Actuarial M.A. admissions and financial aid

Admission and financial aid
for the M.A. in Mathematics
with a special focus
on Actuarial Studies

Admission

Since Actuarial Studies is a special focus within the general M.A. degree in Mathematics, interested students must complete the application for admission to the M.A. program in Mathematics. As part of the application procedure, applicants must send the Mathematics Graduate Advisor a formal Statement of Purpose; applicants for the special focus on Actuarial Studies must:

  1. include in that Statement information on their plans for using their actuarial education---for example, their actuarial career plans;
  2. send Dr. Daniel information on which actuarial exams they have passed, if any, either including a photocopy of actual score reports or identifying the month and year in which the exam was passed so that the official pass list can be used to confirm the information. Mail to Dr. James Daniel, Director of Actuarial Studies, Mathematics Department, 1 University Station C1200, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712-0257.

While there is no minimum score required on the Graduate Record Quantitative Exam for admission, applicants should be aware that successful actuarial graduate students have usually scored 740 or above. Actuarial Master's degree students generally are expected to pass the SoA/CAS Joint Exam P/1 on probability by no later than their first semester in the program, and preferably before they begin the graduate program; thus applicants need to have already succeeded in calculus, linear (matrix) algebra, calculus-based probability, and preferably probability-based statistics.

NOTE: Although the M.A. program is small—we usually admit and financially support four new students each fall and sometimes admit others without support—the actuarial mathematics classes often are not small, since they meet with the corresponding undergraduate classes (but with additional questions on tests and different grading standards).

NOTE: Since only a limited number of students can be admitted and the program is intended for students needing to learn the academic content of SoA and CAS Exams MFE, MLC, C, 3F, 3L, and 4, students that have already had formal classes on much that material or passed any of those exams will not generally be admitted.


Financial aid

All applicants for the M.A. program in Mathematics are automatically considered for general Mathematics Department financial aid, such as teaching assistantships. There are additional competitive scholarships available for select students that pass one or more actuarial exams while in the UT-Austin actuarial program.


International students

Jobs. The actuarial M.A. program is essentially a professional program focused on providing the academic preparation for entry-level actuarial jobs in the United States. It is funded by the State of Texas and strongly supported financially by actuarial employers throughout the United States, who hope to recruit qualified graduates of the program. Students that are not U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents usually have a much more difficult time finding actuarial jobs in the United States. Some employers simply do not want to be involved in any manner in visa issues and therefore will not even interview international students; at the other extreme, however, are some companies that will have their corporate attorneys assist with the visas of any international students they might hire. Since communication skills are crucial in all areas of actuarial employment, complete fluency in written and spoken English is a necessity. Although some well-qualified international students with excellent English skills have found actuarial jobs in the United States, they have all had a far harder time and fewer opportunities than less-qualified individuals eligible to work permanently in the United States.

Financial support. International students that are not native speakers of English, in order to receive financial support as Teaching Assistants, need to pass an exam on spoken English when they arrive on campus. Applicants with TOEFL scores in the mid-600's and with extensive experience in speaking English are those most likely to be able to pass this exam.