AMP will offer graduates of its Horizons Academy the chance to become degree-qualified, in a partnership with the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

The deal lets Horizons Professional Year Program graduates obtain academic credits toward UNSW courses such as the graduate diploma or masters qualification in financial planning.

AMP Horizons Director Tim Steele says the initiative is “timely and cost-effective” in light of the Financial Planning Association’s requirement for new members to be degree-qualified by next July 1. The partnership “highlights our mutual commitment to increasing standards of professionalism for financial planners”.