Program Overview

Doctorate in Personal Financial Planning

The Doctorate in Personal Financial Planning is a hybrid program designed for professionals who want to achieve success as university faculty, directors of research, or practitioners of financial planning. This program is the first in the nation to be conducted largely online and is one of only three doctoral programs registered with the CFP Board.

Program Overview

The program requires 60 credit hours and costs $695.43 per credit hour. It is designed for professionals with busy careers and substantial roots in their current location. The hybrid format includes online courses during the fall and spring semesters, as well as intensive 10-day summer experiences on the K-State campus in Manhattan, Kansas.

Admission Requirements

All students must meet the general university admission requirements. Additional requirements include:

• An undergraduate and graduate GPA of 3.0 (B) or better, or a 2.75 GPA with the last 60 hours of study being at least a 3.0.
• GRE/GMAT scores from within the last five years. The program-specific application deadline for the summer semester is December 1.

Careers

The Doctorate in Personal Financial Planning prepares students for careers as:

• Financial planning professionals
• Researchers in financial planning
• College or university faculty

Curriculum

The curriculum includes:

Research Courses (minimum 46 credit hours)

• STAT 705 - Regression and Analysis of Variance (3 credits)
• PFP 805 - Statistical Software Application in Personal Financial Planning (3 credits)
• PFP 806 - Statistical Methods in Personal Financial Planning I (3 credits)
• PFP 808 - Research Application in Personal Financial Planning (3 credits; must repeat for 6 credits)
• PFP 888 - Research Methods in Personal Financial Planning I (3 credits)
• PFP 889 - Theories and Models in Personal Financial Planning (3 credits)
• PFP 890 - Research Methods in Personal Financial Planning II (3 credits)
• PFP 906 - Statistical Methods in PFP II (3 credits)
• PFP 990 - Dissertation Proposal Seminar (1 credit)
• PFP 999 - Dissertation Research (18 credits)

Professional Courses (minimum 14 credit hours)

• PFP 771 - Financial Therapy Theory and Research (3 credits)
• PFP 825 - Survey of Personal Financial Planning Research and Theory (3 credits)
• PFP 894 - Professional Issues in Personal Financial Planning (1 credit; must repeat for 3 credits)
• PFP 900 - Research Seminar (1 credit; must repeat for 2 credits)
• PFP 956 - Clinical Research and Applications in Financial Counseling and Planning (3 credits)

Supporting (Core Content) Courses (minimum 18 credit hours)

• PFP 760 - Retirement Planning (3 credits)
• PFP 762 - Investing for the Family's Future (3 credits)
• PFP 764 - Estate Planning for Families (3 credits)
• PFP 766 - Insurance Planning for Families (3 credits)
• PFP 772 - Personal Income Taxation (3 credits)
• PFP 836 - Financial Planning Case Studies (3 credits)

Electives (minimum 12 credit hours)

• PFP 768 - Introduction to Financial Therapy (3 credits)
• PFP 769 - Money and Relationships (3 credits)
• PFP 770 - Applied Behavioral Finance (3 credits)
• PFP 835 - Professional Practices Management in Personal Financial Planning (3 credits)
• PFP 860 - Advanced Retirement Planning Issues (3 credits)
• PFP 863 - Advanced Personal Income Tax Planning (3 credits)
• PFP 864 - Advanced Estate Planning Issues (3 credits)
• PFP 909 - Topics in Personal Financial Planning (3 credits)
• Other elective as agreed upon by the committee

Career Prospect Highlights

• Median Salary: $102,149
• Jobs Nationwide: 291,259
• 5-Year Nationwide Job Growth: 10.4%