Professional Certificate in Personal Financial Planning

Dr. Nanigian and his financial planning program students attending the 2017 Financial Planning Association Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Student travel funding was made possible by a generous grant from the McBeth Foundation.

California State University, Fullerton is ranked as one of the nation's top Personal Financial Planning Programs. Learn more at: https://www.financial-planning.com/list/colleges-for-financial-planning. 

Cal State Fullerton’s Mihaylo College of Business and Economics has continuously offered a CFP Board-registered personal financial planning degree program since 1990. It prepares students to become professional, competent, and ethical personal financial planners.

- Sol Morgan, CSUF Mihaylo College of Business and Economics Class of 2019 

A Participant-Centered Approach

Mihaylo College’s Professional Certificate in Personal Financial Planning Program teaches students “how to think” as financial planners so that they can “hit the ground running” upon graduation. Throughout the courses, students are encouraged to apply their knowledge to real-life financial planning situations via:

• Regular guest lecturers who are leading practitioners in the financial services industry
• Heavy use of case studies involving personal financial planning situations
• Discussions of current events in the financial markets and the financial services industry

This approach emphasizes the application of knowledge of course material to the actual practice of personal financial planning, so that students will be able provide sound guidance to their future clients, no matter the complexity.
Day and the evening courses are offered to accommodate the needs of working students. Students completing the program will be eligible to sit for the CFP® examination without further preparation or coursework.

Curriculum

The Mihaylo College’s Professional Certificate in Personal Financial Planning Program consists of the seven courses listed below:

• ACCT 308 – Concepts of Federal Income Tax Accounting
• FIN 340 – Introduction to Investments
• FIN 351 – Introduction to Real Estate
• FIN 360 – Principles of Insurance
• FIN 408 – Retirement Planning
• FIN 409 – Estate Planning
• FIN 410 – Theory and Practice of Personal Financial Planning

Did you know?  

Dr. David Nanigian regularly teaches three of the seven courses in Mihaylo’s Professional Certificate in Personal Financial Planning Program (FIN 408, FIN 409, and FIN 410) and, based on the results from Spring 2019 Student Opinion Questionnaires, 70% of his students gave him the highest possible rating of "Outstanding" for overall teaching effectiveness.

Professional Financial Planning Program Spotlight

Cal State Fullerton Mihaylo College Personal Financial Planning students Rachel Shin '19 and Brandon Pope '20 traveled to New York City to attend the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning’s inaugural Diversity Summit on October 23.The event connected financial planning professionals, academic minds and new entrants to the field to discuss ways to increase the diversity of the financial planning industry to make the industry more representative of the broader population.The Mihaylo College student representation at this event is an example of the applied experiences and opportunities in the field that the Mihaylo College’s Personal Financial Planning Program offers to its students. Brandon and Rachel were proud to represent Mihaylo College at the Diversity Summit!

Cal State Fullerton's business school has continuously offered a CFP Board-registered personal financial planning degree program since 1990.

Insurance courses at CSUF are taught through the university’s School of Risk Management and Insurance, which is recognized by the International Insurance Society as a Global Center of Insurance Excellence.