Financial Planning

major

Academics / Departments & Programs / Business / Academics / Financial Planning Major

Financial Planning

major

Degree Overview

Help people be effective stewards of their resources. As a financial planning major, you'll craft financial plans that will lead individuals, non-profits, and businesses to their goals.

Calvin's BS in financial planning is the only CFP® registered faith-based program in Michigan and one of only a handful in the country. Through rigorous courses in financial planning, investments, estate planning, insurance, and more, you’ll learn to build financial plans that are shaped around your client’s unique resources, constraints, and long-term goals. You'll find plenty of internship opportunities in West Michigan's thriving business community, and you could get practical experience working with real clients through Calvin's own Nexus Peer Financial Coaching program. When you graduate, you'll have the skills and experience you need to take the CFP® exam and move toward your career in financial planning.

Whether you go on to create financial plans for a small business or provide personalized guidance to individuals, you'll help people to use their resources to achieve their goals.

Program Distinctives

Practical experience - Grand Rapids is home to financial planning firms of all sizes, from small startups to national corporations. Calvin also has relationships with financial planning and advisory firms across the country. That means you'll get internship experience that's relevant to your career goals.
Faith-based - Your professors are Christians who understand money and finance as a way to help people flourish. You'll join a program with a strong ethical foundation and a mindset of service.
Study abroad - Calvin business students take their studies around the world, with study-abroad opportunities in places like Hungary, India, and China. You can earn your financial planning major, study abroad for an interim or a semester, and still graduate in four years.
Real-world opportunities - Programs like Nexus Financial Coaching and Knight Investment Management will give you a chance to work with real-life clients before you graduate. In fact, work in the Nexus program can count toward the work experience requirement for your CFP® certification.

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Degree Information

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  • Advising
  • Courses

    Program requirements (53 credit hours)


    • ACCT 203 - Managerial Accounting
    • ACCT 204 - Financial Accounting
    • ACCT 306 - Income Tax
    • BUS 101 - Business Foundations
    • BUS 201 - Management and Organizational Behavior
    • BUS 350 - Business Law
    • BUS 392 - Business Ethics
    • BUS 393 - Strategic Management
    • MKTG 301 - Marketing
    • MKTG 303 - Professional Selling
    • FIN WXX - Personal Finance Interim
    • FIN 301 - Corporate Finance
    • FIN 302 - Investments
    • FIN 311 - Fundamentals of Financial Planning and Insurance
    • FIN 312 - Estate Planning
    • FIN 313 - Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits
    • FIN 394 - Financial Planning Capstone

    Required cognates (22 credit hours)


    • One from:
      • ART 153 - Visual Culture
      • COMM 101 - Oral Rhetoric
      • COMM 141 - Visual Rhetoric
    • DATA 175 - Productivity Software
    • ECON 221 - Principles of Microeconomics
    • ECON 222 - Principles of Macroeconomics
    • PSYCH 151 - Introduction to Psychology
    • SOWK 370 - The Helping Interview
    • STAT 143 - Introduction to Probability and Statistics

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