To help boost your career, you may choose to become a certified professional by pursuing a recognized designation - used to prove your qualification in performing a job or task. The courses that you'll take through the Computing and Financial Management (CFM) program will help to prepare you for a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation but there are many other professional certifications that you may decide to pursue.
A CFA designation is a professional credential that is recognized worldwide and is administered by the CFA Institute. It is the highest distinction available to a professional working in the field of investment management.
CFM is a member of the CFA University Affiliation Program, which means that its curriculum is endorsed by the Institute in helping to prepare you to write the CFA designation exams (known as CFA Level 1, 2 and 3). The CFA designation is a self-study, graduate-level program, but many of your required upper year courses from your CFM studies will help to prepare you for the CFA Level 1 Exam, including:
- AFM 272 - Global Capital Markets
- AFM 274 - Introduction to Corporate Finance (formerly known as AFM 275 - Corporate Finance or AFM 372- Corporate Finance 2)
- AFM 322 - Derivatives and Securities
- AFM 424 - Equity Investments
- AFM 425 - Fixed Income Securities
It is through these courses that you'll be able to write your first CFA exam right out of university. Students who are not part of a CFA University Affiliation Program typically require additional studying and classroom hours to challenge the exams successfully.
There are no university programs that offer exemptions for writing the CFA exams and co-op hours cannot be counted toward the designation. You must be in at least the final year of your Bachelor's degree to participate. Find out how to become a CFA.
Other professional designations
There are a variety of other professional programs available to you upon graduation that are offered all over the world. If you are interested in earning a professional designation, you should research options in your field of interest.