The courses in the Financial Planning Certificate Program are numbered, but they do not have to be taken in chronological order.
You can take the courses from just one or all of the locations. You just need to complete the five required courses.
The answer to this question varies, but most past students say for every hour in class they spent 1-2 hours outside of class studying.
The five courses in the program can be completed in as little as 10 months or as long as 3 years depending on location.
The per course cost of the texts averages about $150 per course. The Keir Educational Resources materials are also required, they average $100 per course. A financial calculator is also required, the suggested HP10Bii averages $40.
If you are comfortable using another non-programmable financial calculator (i.e. HP 12C), you may use that, but the instructors will teach the students to use the HP 10Bii. For the CFP® Certification Examination, you will need a financial calculator with an internal rate of return (IRR) function for problems with unequal periodic cash flows. Calculators with alphabetic keys will not be permitted.
When you register for the course, you will be asked if you would like CEU's for your insurance license. The certificate for insurance CEU's will be sent to anyone that provides their license number. You will also receive a completion certificate that may work for other CEU's. If you have questions, please contact Jean Clarke, Program Coordinator at fpcp@mnsu.edu.
You can take a challenge exam for up to two of the five courses in the program. Challenge exams can only be taken once per course. The challenge exams are multiple choice tests and graded with a letter grade. There is a $100 fee for each challenge exam. You need to contact Dr. Stephen Larson, Program Director, in regards to taking the challenge exam.
If the program is registered with CFP Board, you can either transfer the courses into our program to receive a Certificate in Financial Planning from Minnesota State University, Mankato or you may apply for the CFP® Certification Examination with your completion certificates from the MSU program and from the other program. If the program is not registered with CFP Board, you must take all five courses from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Since our classes are classroom based, you will be given a final examination on your last class meeting. This would be equivalent to the test at the end of each course with self study programs.
When you successfully complete our program, you will be provided with the information you need to send to CFP Board stating that you have completed the education requirement to sit for the exam. You will also be provided with an application and the list of 89 topics that are tested on the exam. If you have courses from another Board registered program, contact Jean Clarke, Program Coordinator at fpcp@mnsu.edu while taking your last class from Minnesota State University, Mankato and you will be provided with the information you need to apply for the exam in regards to the course(s) you took from MSU.
We do not assist in placement after completion of the program, but our advisory council does provide us with job openings they hear of and a list of contacts at some companies can be provided to you by contacting Jean Clarke, Program Coordinator at fpcp@mnsu.edu.
Minnesota State University, Mankato does not certify individuals to use the CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP registered logo, 
, certification marks. CFP certification is granted by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. to those persons who, in addition to completing an educational requirement such as this CFP Board-Registered Program, have met ethics, experience and examination requirements.
