Master's in Financial Planning Online | Liberty University (2024)

Ranked in the Top 10% of Niche.com’s Best Online Schools in America

What Sets Us Apart?

• Private Nonprofit University
• 600+ Online Degrees
• No Standardized Testing for Admission
• Transfer in up to 75% of an Undergrad Degree
• Transfer in up to 50% of a Grad/Doctoral Degree

Potential Career Opportunities

• Estate planning specialist
• Financial analyst
• Financial planner
• Private/corporate investment researcher
• Stockbroker
• Wealth advisor

Featured Courses

• ACCT 614 – Estate, Trust, and Gift Taxation
• BUSI 532 – Advanced Financial Statement Analysis
• BUSI 538 – Investments and Derivatives
• BUSI 686 – Financial Planning

Degree Information

• This program falls under Liberty’s School of Business.
• View the Graduate Business Course Guides (login required).

Not sure what to choose?

Admission Requirements

1. Apply online or over the phone with an admissions counselor by calling (800) 424-9596.
   • A non-refundable, non-transferable $50 application fee will be posted on the current application upon enrollment (waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required).
2. Send official college transcripts (mailed as sealed, unopened copies or sent via a direct electronic transcript system). A regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree with at least a 3.0 GPA is required for admission in good standing. Applicants who have earned a master’s degree or at least 12 graduate credits from an accredited institution will be assessed on the basis of the master’s-level degree work.
   • Unofficial transcripts can be used for acceptance purposes with the submission of a Transcript Request Form.
   • Please note:students without a business* or accounting degree will be required to take ACCT 211, ACCT 212, BUSI 320, and BMAL 590 (or 27 credit hours of upper-level accounting, business, economics, or information systems courses) as prerequisites to BUSI 532, BUSI 534, BUSI 536, and BUSI 538 after admission to the program.
   • *Qualifying business degrees should include content in the following areas:
     • Management
     • Global / International Business
     • Statistics
     • Operation Management
     • Marketing
     • Ethics
     • Economics
     • Accounting (2 courses)
3. Applicants whose native language is other than English must submit official scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an approved alternative assessment. For information on alternative assessments or TOEFL waivers, please call Admissions or view the official International Admissions policy.

Preliminary Acceptance

If you are sending in a preliminary transcript for acceptance, you must:

• Be in your final term and planning to start your master’s degree after the last day of class for your bachelor’s degree.
• Complete a Bachelor’s Self-Certification Form confirming your completion date. You may download the form from the Forms and Downloads page or contact an admissions counselor to submit the form on your behalf.
• Submit an official/unofficial transcript to confirm that you are in your final term. The preliminary transcript must show a minimum of 105 completed credit hours.
• If you are a current Liberty University student completing your undergraduate degree, you will need to submit a Degree/Certificate Completion Application.
• Send in an additional, final official transcript with a conferral date on it by the end of your first semester of enrollment in the new master’s degree.

Dual Enrollment

Transcript Policies

Unofficial College Transcript Policy

Unofficial transcripts combined with a Transcript Request Form can be used for admission. Official transcripts are required within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first, and will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.

Before sending unofficial college transcripts, please make sure they include the following:

• Your previous school’s name or logo printed on the document
• Cumulative GPA
• A list of completed courses and earned credit broken down by semester
• Degree and date conferred (if applicable)

Official College Transcript Policy

An acceptable official college transcript is one that has been issued directly from the institution and is in a sealed envelope. If you have one in your possession, it must meet the same requirements. If your previous institution offers electronic official transcript processing, they can send the document directly to luoverify@liberty.edu.

If the student uses unofficial transcripts with a Transcript Request Form to gain acceptance, all official transcripts must be received within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first. Failure to send all official transcripts within the 60-day period will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.

Admissions Office Contact Information

Military

Liberty University is dedicated to providing world-class educational experiences to military students across the globe.

Who May Qualify?

• Active Duty
• Reserve/National Guard
• Veterans/Retirees
• Spouses of Service Members and Veterans/Retirees
• Current Department of Defense Employees

Available Benefits:

• Tuition discounts – $275 per credit hour for graduate courses
• Additional discount for veterans who service in a civilian capacity as a First Responder (less than $625 per course)*
• 8-week courses, 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times (may exclude certain courses such as practic*ms, internships, or field experiences)

*Not applicable to certificates.

Why pursue a master’s degree in finance?

Our M.S. in Finance – Financial Planning can help you pursue lucrative job opportunities as a financial planner or advisor. By completing your master’s, you can potentially earn a higher salary, demonstrate your expertise to employers, stand out from candidates who only have a bachelor’s degree, or become qualified for top-level roles in the industry.

Additionally, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average salary for personal financial advisors is $95,390 per year. This sector is projected to grow 13% from 2022 to 2032. The BLS also notes that earning a master’s degree may improve your chances for advancement in the field.* The job outlook for personal financial advisors is bright — and we can help you succeed in this competitive industry.

*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, atPersonal Financial Advisors(viewed online Nov. 20, 2023). Cited projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth.

How long does a master’s in finance take to complete?

What’s the difference between an MBA and a master’s in finance?

When choosing between an M.S. and an MBA in Financial Planning, you’ll want to consider your interests and career goals. MBA programs explore a wide variety of business topics while an M.S. in Finance can help equip you specifically for careers in the finance industry. In other words, an MBA is a broad business degree while a master’s in finance offers specialized financial training.

If you want to gain financial skills as well as advanced business knowledge, you may want to consider ourMaster of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance.