Sponsored By

The Top 15 Online Certificate Programs for the CFP ExamThe Top 15 Online Certificate Programs for the CFP Exam

Here are the top 15 programs in financial planning delivered by colleges and universities for those enrolling students in an online, instructor-led educational format.

16 Slides
CFP-programs-promo.jpg

Already have an account?

UnitoneVector/iStock/Getty Images

All of the accredited online certificate programs ranked by WealthManagement.com are quality programs focused on preparing candidates for the CFP examination.

The top-ranked certificate programs generally display a mix of the following: a high number of completions reported to the CFP Board; high retention, graduation and pass-fail rates; and a high ratio of faculty who have earned CFP credentials. In addition, given that the CFP Board makes adherence to ethics one of the core requirements for the CFP examination (see Requirements for Attaining CFP Certification), we gave extra points to programs that offer students a dedicated ethics course. To be fair, programs that do not offer a dedicated ethics course incorporate ethics into the individual classes. Finally, since we believe students who have gone through a program are often the best judge of quality, we awarded extra points to schools that give students online access to evaluations from former students.

Here are the top 15 programs in financial planning delivered by colleges and universities for programs enrolling students in an online, instructor-led educational format. This list is necessarily limited to the programs that submitted responses to the WealthManagement.com questionnaire by the deadline.

Related:The 15 Top-Ranked Instructor-Led Online Certificate Programs for the CFP Exam

Read the methodology

About the Authors

John Kador

John Kador is a business author focused on leadership, finance, and technology.  He is the author of over 15 books and has been a contributing editor to Wealth Management since 1995.  He received an MS degree in public relations from The American University and a BA in English from Duke University.  He lives in Lewisburg, PA.  Contact him on his website, www.jkador.com.    

Katie Tschida

Katie Tschida, a recent graduate of San Diego State University, is beginning her career as a Wealth Advisor Associate at a national financial services firm.