Actuarial M.A. requirements

Requirements for the
M.A. in Mathematics
with a special focus
on Actuarial Studies

The M.A. in Mathematics requires at least 30 semester-credit-hours of coursework, plus either a Report giving three hours of credit or an additional Mathematics course for three hours of credit; for the Actuarial Studies focus, the Report must be on an actuarial project approved by the Director of Actuarial Studies and the courses must be as specified in the four points below. At most nine hours can be (upper-division) undergraduate hours, with no more than six of those nine in a single subject.

An M.A. Report is usually a write-up of a work project or a study project rather than of original research; work for an Actuarial Studies M.A. Report is usually performed with the guidance of a working actuary.

The requirements for the 30 (or 33, if no Report) hours of coursework for the actuarial focus within the M.A. in Mathematics are as follows; no class can be used to provide hours for more than one of these four requirements.

  1. 15 hours of actuarial mathematics classes M389U Actuarial contingent payments I, M389V Actuarial contingent payments II, M389W Financial mathematics for actuarial applications, M389J Probability models with actuarial applications, and M389P Actuarial statistical estimates.
  2. As a minor, 6 hours of non-Mathematics-Department classes from among those on the Recommended Classes list below or as approved by the Director of Actuarial Studies and the Mathematics Graduate Advisor.
  3. 3 (or 6, if no Report) hours of Mathematics-Department classes as approved by the Director of Actuarial Studies and the Mathematics Graduate Advisor.
  4. 6 hours of Mathematics-Department classes or non-Mathematics-Department classes as approved by the Director of Actuarial Studies and the Mathematics Graduate Advisor, at least 3 hours of which must come from the Recommended Classes list below or as approved by the Director of Actuarial Studies and the Mathematics Graduate Advisor.

Recommended Classes

  • M389F Interest theory
  • ACF129D Introductory actuarial financial mathematics
  • M349R Applied regression and time series
  • ECO420K Intermediate microeconomic theory
  • FIN357 Business finance
  • FIN377.2 Financial risk management (Options)
  • M384G Regression analysis
  • M394C Conference course in probability and statistics (when meeting with M362M or "M362N")
  • M189S Seminar on issues in actuarial practice
  • LEB320F Business law foundations
  •  MAN320F Management foundations
  • MKT320F Marketing foundations
  • MIS383N topics Computational finance, or Financial engineering
  • MSC380 topics Financial optimization, or Mathematics in finance
  • RM357E: Risk management & insurance
  • RM369K: Pensions, and health & life insurance (prereq. RMI357E)
  • RM377: Property & casualty insurance (prereq. RMI357E)
  • RM395 topics Introduction to risk management, Managing financial risk, Risk management & finance, Managing environmental risk, Managing international risk, or Managing employee risks & benefits
  • STA376 Statistics in business forecasting
  • STA380 topics Correlation & regression analysis, Forecasting, or Risk analysis & management
  • Other classes that may from time to time be added to this list as approved by the Director of Actuarial Studies and the Mathematics Graduate Advisor.