Financial Planning

Financial Planning

Plan your financial future.

College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

Certificate Coursework

The Extended Learning Certificate Program is registered with the CFP Board of Standards. Students who wish to qualify for the CFP® Exam will need to complete all six courses and earn a ‘C’ or better in each course. Coursework completed through Texas A&M University satisfies the CFP Board’s financial planning coursework requirement. Texas A&M does not award the CFP® marks.

To learn more about the courses and what topics are covered, please visit the Learn more about the courses section.

Extended Learning Certificate Coursework

Spring 2023 Summer 2023 Fall 2023 Spring 2024
FPCC 435 Financial Planning Fundamentals Course is Available Course is Available Course is Available Course is Available
FPCC 436 Insurance, Risk & Estate Planning Course is Available Course is Available Course is Available
FPCC 437 Tax Planning for Professionals Course is Available Course is Available
FPCC 438 Investment & Portfolio Management Course is Available
FPCC 439 Retirement Planning & Employee Benefits Course is Available Course is Available Course is Available
FPCC 441 Financial Plan Development (Capstone) Course is Available Course is Available Course is Available Course is Available

Extended Learning Certificate Credit is available to students who do not wish to enroll in a degree seeking program. Courses taken for extended learning credit do not count towards a degree at Texas A&M and are not transferrable to an academic program. 

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Course Sequence

Students should start with FPCC 435 Financial Planning Fundamentals. FPCC 441 Financial Plan Development should be taken last since it applies concepts from the previous five courses. Students are allowed to take one course from the certificate concurrently with FPCC 441. The remaining courses in the program can be taken in any order. Not all courses are offered every semester. Students should check our website for the most up-to-date schedule.

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Course Workload

For a 15-week semester (fall and spring), the amount of time a student can expect to spend working on coursework is:

  • FPCC 435 Financial Planning Fundamentals: 4 hours per week
  • FPCC 436 Insurance, Risk & Estate Planning: 5-6 hours per week
  • FPCC 437 Tax Planning for Professionals: 4-5 hours per week
  • FPCC 438 Investment and Portfolio Management: 4 hours per week
  • FPCC 439 Retirement Planning & Employee Benefits: 5-6 hours per week
  • FPCC 441 Financial Plan Development (Capstone): 8-10 hours per week

Summer courses are compressed into 10 weeks. The expected time for each course will increase by 1-2 hours per week.

Learn more about the courses:

435 Financial Planning Fundamentals +
This course is a prerequisite for other courses in the program and focuses on financial planning tools and techniques. It includes topics such as financial statement analysis, funding for educational needs, debt management, insurance, investments, retirement planning, and basic economic principles.

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436 Insurance, Risk and Estate Planning +
The principles taught in this course prepare students to identify a client’s risk exposure and select appropriate risk management techniques and estate strategies. The curriculum aligns with the CFP Board’s recommended topics and emphasizes insurance and estate planning for individuals, families, and small businesses. Students will learn how to conduct an insurance needs analysis for clients and evaluate insurance contracts for life, disability, long-term care, and health insurance.

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437 Tax Planning for Professionals +
This comprehensive course provides students with an understanding of income tax planning principles to effectively boost household income after tax. The curriculum places a strong emphasis on gaining a deep understanding of tax laws, concepts, and rules, as well as highlighting opportunities for effective planning. Students will be well-versed in the application of tax and estate planning principles to a range of financial scenarios, enabling them to provide effective guidance to clients and individuals alike.

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438 Investment and Portfolio Management +
In this comprehensive course, students will learn how to evaluate different asset classes to achieve client investment objectives. They will also examine quantitative investment concepts, investment theories and strategies, and asset pricing models. Through this comprehensive approach, students will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to build successful investment portfolios tailored to individual and family needs, and to create effective investment programs for individual investors.

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439 Retirement Planning & Employee Benefits +
Throughout this course, students will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to evaluate and compare the features of different retirement plans. This will allow them to recommend the most suitable plan based on a given situation. The curriculum includes tax-deferred retirement plans, IRAs, nonqualified plans, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, distribution strategies, taxation of distributions, and regulatory considerations. Students will learn about the benefits and limitations of each plan, and how to assess which plan aligns with individual retirement goals.

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441 Financial Plan Development (Capstone) +

In this advanced course, students will integrate the concepts learned in previous coursework to create a comprehensive financial plan for a client. Students will work on a final project where they will prepare and orally present a comprehensive financial plan to faculty, which will be recorded as a self-recorded video. Additionally, students will gain hands-on experience with financial planning software, advanced financial calculators, and Microsoft Excel. A solid understanding of education planning, tax planning, retirement planning, investment planning, risk management, and estate planning is essential for enrollment.

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