Certification Courses
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Become NGPF Certified in specific personal finance topics for FREE!
Certification Courses are NGPF’s most in-depth professional development format. Each course combines 9 hours of live virtual sessions focused on a core personal finance content area with a 1-hour exam. The content follows the flow of NGPF Semester Course but uses different resources so your content knowledge deepens without feeling redundant. These courses are 100% free.
WHY TAKE A CERTIFICATION COURSE?
Become more confident, qualified, and ready for the classroom
Boost your resume and earn digital badges to add to your email
Receive NGPF Academy credits and swag
Achieve the NGPF Distinguished Educator award when you complete 6 or more certifications
Most states that track professional development accept them for state CEUs
NGPF CERTIFICATION AT A GLANCE
WEEK 1-2 | Attend two 2-hour virtual session each week |
WEEK 3 | Attend a 1-hour virtual session and a 1-hour optional review session |
EXAM |
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All available Certification Courses 2023
Register for the upcoming cohort:
NEED TO MAKE UP A SESSION OR WANT TO ATTEND A REVIEW SESSION?
Click here to register for individual sessions to make-up missed sessions from a PREVIOUS cohort or to attend a review session before the next exam window.
COHORT #38
 | SESSIONSOct 16 - Nov 16 |
 | REGISTRATIONCLOSED |
 | EXAM WINDOWNov 17 - 22 |
Course topics offered:
Behavioral Economics
Career
Credit
2pm - 4pm PT / 5pm - 7pm ET
In this course, participants will learn up to the minute trends regarding 21st century careers, including how to prepare for in-person and virtual interviews, curating a successful LinkedIn profile, finding a career path for success, and more!
CERTIFICATION COURSE SCHEDULE
| WEEK 1 | Session 1 | On-Demand | Career Landscape, 21st Century Resumes |
| WEEK 2 | Session 2 | Mon, Oct 23 | Online Networking, Alternatives to 4-year College |
| WEEK 3 | Session 3 | Mon, Oct 30 | The Productive Gap Year, Joining the Military, Virtual Interviews |
| WEEK 4 | Session 4 | Mon, Nov 6 | The Gig Economy, Automation, Soft Skills |
| WEEK 3 | Session 5 | Mon, Nov 13 | Job Offers and Benefits |
| EXAM WINDOW NOV 17-22 | |||
In this course, participants will walk through the major aspects of credit, loans, and debt management. We will also focus on the complexities of the United States crediting system, common pitfalls, and current trends!
CERTIFICATION COURSE SCHEDULE
| WEEK 1 | Session 1 | On-Demand | Credit Essentials, Debt Fundamentals |
| WEEK 2 | Session 2 | Mon, Oct 23 | Credit Cards, Personal Loans and Predatory Lending |
| WEEK 3 | Session 3 | Mon, Oct 30 | Trends in Consumer Credit, Auto Loans |
| WEEK 4 | Session 4 | Mon, Nov 6 | Mortgages, Credit Reports & Scores |
| WEEK 5 | Session 5 | Mon, Nov 13 | Identity Theft and Current Trends |
| EXAM WINDOW NOV 17-22 | |||
Educators will walk away with real-life examples of these biases along with ideas on how to overcome them. This content knowledge will prove helpful in educators' lives while also increasing their confidence to teach the unit.
CERTIFICATION COURSE SCHEDULE
| WEEK 1 | Session 1 | On-Demand | Experiments, Cognitive Biases |
| WEEK 2 | Session 2 | Wed, Oct 25 | Loss Aversion, Endowment Effect |
| WEEK 3 | Session 3 | Wed, Nov 1 | Financial FOMO and Marketing Applications |
| WEEK 4 | Session 4 | Wed, Nov 8 | Overconfidence, Confirmation Bias |
| WEEK 5 | Session 5 | Wed, Nov 15 | Hedonic Adaptation |
| EXAM WINDOW NOV 17-22 | |||
COHORT #39
| SESSIONSNov 27 - Dec 12 |
| REGISTRATIONCLOSED |
| EXAM WINDOWDec 15 - 22 |
Live virtual courses offered:
Consumer Skills
Cryptocurrency Basics
Psychology of Money
On-demand only courses offered:
Advanced Investing (Invite Only)
Taxes
NOTE: Cohort #39 is a 3-week cohort
In this course, participants examine the lives of modern consumers. We explore targeted advertising, social media influencers, deceptive web design elements, advanced scams, fraud threats, fake product reviews, and more!
