Academics, Campus wide, College of Business

CFP board registered personal finance degree now offered

By Jenna Johnson | April 27, 2022

Charleston Southern University has been approved by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) to provide a new financial planning degree, the BBA in Personal Financial Management.

“CFP Board is pleased to approve the program at Charleston Southern University as a CFP Board Registered Program,” said Kamila Elliott, CFP®, chair of CFP Board’s Board of Directors. “As student interest in financial planning as a career continues to grow, we anticipate that Charleston Southern University’s program will contribute significantly to the number of qualified candidates seeking to attain CFP^® certification, the standard of excellence for competent and ethical financial planning.”

CFP Board is a Washington, D.C.-based independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to benefit the public by granting, upholding and promoting the Certified Financial Planner^TM (CFP®) certification. Those who earn the certification are distinguishing themselves among their peers by meeting CFP Board’s education, examination, experience and ethics requirements. Students completing the financial planning program at Charleston Southern University will meet the coursework requirement for CFP^® Certification and be eligible to sit for the CFP^® Certification Examination administered by CFP Board.

CFP Board currently oversee more than 300 programs at more than 200 institutions. CFP Board Registered Programs are financial planning education programs at the college or university level that meet specific criteria for educating individuals who wish to fulfill the education component for obtaining CFP^® certification.

Dr. David Palmer, dean of the Nielsen College of Business, stated, “Being approved as a CFP® Registered Program is key to providing the best possible financial training to future planners and others involved in the financial services industry. This is a growing industry with high demand for new planners. Our goal is to provide the financial services industry with well-trained candidates, ready to take the CFP® Exam. This is a key success factor for our graduates.” Persons interested in the program should send inquiries to Boyce Smith, director of the Center for Personal Financial Management, at bsmith@csuniv.edu.