Try out a Master’s in Financial Planning while fulfilling requirements for your Bachelor’s degree. Continue on to earn your undergraduate and graduate degrees within a five-year time frame!
The University allows for students to count up to 12 undergraduate credits toward both their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. This can effectively give student a head-start in completing both degrees in five years or less. This means that students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree at UGA can use up to 12 undergraduate general elective hours toward a graduate degree in financial planning*. Because the Hope and Miller scholarships fund up to 127 credit hours, the Double Dawgs option gives students the opportunity to take advantage of undergraduate scholarship funding for a graduate program.
*with departmental permission
The hands-on nature of our Master’s program is perfect for students who are considering earning the CFP® designation. The Master’s in Financial Planning is a CFP® Board Certified program. Upon completing the education requirements, students are eligible to sit for the CFP® Exam. Additionally, students can apply internship hours toward the experience requirements for the designation.
Not sure about going for your Master’s? Find out how you can use your elective hours to learn more about the major, and then apply it toward your Dual Degree if you change your mind!
Several undergraduate majors are currently eligible to participate in the Double Dawg program with Financial Planning as your Master’s degree. Approved Double Dawgs programs can be viewed here. Please contact Diane Costyn (dcostyn@uga.edu) to evaluate your own individual path toward becoming a Double Dawg. We will work with any student interested in pursuing this opportunity.
Students with STEM, psychology, business, service-based, and pre-professional majors tend to thrive when pursuing Financial Planning, as they complement the interdisciplinary approach of the profession.
The introductory course in wealth management. Study of the securities market; investment risk and return; features of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, and other speculative investments and security valuation; performance measurement; and analysis.
Become familiar with the basics of wealth management and analysis. Study topics including investment risk and return, features of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and real estate, and the securities market as a whole.
With an introduction to current tax laws, students will learn how tax planning strategies are affected by legislation, and how to manage tax liability through proper financial planning.
This course focuses on advanced methods of property transfer, minimization of estate/trust income taxes, *planning strategies appropriate for closely-held businesses, and implications of public policy on estate planning.
This is the introductory course in Financial Planning. It provides an overview of the remaining courses in the curriculum and introduces students to the various business models in the profession. Areas covered in greater depth include in Cash Management, Education Planning, and Professional Ethics.
An introduction to the Financial Planning curriculum and an opportunity to learn more about family financial decision making over the life cycle. Topics covered include an introduction to Cash Management, Insurance, Education Planning, Professional Ethics, and others.
Learn the best practices in assisting individuals and families with their financial goals and challenges with a focus on behavioral economics. This class offers the opportunity to assist real clients in the Athens-area, and for this reason is not advisable without taking at least 6 hours of Financial Planning courses concurrently or previously.
**Directed study opportunities include:
The processes and issues facing financial planners when managing clients' assets. Evaluation, development, and analyses of client portfolios, construction of investment policy statements, management and selection of securities for client portfolios.
Design and plan the implementation of retirement plans and employee benefits from the perspective of both employer and employee. Understand basic pension and tax-advantaged plans as well as advanced retirement savings, deferred compensation, employee stock options (qualified and non-qualified), and governmental benefits, including social insurance.
The skills needed to create and sustain a profitable practice in financial planning. Topics pertain to issues facing professionals when they start their practices such as state licensures, regulatory environment, marketing professional practices, business networks, developing client bases, and effective and ethical marketing techniques for practice in financial planning.
Designed to help students develop the background and skills necessary to evaluate research and practice from a grounded theoretical perspective. The course provides a review of contemporary theories used in financial planning and household decision making studies.
Examination of advanced professional issues in financial planning, including ethical dilemmas, regulatory compliance, certification requirements, and normative financial planning practice standards. Students are expected to document mastery of financial planning topics using an advanced integrative perspective in the development of a comprehensive financial plan.
*The Capstone Course is a CFP® Board-required course integrating previously mastered concepts through case studies.