Extended Learning Certificate Program

The Extended Learning Certificate Program helps working professionals and career changers achieve their goal of becoming a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM. Our courses are developed and taught by financial planning industry experts who bring years of real-world perspective to the classroom.

The Extended Learning Certificate is available to those who do not wish to enroll in a degree-seeking program. The certificate program is registered with the CFP Board of Standards. Students who successfully complete all seven courses are eligible to sit for the CFP® Exam.

Coursework

	Spring 2024	Summer 2024	Fall 2024	Spring 2025
FPCC 435 Financial Planning Fundamentals	•	•	•	•
FPCC 436 Insurance & Risk Management	•	•		•
FPCC 437 Tax Planning for Professionals		•	•
FPCC 438 Investment & Portfolio Management			•
FPCC 439 Retirement Planning & Employee Benefits	•		•	•
FPCC 440 Estate Planning				•
FPCC 441 Financial Plan Development & Capstone	•	•	•	•

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.

Semester Calendars & Deadlines

Spring 2024

November 5: Registration Opens
January 8: Last Day to Apply for Admission
January 15: Last Day to Register for Classes*
January 16: First Day of Class
May 13: End of Semester
*Extended Learning Certificate only. Academic credit students should refer to the Registrar’s academic calendar for registration deadlines.

Summer 2024

April 5: Registration Opens
May 20: Last Day to Apply for Admission
May 27: Last Day to Register for Classes*
May 28: First Day of Class
August 13: End of Semester
*Extended Learning Certificate only. Academic credit students should refer to the Registrar’s academic calendar for registration deadlines.

Fall 2024

July 5: Registration Opens
August 11: Last Day to Apply for Admission
August 18: Last Day to Register for Classes*
August 19: First Day of Class
December 16: End of Semester
*Extended Learning Certificate only. Academic credit students should refer to the Registrar’s academic calendar for registration deadlines.

Program Information

Students wishing to enroll in courses for Extended Learning credit must fill out a Program Application first. There is no cost to submit an application. We will review your application and send course registration instructions if your application passes review. During busy times of the semester, it may take additional time for us to process applications.

Program Prerequisites

It is strongly recommended that you have a four-year degree before enrolling in the program, or at least be working towards a bachelor’s degree. The CFP Board requires individuals to have earned a bachelor’s degree in order to obtain CFP® certification. Read more about CFP® Certification Process and Education Requirement.

To be successful in the courses, working knowledge of introductory accounting principles and an understanding of Time Value of Money is strongly recommended. Free online resources such as Khan Academy and YouTube are great resources if you need help with these subject areas.

Application and Admission Cycles

Spring semester admission: Applications close one week before classes begin. Spring semester starts mid-January.
Summer semester admission: Applications close one week before classes begin. Summer semester starts late-May.
Fall semester admission: Applications close one week before classes begin. Fall semester starts late-August.

Courses are offered three times a year: spring, summer, and fall semesters. Spring and fall courses are 15-weeks in length, summer courses are 10-weeks in length. General start and end time frames for each semester are as follows:

Spring semester: mid-January through the first week of May
Summer semester: Tuesday after Memorial Day through the first week of August
Fall semester: last week of August through the first week of December

Course Sequencing

Students should start with FPCC 435 Financial Planning Fundamentals. FPCC 441 Financial Plan Development & Capstone should be taken last since it applies concepts from the previous six 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.

All courses in our certificate program are taught 100% online. Our courses operate on a semester-long schedule, and we have three sessions each year: spring, summer, and fall.

Each semester has pre-defined start and end dates. Course content is assigned on a weekly schedule throughout the semester. Students are not required to attend class on a certain day each week.

While students can work at their own pace each week, students are expected to meet weekly deadlines. Each course has a dedicated instructor who will provide feedback, guidance, and answer any questions you may have about the subject.

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 Management: 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 440 Estate Planning: 4-5 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.

Program Costs & Financial Aid

For courses taken as Extended Learning credit, the cost is $575 per course.
We use seven textbooks throughout the program and each textbook is estimated to cost on average $150 each. Students are also required to have a financial calculator.
We are a pay-as-you-go program and only require payment for the course(s) you intend to take in the upcoming semester. We do not require you to pay for the entire program up front. Payment is due at the time of course registration.

The Extended Learning Certificate Program is considered continuing education and does not qualify for federal financial aid. Prospective students should consider the following for tuition payment:

Seek employer funding or reimbursement
Apply for a private education loan
Register for individual courses over multiple semesters

The CFP Board has scholarships that are open to certificate students. Please visit their Scholarship & Financial Aid page for more details.

To use VA Chapter Benefits at Texas A&M University, courses must be taken for academic credit. Because our Extended Learning Certificate program does not count for academic credit, we cannot accept veteran benefits at this time.

If you are interested in taking courses for academic credit, we recommend visiting with Aggie One Stop for more information. Our courses are only offered at the undergraduate level, which can create issues for veterans who already have a bachelor’s degree. We do not offer a master’s degree or graduate-level certificate in financial planning.

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.

436 Insurance and Risk Management

The principles taught in this course prepare students to identify a client’s risk exposure and select appropriate risk management techniques. The curriculum aligns with the CFP Board’s recommended topics and emphasizes insurance 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.

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 planning principles to a range of financial scenarios, enabling them to provide effective guidance to clients and individuals alike.

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.

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.

440 Estate Planning

The principles of estate planning are covered in this course. Students will learn how to create and apply complex estate planning methodologies within financial planning. Emphasis is on both development of estate strategy and coordination of estate management with legal professionals required of a financial planner in advising clients.

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.

Still have questions?

Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page to see if we can address those for you.

You can also reach out to us at financialplanning@tamu.edu at any time.

Coursework

Semester Calendars & Deadlines

Spring 2024

Summer 2024

Fall 2024