College of Education and Human Development

Family Social Science

Become an Accredited Financial Counselor

Make a positive difference in people’s financial lives

Are you interested in the financial field and helping families and individuals achieve financial security and freedom? Family Social Science can prepare you for a career as a family financial counselor. FSoS is the only Association of Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE®) approved program in the state of Minnesota. Students who complete the required FSoS courses receive a discount of more than 50 percent to take the Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) exam.

Become an Accredited Financial Counselor

The AFC certification requires coursework in an AFCPE® approved program, sitting for the AFC exam, completing 1,000 hours of financial counseling experience, submitting three letters of reference, and adherence to the AFC Code of Ethics. You will become a member of the highly-respected AFCPE® community that offers comprehensive training, professional development, and resources to more than 2,700 professionals worldwide.

Program of study

You will learn to recognize the differences between effective and ineffective personal financial management behaviors and understand the dynamics of money in relation to family, friends, and individual self-esteem. You’ll be able to help families and individuals develop strategies and access resources from community agencies and organizations.

Required courses - both offered online

FSoS 3101 - Personal and Family Finances
FSoS 4153 - Family Financial Counseling

These courses are part of the core curriculum for the University of Minnesota’s AFCPE Registered Education Program with the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE®). For more information about AFCPE and obtaining your Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) designation through the AFCPE Registered Education Program pathway, please visit www.afcpe.org.

NOTE: Successful completion of these two courses does not equate passing the Accredited Financial Counselor exam.

Watch to learn more from AFCPE

Questions? 

Contact Virginia Solis Zuiker
Associate professor and AFC supervising faculty
vzuiker@umn.edu.