School of Business & Economics

Diploma in Financial Planning

Laurier's Diploma in Financial Planning is the first such program in Canada and prepares the students to respond proactively to this complex and rapidly changing field. The diploma will involve courses primarily from the finance area, but also from accounting, policy and economics. The quality of this financial planning program has been recognized by the Financial Planners Standards Council (FPSC), which has accredited this program.

Financial Planning diploma students must 6.5 credits in finance, accounting, policy and economics. The diploma will be offered on a part-time or full-time basis at the WLU campus in Waterloo. In the part-time program, over a 12-week period, students will complete two 0.5-credit courses. At this rate, six 0.5-credit courses will be taken per year and students will complete the diploma requirements in slightly over two years. The program requirements are given in the following chart:

Diploma in Financial Planning
Required Courses	Admission Requirements	Academic Regulations	Notes
BU111 EC140 BU227 BU231 BU353 BU357 BU383 BU393 BU413 BU473 BU483 BU493k BU493m	Program participants must have at least three years of work experience in business or government following their most recent formal education or an undergraduate degree in any discipline. Prior to admission to the program students must have completed Introduction to Applied Statistics (BU205) or an equivalent course. Applicants must have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 7.00 in the pre-admission course or any transfer credits. Students with an undergraduate degree are required to have a minimum overall average (GPA) of 6.00 to be admitted in the diploma program. Participants may be granted a maximum of 2.0 credits (four courses) toward the diploma for university courses taken prior to admission into the program. This rule applies to all students with or without a previous degree or diploma. This program may be taken on a full-time or part-time basis.	Program participants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 7.00 (B-) to graduate. Participants may repeat a maximum of 2 0.5-credit courses over the duration of the program. The last grade received on any course attempt will be used to calculate the GPA and no course may be attempted more than twice.	Graduates with a Diploma in Financial Planning will also have fulfilled the educational requirements for writing the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) professional proficiency exam. Passing this exam combined with two years work experience will entitle the graduate to use the CFP certification mark.

School of Business & Economics Business Diploma Programs

Official electronic version updated at 10:33 a.m. March 31, 2005