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Financial Planning - ADV CERT

Program Overview:

The Financial Planning Advanced Certificate is intended for graduate students interested in personal financial planning for individuals or families. Financial planning involves the management of financial resources to establish a goal of where a person would like to be in the future and develop a plan of how he or she can achieve that goal. The plans developed require a comprehensive approach that includes several areas of personal finance including: investments, insurance, retirement benefits, estate planning and personal taxes. The Advanced Certificate will prepare students to further their careers in financial services organizations including banks, credit unions, insurance companies, investment firms, accounting firms or private practice.

The Financial Planning Advanced Certificate curriculum meets the educational requirement for certification with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) and qualifies students to sit for the CFP® Certification Examination, administered by the CFP Board.

*CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM are certification marks owned by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. These marks are awarded to individuals who successfully complete the CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements. The College of Saint Rose does not certify individuals to use the CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM. CFP certification is granted only by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards to those persons who, in addition to completing an educational requirement such as this CFP Board-Registered Program, have met its ethics, experience and examination requirements.

Program Contacts:

Gretchen Guenther-Collins

Accounting, Finance & Economics Department Chair

Email: guentheg@strose.edu

Program Webpage:

Financial Planning C.A.S.

Program Requirements:

Academic Requirements:

ACC 528Tax Planning

3

MBA 641Investment Theory

3

MBA 644Insurance Planning

3

MBA 645Benefits & Retirement Planning

3

MBA 646Estate Planning

3

MBA 694Field Study in Fin Plan Devel

3

Prerequisite Courses:

May be waived by prior course equivalencies.

MBA 511Financial Accounting

3

MBA 640Managerial Finance

3

Internship/Field Experience/Service:

Required Course

MBA 694Field Study in Fin Plan Devel

3

(Pending NYSED Approval)

Professional Accreditation:

The College of Saint Rose, sponsored by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet, Albany Province, is chartered by the Board of Regents of New York State. All of its degrees and programs are registered and its professional programs are fully approved by the Board of Regents through the New York State Education Department.

The College of Saint Rose is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (267-284-5000). The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Admissions and Financial Aid Information:

General Admission Information

Eligibility for admission to The College of Saint Rose graduate programs is typically based upon the following minimum requirements:

  1. Submission of a completed application and a Statement of Purpose of approximately 300 words detailing the applicant’s goals for graduate study.
  2. Evidence of the possession of a U.S.  baccalaureate degree or equivalent from an accredited institution through submission of official transcripts from all post-secondary education.
  3. Academic and professional qualifications for graduate study, as indicated by two letters of recommendation. The Communication Sciences & Disorders program requires three letters of recommendation.
  4. A grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale), overall and in the undergraduate major.
  5. Other admission criteria specified by academic programs such as submission of resumes, writing samples, portfolios, test scores, and participation in interviews or admissions workshops.

Applicants to The College of Saint Rose are responsible for completing their applications by submitting all required components. Prospective students may wish to visit our website at www.strose.edu/gradapply for online application.


See Graduate Admissions section for more information.

Financial Aid


The College of Saint Rose has long been committed to the premise that a quality education should be within the reach of qualified students. To this end, the College serves its student body through a comprehensive program of federal, state, and institutional financial aid. While the basic responsibility for financing education lies with the students and their families, scholarships, loans, and/or assistantships can supplement insufficient family resources. The amount of aid available through the College is limited and is awarded on the basis of academic merit. All financial assistance from the College is subject to adjustment if the recipients are later granted aid from other sources. Financial aid awards are contingent upon students’ maintaining good academic standing and satisfactory academic progress.

See Financial Aid section for more information.

Additional Financial Planning Admission Information:

Requirements for the Advanced Certificate in Financial Planning

At a minimum, an applicant must possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. Applications require a statement of purpose, current resume and all academic transcripts. Normally, the minimum admission requirement is an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. However, if the overall undergraduate GPA is lower than 3.0, additional information such as the Graduate Management Admissions Test scores may be requested.

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