Financial Planning and Wealth Management (B.S.)

As many employees are now tasked with managing their own money both before and after retirement, a growing number of individuals and families need financial planners to help them make important financial decisions.

By using your financial planning skills to provide this much-needed skill to those in need of help, you’ll have access to a wide variety of career options ranked high in job satisfaction.

By choosing a career in financial planning and wealth management, you’ll become part of an industry that has been consistently ranked as one of the 10 best career choices, with employment opportunities on track to expand rapidly.

Program Highlights

Hands-on Learning

As a Lerner College financial planning and wealth management major, you will complete specialized courses in investments, insurance, income tax, retirement planning and estate planning. During your final semester of senior year you will complete the capstone course. The capstone course is a “real world” experience. You will work on 4 client cases throughout the semester, working closely with members of the Financial Planning Advisory Board to build financial plans for each. The board is a committee of 9 UD alumni who have built their own successful financial planning practices. This means you’ll get hands-on training that takes you through the full financial planning process from start to finish – before you even graduate.

Certified Financial Planning Accreditation

The Certified Financial Planning (CFP) Board has accredited the Lerner College’s financial planning and wealth management program. Individuals who wish to take the CFP Exam must first complete a series of educational requirements. Graduates of the financial planning and wealth management major at UD will have satisfied the CFP education requirement. This means that our graduates can sit for the CFP Exam immediately after graduation.

Seminar Series

You will have opportunities throughout the year to hear from finance industry professionals from public and private institutions such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve Bank and the nation’s top bank and trust companies like JPMorgan Chase, PNC and Wells Fargo.

Research Databases

As a financial planning and wealth management student, you’ll have access to industry-specific research databases maintained by the Department of Finance. The most commonly used databases are Bloomberg, eMoney and Morningstar.

Student Organizations

• Blue Hen Investment Club
• Association for Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting
• Financial Management Association
• Women in Business
• Minority Business Student Association
• Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity
• Lerner Student Advisory Board
• Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity

Program Requirements

Suggested Course Sequence

All courses are 3 credits unless stated otherwise.

Career Opportunities

Within 6 months of graduating, for the class of 2023, 94% of Lerner’s financial planning & wealth management graduates are employed (earning a mean starting salary of $60,056) or pursuing further education. For more information on career resources please visit the Lerner Career Services Center.

Top Employers

Some of the top employers of Lerner’s financial planning & wealth management graduates include:

• JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Goldman Sachs
• Bank of America
• BlackRock
• Citi
• Morgan Stanley
• Vanguard

Top Jobs

Job titles of recent graduates with a financial planning & wealth management degree include:

• Associate
• Financial Advisor
• Corporate Analyst
• Wealth Manager
• Security Operations Associate
• Portfolio Management Assistant

Visit the Career Outcomes of Lerner financial planning & wealth management students to see more top employers, job titles, salaries and locations.

News

• Lifelong Lerner: Justin Marks - A native of Stamford, Connecticut, Justin Marks graduated from Lerner College as a financial planning and wealth management double major.
• What is an Accelerated 4+1 Program? - 4+1 programs jumpstart the careers of undergraduates considering a graduate degree. Find out if a 4+1 is right for you.
• What Is Fintech? - This article explains what fintech is, introduces jobs and salaries in the field and compares different ways of learning the subject.
• Lifelong Lerner: Raymond Lucas III - Raymond Lucas III, honors finance and financial planning and wealth management double major with a minor in trust management from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, is a proud member of the Lerner College Class of 2023.
• Lifelong Lerner: Nicole Mulea - Nicole Mulea, from Annapolis, Maryland, is an outstanding member of the Lerner College Class of 2023 who graduated with honors and earned bachelor of science degrees in economics and financial planning and wealth management.

Learn More

Contact Richard Jakotowicz
richj@udel.edu
302-831-7226

Admissions Information

Learn more about undergraduate admissions requirements, deadlines, tuition and financial aid available to you.