CERTIFICATION COURSE SCHEDULE
| WEEK 1 | Session 1 | Mon, Nov 27 | How Social Media Influences Spending |
| Session 2 | Wed, Nov 29 | Big Data & Targeted Advertising, Dark Patterns | |
| WEEK 2 | Session 3 | Mon, Dec 4 | Comparison Shopping Skills, How eCommerce Business Models Affect Budgeting |
| Session 4 | Wed, Dec 6 | Second Hand Savvy, Scams, Fraud, and Identity Theft | |
| WEEK 3 | Session 5 | Mon, Dec 11 | Consumer Ethics |
| EXAM WINDOW DEC 15-22 | |||
Sessions will cover many topics including the pros and cons of Bitcoin, to the current state of crypto, and more. Educators will gain an understanding of what cryptocurrency is, how it works, and arguments for and against its widespread adoption.
CERTIFICATION COURSE SCHEDULE
| WEEK 1 | Session 1 | Tues, Nov 28 | The History of Money and Cryptography |
| Session 2 | Thurs, Nov 30 | The Pros/Cons of Bitcoin | |
| WEEK 2 | Session 3 | Tues, Dec 5 | Ethereum + Smart Contracts, Exploring Altcoins |
| Session 4 | Thurs, Dec 7 | The Metaverse, NFTs + DeFi, Getting Started with Crypto | |
| WEEK 3 | Session 5 | Tues, Dec 12 | Unpacking Scams and Fraud |
| EXAM WINDOW DEC 15-22 | |||
We will be using Morgan Housel’s Psychology of Money as the foundational text. This course incorporates key concepts from the book and extends them with videos, articles and podcasts.
CERTIFICATION COURSE SCHEDULE
| WEEK 1 | Session 1 | Tues, Nov 28 | Our Attitudes Around Money, Hedonic Adaptation |
| Session 2 | Thurs, Nov 30 | The Power of Compounding, Keys to Financial Survival | |
| WEEK 2 | Session 3 | Tues, Dec 5 | Being Rich vs Being Wealthy, Savings vs Spending Rates |
| Session 4 | Thurs, Dec 7 | Surprises in Financial Plans, Challenges in Financial Planning and Stock Market Volatility | |
| WEEK 3 | Session 5 | Tues, Dec 12 | Q&A with Morgan Housel, author of the Psychology of Money |
| EXAM WINDOW DEC 15-22 | |||
This course emphasizes vocabulary, content knowledge and NGPF resources for in Investing instructional use. Participants will build the foundational understanding of: the value of investing early and often, compound returns, and more.
CERTIFICATION COURSE SCHEDULE
| Session 1 | On-Demand | Asset Allocation, Target Date Funds | |
| Session 2 | On-Demand | Behavioral Finance, Bond Funds | |
| Session 3 | On-Demand | Investing Pitfalls, Regulation of the Financial Markets | |
| Session 4 | On-Demand | Investing Internationally, What Research Teaches Us | |
| Session 5 | On-Demand | Hot Topics in Investing | |
| ON-DEMAND MODULE DEADLINE DEC 13 / EXAM WINDOW DEC 15-22 | |||
This course will dive deeply into the role of taxes, historically and today, as well as the different types of taxes in the U.S. such as payroll, sales, and property taxes and how the government uses them.
CERTIFICATION COURSE SCHEDULE
| Session 1 | On-Demand | The History of Taxation, Types of Taxes, How Taxes are Spent | |
| Session 2 | On-Demand | Tax Systems and Effects, Tax Forms & Job Paperwork | |
| Session 3 | On-Demand | Calculating Taxes, Tax Deductions and Tax Credits | |
| Session 4 | On-Demand | Investments & Taxes, Taxes in the Gig Economy | |
| Session 5 | On-Demand | How and Where to File Taxes | |
| ON-DEMAND MODULE DEADLINE DEC 13 / EXAM WINDOW DEC 15-22 | |||
