Master of Science in Personal Financial Planning

How does the Master of Science Degree Program in Personal Financial Planning work?

The Master of Science program is delivered via a state-of-the-art asynchronous learning platform. This means that you can pursue your degree from anywhere in the world and study when it’s convenient for you. Your studies will revolve around real-world scenarios and cases with a focus on research and critical thinking skills. Our industry practitioner professors will help guide your progress via weekly assignments, research projects, and forum-style group discussions.

The program consists of ten 3-hours courses. Classes are held five times per year with sessions beginning every January, March, May, August, and October. Each course is eight weeks with a two-week break between classes.

Core Courses:

These are only required for students who are not currently CFP® Certificants or not interested in becoming one.

If you are interested in obtaining the CFP® Certification, we recommend enrolling into the CFP Certification Professional Education Program and transferring the credit into the Master of Science program. Upon doing this, you will receive credit for all of the core courses and will begin with the Advanced Courses.

PFPL510: Financial Planning Process & Insurance

• This course covers the introduction to financial planning as well as insurance needs of clients. The planning process is introduced utilizing a case study and crafting necessary documents. Another couple is introduced in the second week to review their college funding plan then principles of insurance and risk management are covered. This course applies the concepts of a variety of insurance needs to the financial planning process through readings, discussions, and assignments using mini case studies. Disability income, long-term care, life, and property & life insurance topics are specifically explored throughout this course.

PFPL520: Investment Planning

• A wide variety of investment alternatives are covered in this course, including domestic and foreign securities, mutual funds, and fixed-income assets. Modern portfolio theory, risk and return, and company valuation are explored and calculated. A financial calculator is required for this course.

PFPL530: Income Tax Planning

• Emphasizing the fundamentals of individual income taxation, this course delves into the tax implications of various types of businesses, tax-advantaged investments, employee compensation issues and planning, alternative minimum tax, tax traps, and other taxation subjects.

PFPL540: Retirement Planning & Employee Benefits

• This course covers the major concepts related to personal retirement planning. The focus is on coordinating qualified plans and IRAs, Social Security, executive retirement plans and pre-retirement employee benefits to create comprehensive retirement plans that will provide your clients with long-term financial security. Special emphasis is placed on the process of selecting an appropriate retirement plan for a given employer.

PFPL550: Estate Planning

• Basic estate planning concepts and techniques are covered in this course. Subjects such as the estate planning process, client interaction about estate planning, basic legal estate planning documents, trusts, lifetime transfers, gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxation, life insurance planning, and charitable giving.

Students receive a Graduate Certificate in Personal Financial Planning upon completion of PFPL510 – PFPL550

Advanced Courses:

PFPL560: Pre-retirement Financial Planning Topics

• By analyzing retirement plan issues for a hypothetical couple planning to retire within 15 to 20 years, students analyze a wide range of issues facing individuals preparing for retirement. The course also presents a variety of methods to better assist clients in resolving the issues that may be faced when preparing for or after retirement.

PFPL570: Portfolio Management for Personal Financial Planners

• The investment planning process between a financial planner and a client is covered in detail. The course covers the theory of investment management, security valuation, and portfolio management, including the analysis of investment risk and return and portfolio performance evaluation. The course exposes the student to a balanced presentation of both the theoretical and practical aspects of investment management through analysis of a case study.

Choose 2 Elective Courses:

PFPL522: Behavioral Finance

• This course explores behavioral finance and its impact on creating portfolios. Various biases are explored and then applied to real-world case studies. Also explored is the psychology of money, money scripts and disorders, and how past experiences can impact how people view and handle money on a day to day basis.

PFPL536: Applied Tax Planning

• This course provides students with a strong background in the application of income tax concepts, calculations, and planning techniques specific to middle and higher-income taxpayers.

PFPL556: Applied Estate Planning

• This course examines selected issues related to estate planning in a case study-driven format. These include both tax and non-tax aspects of planning for disability and death.

PFPL582: Retirement Planning Strategies (CRPC® Program)

• The Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM or CRPC® Professional Designation Program is graduate-level and can be used as a 3-hour elective course in the MS program.

PFPL583: Retirement Plan Studies (CRPS® Program)

• The Chartered Retirement Plans SpecialistSM or CRPS® Professional Designation Program is graduate-level and can be used as a 3-hour elective course in the MS program.

PFPL584: Wealth Management Strategies (AWMA® Program)

• The Accredited Wealth Management AdvisorSM or AWMA® Professional Designation Program is graduate-level and can be used as a 3-hour elective course in the MS program.

PFPL585: Principles of Portfolio Management (APMA® Program)

• The Accredited Portfolio Management AdvisorSM or APMA® Professional Designation Program is graduate-level and can be used as a 3-hour elective course in the MS program.

PFPL592: Current Issues in Financial Planning

• This course examines current, unique, and/or advanced topics in financial planning. The culmination of this course will be a well-researched paper.

ECON532: Economics for Financial Planners

• This course covers economic issues relevant to financial planners, including monetary and fiscal policies, economic growth, international trade, currency exchange, and investment decisions. The relevance and use of a variety of economic indicators are also covered.

Final Case Study:

PFPL600: Case Study in Personal Financial Planning