Get work-ready
Financial planners use their in-depth industry knowledge and high ethical standards to guide their clients to invest successfully. Deakin's range of financial planning courses will help you gain the essential skills and knowledge to support people to achieve their financial goals. Plus, you can take advantage of our range of courses and units specifically designed to help students meet the Financial Adviser Standards education requirements for all financial advisers.
Undergraduate
Undergraduate (your first degree)
An undergraduate degree is generally completed between two to four years, depending on the pattern of study and any recognition of prior learning you may have. Associate degrees, bachelor and bachelor with honours are all undergraduate degrees.
Postgraduate
Postgraduate (further study)
A postgraduate qualification can be undertaken by students who have already completed an undergraduate degree or possess significant, demonstrable work experience. Postgraduate courses include graduate certificates, graduate diplomas, masters and PhDs, as well as specialist programs for industry professionals.
Research
Higher Degrees by Research (supervised research)
Research degrees are research based master’s or PhD programs that focus on a single area of expertise. They provide students the opportunity to carry out highly specialised research under expert supervision.
Career opportunities
As a financial planning graduate, you could find employment as a:
- financial adviser
- insurance adviser
- business development manager
- superannuation consultant
- portfolio analyst
- personal financial planner
- investment banker
- paraplanner
- claims administrator
- compliance manager
- risk adviser.
Discover your pathway to becoming an adviser
Looking for personalised advice around financial adviser education requirements? Use our unique pathway tool to discover which courses or units you require to become compliant.
Top 1% of business schools worldwide
Accreditation from AACSB and EQUIS provides international credibility to Deakin Business School, reflecting the quality of our education and making our graduates more employable both in Australia and around the globe**.
Become CFP® certified
We've partnered with the Financial Planning Association (FPA) so students can combine the Master of Financial Planning with the CFP® Certification Program. Students who successfully complete the CFP® Certification Unit will satisfy the program's education requirements.
Financial planning webinar series
Examine key topics and issues facing the modern financial planning professional. You can use these webinars to gain valuable Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points by completing a short assessment task, or simply to explore areas of interest.
Financial planning single and intensive units
Single units are a fast and flexible way to future-proof your career. If you're already a financial adviser, these professionally recognised units are a simple pathway to becoming Financial Adviser Standards compliant. You can choose to fast-track your learning experience with our three-day intensive programs, or choose to complete a unit over our 12-week trimester, either online or at our Melbourne Burwood Campus.
I've thoroughly enjoyed my time at Deakin and can’t recommend this course enough for any adviser looking to further their skills and knowledge. I was motivated to complete this qualification to improve the advice outcomes for my existing clients and for clients I will advise in the future.
Jeffrey Bonnici
Master of Financial Planning student
Accreditation
The Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning, Master of Financial Planning and bridging units (MAA769, MLC714 and MAA728) meet Financial Adviser Standards.
Our Master of Financial Planning provides advanced standing into the Fellow Chartered Financial Practitioner (FChFP) program awarded by the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA). Students may obtain accreditation from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) by completing MAA747 – Administration of Trusts and Estates.
The CFP® Certification and the SMSF Specialist Adviser (SSA) programs are embedded into the Master of Financial Planning.
Deakin Business School (DBS) is internationally accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and is EPAS accredited by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). EPAS is an international quality benchmark for business programs worldwide. This also puts Deakin Business School in the top 1 per cent of business schools worldwide.
Research with us
If you have an innovative idea that you'd like to bring to life in the world of financial planning, consider studying a higher degree by research with Deakin.
Explore financial planning
If you're dreaming of an exciting and rewarding career in financial planning, we've got the resources to help you get there.

Why study to become a financial planner?
Two Deakin graduates tell us why they chose their course, their experience during their studies, and reveal life after graduation.

Discover your financial planning career
Looking for a career that gives you the opportunity to help people achieve their financial goals? Find out why now is the time to study financial planning.
We're here to help with one-on-one consultations
Our advisers can help you plot your route to studying financial planning at Deakin – whether you're just starting out or looking to become compliant with the Financial Adviser Standards. Book a one-on-one phone conversation or talk with us now via live chat.
Footnotes
**EQUIS accredited
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