Certificate in Financial Planning: Finance majors
Advising one-pager · BBA in Finance, 2026-27 catalog · Gatton College, September 2026
Download the printable PDF Updated 2026-09-17
What it is
Financial planners help people manage money across investments, taxes, retirement, insurance, and estates. Personal financial advisors earned a median of $105,070 in 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The six courses satisfy the education requirement for CFP® certification; the exam, experience, and ethics requirements complete it. Open to any major, and full-time on-campus undergraduates add it in myGPS at no additional tuition. Every course requires 60 completed credit hours: most students start as juniors, and students with AP or dual credit can often start as sophomores.
The six courses
| Area | Course | Offered | For a Finance major |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fundamentals | FIN 350 (or ACC 356, if already taken) | Fall, spring | free elective |
| Tax | ACC 357, or ACC 407† | ACC 357: fall only. ACC 407: fall, spring | free elective |
| Investment | FIN 410 ✓, and FIN 357 | FIN 410: fall, spring. FIN 357: spring only | FIN 410 required; FIN 357 recommended |
| Estate | ACC 457 | Fall, spring | free elective |
| Retirement | FIN 358 | Fall only, no alternate course | free elective |
| Capstone | FIN 359 ✓ | Fall, spring; taken last | fills the major’s choose-one |
The posted four-year plan, with the certificate on top
| Year | Fall | Spring |
|---|---|---|
| Freshman | CIS 110, MA 109, UK Core ×3 | CIS 111, MA 123, UK Core ×3 |
| Sophomore | ECO 201, ACC 200, MKT 300, STA 296, elective | ECO 202, ACC 201, MGT 301, MA 162, AN 105, elective |
| Junior | ACC 301, FIN 300, ECO 391, CIS 300, FIN 350 | FIN 405, FIN 410 ✓, ACC 407†, ACC 457, FIN 357 |
| Senior | FIN 400-level, FIN 490 (SIE) ✓, MGT 340, FIN 358, elective | FIN 400-level, AN 300, FIN 359 ✓, elective ×2 |
Roadmap course Counts for roadmap and major ✓ Major requirement UK Core, electives Italic = recommended One term only
The certificate takes four of the plan’s ten electives, five with the recommended FIN 357. FIN 410 and FIN 359 count toward the major, FIN 359 filling the choose-one. FIN 490 (SIE) ✓ fills one of the three FIN 400-level slots. ACC 457’s tax prerequisite is waived for certificate students, so the tax course and ACC 457 can share a term.
Three things to know
- 1.
- It is free and it fits. Four electives, and FIN 410 counts as soon as the certificate is added in myGPS.
- 2.
- Take FIN 358 in a fall, and never leave it for last. It has no second term and no substitute, so a student who starts in senior spring, or reaches that term without it, cannot finish before graduating (Executive Education afterward costs $895 a course).
- 3.
- Round it out inside the degree. FIN 357 adds the planning side of investments to FIN 410, and FIN 490 (SIE) preps the SIE exam while counting toward the major.
After the certificate
- Students can sit for the CFP exam as soon as their completion is reported. The experience requirement (6,000 hours, or 4,000 through an apprenticeship) and the bachelor’s degree can both be finished after the exam.
- Licenses depend on the job: Series 65 or 66 for RIA roles; SIE, Series 7, and 63 or 66 for broker-dealers; state life and health for insurance. We recommend the SIE for every student (it is not required for the CFP); Finance majors can prepare for it in FIN 490 (SIE) ✓.
- Get involved: the Finance Society’s Financial Planning Pathway.
To add the certificate: talk with an advisor, then myUK → myGPS → My Program of Study → Request a Major Change → Add a Major, and search for Financial Planning.
Details: gatton.uky.edu/certificate-financial-planning, or use the link at the top.
Terms. Free elective: any course the student chooses that counts toward graduation hours. SIE: Securities Industry Essentials, FINRA’s entry-level exam. † ACC 407:
Accounting majors and double majors only. Other majors take ACC 357 (fall only).
FIN 400-level slot: one of the three upper-level finance courses the major requires. Choose-one: ACC 302, ACC 475, FIN 359, or another FIN 400-level
course.
Director: Will Gerken, CFP®, will.gerken@uky.edu ⋅ Plan: posted 2026-27 Finance sample curriculum; the catalog year a student entered under
governs.
A general guide, not official advising. Compiled from publicly posted UK catalog and curriculum pages; requirements change and no warranty is given. Confirm your plan with your academic advisor and your myUK GPS degree audit.
Which sheet? Wealth management or financial planning: CFP. Investment research or portfolio management: CFA. Investment banking or private equity: Investment Banking. Real estate lending, investment, or development: Real Estate. Students can combine them. All sheets: willgerken.com/roadmaps