CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Certification Education Program
Program Courses
On-Campus Program Courses and Class Schedule
Complete the certificate in 14 to 18 months by:
Taking more than one course at a time at least once during the program such as Income Tax, Estate or Retirement Planning. (Taking more than two courses per term is not recommended.)
Taking the Introduction and Investment course by themselves (i.e. do not double up).
Taking the Financial Plan Development and Presentation course by itself at the end of the program. (Per CFP Board no exceptions will be made.)
Program Schedule: Courses are held according to the schedule below, but may be subject to change.
Registration tips:
Click on a course link to register.
To see the dates and prices for multiple courses, filter by term.
320-0 Financial Plan Development and Presentation (Capstone) *Only offered during the Fall and Spring terms. Please plan your schedule with this in mind.
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Sample Course Plans
.
Standard
Fall Start
YEAR 1
YEAR 2
FALL
Intro
Estate
WINTER
Insurance
Retirement
SPRING
Income Tax
Financial Plan
SUMMER
Investment
[July Exam]
Spring Start
YEAR 1
YEAR 2
SPRING
Intro
Estate
SUMMER
Insurance
Retirement
FALL
Income Tax
Financial Plan
WINTER
Investment
[March Exam]
Accelerated
Fall Start
YEAR 1
YEAR 2
FALL
Intro
Financial Plan
WINTER
Insurance + Retirement
[March Exam]
SPRING
Income Tax + Estate
SUMMER
Investment
Spring Start
YEAR 1
YEAR 2
SPRING
Intro
Financial Plan
SUMMER
Insurance + Retirement
[July Exam]
FALL
Income Tax + Estate
WINTER
Investment
PDP courses are offered online, remotely, and on-campus. Please refer to the
Schedule Notes for course delivery information.
IMPORTANT:
The registration process for all professional development courses requires you
to register for your course and
update your emergency contact information
in CAESAR, Northwestern University's Student Enterprise System.
Registering for multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a mandatory,
integrated step to access Northwestern University systems. Northwestern
uses the DUO Mobile smartphone application for multi-factor authentication.
Steps to install the DUO Mobile App can be found
here.
Once you have
completed the MFA registration process, you will have access to systems
like CAESAR and CANVAS, Northwestern’s Learning Management System.
*It is a student’s responsibility to ensure access to Northwestern systems
after registering for a PDP course. If you do not have a smartphone capable of
downloading and using the DUO Mobile app, you may want to consider a
YubiKey
that can be purchased from several online retailers.
This course provides an overview of the federal income tax
system, examining the income taxation of individuals, sole
proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs and corporations. Students will
begin with taxation terminology and then learn about the concepts
of gross income and deductions for profit-making activities,
personal deductions and tax planning for the family, tax benefits
of home ownership, planning for the acquisition and deposition of
other real estate, and how the choice of business entity affects
the taxes of owners and employees. The course will focus on how
financial planners advise clients about the most effective methods
of maximizing wealth by reducing their tax burden through an
examination of a variety of tax issues-including tax law,
accounting methods, tax planning related to employee compensation,
research and practitioner concerns, cost-recovery methods,
consequences of like-kind exchanges and tax-advantage investments.
Alternative minimum tax (AMT), self-employment tax, ethical
considerations, potential traps and pitfalls, and the consequences
and effects of IRS audits and enforcement activities also will be
discussed. This course is offered during the fall and
spring terms.
Registered students can access their online course site
here. An
activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note:
It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to
the online course platform.
For more information, please contact profdev@northwestern.edu.
Course Materials :
1. Income Planning 17th Edition, Money Education (Dalton-Langdon). Available in electronic or physical copy at www.money-education.com or via phone at 1-888-295-6023.
