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

  • 1-hour self-paced exam
  • Become certified with an 80% or better
  • Retakes are permissible in future exam windows

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

SESSIONS

Oct 16 - Nov 16

REGISTRATION

CLOSED

EXAM WINDOW

Nov 17 - 22

Course topics offered:

Behavioral Economics
Career
Credit
 

Career

2pm - 4pm PT / 5pm - 7pm ET

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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

Credit

4pm - 6pm PT / 7pm - 9pm ET

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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

Behavioral Economics

2pm - 4pm PT / 5pm - 7pm ET

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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

SESSIONS

Nov 27 - Dec 12

REGISTRATION

CLOSED

EXAM WINDOW

Dec 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

 

Consumer Skills

 2pm - 4pm PT / 5pm - 7pm ET

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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

Cryptocurrency Basics

2pm - 4pm PT / 5pm - 7pm ET

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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

Psychology of Money

4pm - 6pm PT / 7pm - 9pm ET

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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

Advanced Investing
[On-Demand]

ON-DEMAND ONLY

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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

Taxes
[On-Demand]

ON-DEMAND ONLY

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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