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Financial Literacy & Wellness Badges

Learn how to plan for your future financial success by earning Financial Literacy & Wellness Graduate Badges! As a graduate student, balancing family, school, work, and financial decisions can be stressful. This stress can be especially overwhelming because many of us have never learned about financial topics or how to manage our finances in a healthy and sustainable way. Without this information, we are often left to juggle immediate expenses, struggling to reduce debt and save money for emergencies. Over time, financial stressors can get in the way of pursuing a degree and physical and mental well-being.

The Graduate College’s research- and expert-informed content will help you learn about financial topics, steps you can take to improve your current financial situation, and how to create a future with minimal financial anxiety and stress. Ultimately, building financial literacy and wellness is a personal journey. Along the way, individuals must explore their beliefs about money, learn how money works in different areas of life, and commit to making financial decisions that align with their values.

To help you along your journey, the Graduate College offers three Graduate Badges in an online Canvas/WebCampus course called Financial Literacy & Wellness. For each section you complete, you will earn one Graduate Badge. Because there are three sections, you can earn up to three digital badges. Students who earn at least two digital badges will be invited to apply to the Graduate Financial Literacy & Wellness Certification, launching Spring 2022.

The three sections of the Financial Literacy & Wellness course cover the following topics:

  1. Foundations of Financial Literacy (Badge 1)
    1. Financial Habits
    2. Budgeting Income and Expenses
    3. Credit Cards, Reports, and Scores
    4. Taxes
  2. Investing for Your Future (Badge 2)
    1. Paying for Graduate School and Student Loans
    2. Debt and Interest
    3. Career Planning
    4. Saving for Retirement
    5. Homebuying and Homeownership
  3. Building  Financial Security (Badge 3)
    1. Investing
    2. Insurance and Risk Management
    3. Preventing Fraud and Identity Theft
    4. Estate Planning

Eligibility Requirements & Application Process

Any UNLV graduate or professional student who is enrolled and in good academic standing in a graduate degree program may apply, including students in their first semester.

Applications for the three digital badges will be accepted on a rolling basis. The Financial Literacy & Wellness Badges Application can be found on The Grad Rebel Gateway. Please log in to the Grad Rebel Gateway and click on The Grad Academy tab to apply. There is no application fee. Students whose applications are accepted will have until their respective graduation dates to complete the badges in which they enrolled.

Program Requirements

To earn a Financial Literacy & Wellness Badge, students must complete all the requirements of the corresponding section in the Financial Literacy & Wellness Canvas/WebCampus course. The requirements of each section are listed under “Overview and Requirements.”

Spring 2023 Workshop Schedule

Each Financial Literacy & Wellness badge will have an approved list of workshops associated with it. Participants must attend or watch 2 workshops per badge. Once participants attend or watch a workshop, they will submit a written reflection (via Canvas/WebCampus) on what the workshop taught them and how they will use what they learned.

Foundations of Financial Literacy Badge Workshops

Investing for Your Future Badge Workshops 

Building Financial Security Badge Workshops

Graduate Badges

Graduate badges are digital micro-credentials that signify an individual’s accomplishment, expertise, or level of proficiency in a given topic area. The institution that issues badges decides how digital badges are earned. Badges are earned for completing seminars, professional development, training, and volunteering. Because a badge is simply an image, the value of the badge comes from the data stored inside the image, the metadata. The metadata explains what the badge represents, how and when it was earned, what reputable institution issued it, and if/when the badge expires. These metadata are viewed by clicking on the badge. All of a person’s badges and their metadata are stored in a digital backpack for easy access. To watch a quick 8-minute guide to sharing digital badges from your backpack, click here.

The Graduate College has partnered with a leading platform called Badgr to award digital badges to students who complete select The Grad Academy programming.

Please note that digital badges do not appear on official UNLV transcripts or diplomas. However, the digital badges are valuable because they allow you to translate your experiences and soft skills not captured in those official academic documents. We recommend that you display your digital badges where they will be seen often, such as your email signature or LinkedIn account. If you have a personal web page, you can embed your badges directly into the web page. When applying for a job, consider adding your badges to your digital resume or e-portfolio.

Tuesday Talks: Your Questions Answered

The Graduate College will be hosting Tuesday Talks: Your Questions Answered for current The Grad Academy program participants. Please drop by on any of the following Tuesdays, 4-5 p.m., to ask us any questions you might have or just to check your progress: