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.
FN_EXTND 314-0 : Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits
Description
This course covers all aspects of retirement planning and
employee benefits, beginning with the presentation of tax-deferred
retirement program options and the framework used to conduct a
needs analysis for achieving retirement income goals. Key features
of qualified retirement plan design are discussed, emphasizing the
advantages and disadvantages of specific types of plans for the
owners of small- to medium-sized businesses. Assumptions and
projections of lifestyle, inflation, returns and life expectancy
are critical when considering retirement needs. An understanding of
cash flow, income sources, medical expenses and benefits must go
into the calculations. Employee compensation has changed
significantly in recent years, so it is essential that financial
planners grasp how to coordinate employer-sponsored benefits within
a plan. All of these issues are addressed in detail, as are how to
avoid inappropriate investments and how to present recommended
courses of action to clients. Additional relevant topics
highlighted in this course include commonly provided non-pension
employee benefits, such as disability, healthcare and group life
insurance. Students will discuss the uses of life and disability
insurance in planning for closely held businesses, as well as for
the family. Childcare, Medicare and other dependent-care benefits
are considered. Federal social security, cafeteria plans, stock
options and stock purchase plans, transportation issues, and forms
of non-qualified deferred compensation are included, as well.
This course is offered during the winter and summer
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.
