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Actuarial Science Program

at the

University of Connecticut

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Although actuarial science was started in England over 200 years ago, it is still

a relatively unknown profession. It is multidisciplinary, as evidenced by the

following description from the Society of Actuaries, the largest actuarial

organization:

An actuary is a professional who analyzes the financial consequences

of risk. Actuaries use mathematics, statistics and financial theory to

study uncertain future events, especially those of concern to insurance

and pension programs. They evaluate the likelihood of those events,

design ways to reduce the likelihood and decrease the impact of

adverse events that actually do occur.

Actuaries are an important part of the management team of the

companies that employ them. Their work requires a combination of

strong analytical skills, business knowledge and understanding of

human behavior to design and manage programs that control risk.

The Society of Actuaries and its sister organization, the Casualty Actuarial

Society, created the professional designations: Fellow of the Society of

Actuaries (FSA) and Fellow of The Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS). These

designations carry significant prestige around the world and signify that an

individual has been properly trained to practice as an actuary.

To achieve these designations, a student must pass a series of examinations

administered by these organizations. It takes a student approximately five to ten

years to achieve these professional designations.

The website www.beanactuary.org contains a wealth of information about:

What is an Actuary?

Actuarial Exams

Career Opportunities

It is a very useful resource for both high school and college students.

What is an actuary?

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The University of Connecticut Actuarial Program began in 1976 with the

creation of two new courses – Theory of Interest and Life Contingencies. The

department also began offering the professional actuarial exams at that time.

From the very first, the program grew rapidly. In the spring of 1979, the first

majors in Mathematics/Actuarial Science were graduated. In 1984 we added a

Concentration in Actuarial Science at the Master’s level. As of 2007, we have

awarded 6 Doctoral degrees in Mathematics with a thesis topic in Actuarial

Science. We have also added a Professional Master’s in Applied Financial

Mathematics that serves a dozen students a year. A Center for Actuarial

Studies promotes student participation in research projects on real-world

problems.

Today, the program has approximately 185 undergraduate students, 35

Master’s level students, and 6 students working on a doctoral thesis in

Actuarial Science. We estimate that, since it’s inception, our program has

contributed over 500 baccalaureate and 350 master’s graduates to the work

force.

The primary goal of our program is to provide students with a sound

foundation in actuarial science and to prepare them for the examinations

administered by the Society of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society,

with the objective that each student passes at least two exams before

graduating.

Started in 1970’s

Actuarial Science Majors

0

50

100

150

200

250

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

Undergraduates Graduates

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Reflecting the multidiscipline aspect of the actuarial profession, students

majoring in actuarial science are either required or strongly encouraged to

take courses from the following departments:

Accounting (ACCT)

2001 Principles of Financial Accounting

2101 Principles of Managerial Accounting

Economics (ECON)

1200 Principles of Economics

1201 Principles of Microeconomics

1202 Principles of Macroeconomics

2201 Intermediate Microeconomics Theory

2202 Intermediate Macroeconomics Theory

2411 Money and Banking

Finance (FNCE)

3221 Risk Management and Insurance or

4324 Health insurance

4325 Life Insurance and Retirement Security

4326 Risk Management: Property and Liability Exposure

Mathematics (MATH): Preliminary

1131 Calculus I (see note 1)

1132 Calculus II

2110 Multivariable Calculus (Math 2194W)

2210 Applied Linear Algebra

2410 Elementary Differential Equations

Mathematics (MATH): Actuarial Science

2610 Introduction to Actuarial Science

2620 Financial Mathematics I

3160 Probability

3170 Elementary Stochastic Processes

3550 Programming for Actuaries

3610 Probability Problems (Exam P Preparation)

3615 Financial Mathematics Problems (Exam FM Preparation)

3621 Applied Actuarial Statistics

3634 Actuarial Models

3630 Actuarial Mathematics I

3631 Actuarial Mathematics II

3632 Loss Models

3650 Financial Mathematics II

3660 Advanced Financial Mathematics

3670W Technical Writing for Actuaries

Statistics (STAT)

3375 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics I

3445 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics II

Since financial models are utilized extensively by the profession, knowledge

of one or more computer languages and facility with a spreadsheet package is

also strongly encouraged.

Multidiscipline Profession

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Year Fall Spring

Freshman Math 1131 Math 1132

Econ 12001

Acct 2001

Sophomore Math 2110 Math 2410

Math 2210 Acct 2101

Math 2610 Math 3160

Math 2620 Math 3615 (Exam FM Preperation)

Exam FM (May)

Junior Math 3615 (Exam P Preperation) Math 36501

Stat 3375 Stat 3445

Econ 2201 Econ 2202

Exam P (Nov)

Senior Math 36211

Math 3170

Math 3630 Math 3634

Math 3660 Math 3631 or Math 3632

Econ 2411 Math 3670W

Exam MLC & MFE (May)

1. Qualifies for Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) with a grade of B- or higher

Plan of Study

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In 2004, the Society of Actuaries, in conjunction with the Casualty Actuarial

Society, redesigned the examination process to give credit for students who

have completed courses in the following subjects at the college or university

level:

Economics

Corporate Finance

Applied Statistics

To receive credit for these courses, the course must be approved by the

Society of Actuaries and the student must pass the course with a B– or better.

At the University of Connecticut, the following courses have been approved

by the Society of Actuaries for VEE credit:

Economics

1200 Principles of Economics

1201 Principles of Microeconomics

1202 Principles of Macroeconomics

2201 Intermediate Microeconomics Theory

2202 Intermediate Macroeconomics Theory 5201 Microeconomics

5202 Macroeconomics

Corporate Finance

3650 Financial Mathematics II (Corporate Finance)

5621 Financial Mathematics II (Corporate Finance)

Applied Statistics

3621 Applied Actuarial Statistics

3115 Analysis of Experiments

4825 Applied Time Series

5315 Analysis of Experiments

5825 Applied Time Series

Validation by Educational

Experience (VEE)

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There is a strong demand for our graduates in the large financial services

industry in Connecticut and the surrounding northeast. The quality of our

students is recognized by grants averaging $75,000 per year from our corporate

sponsors.

ACTEX Publications Mass Mutual Financial

Actuaries’ Club of Hartford & Springfield

Aetna Mercer

CIGNA Corporation Phoenix Life

Deloitte Consulting Prudential Financial

Guardian Life Insurance Sun Life Financial

The Hartford Swiss Re

Hartford Life Travelers

ING Towers Perrin

Lincoln Financial USI Consulting

Watson Wyatt

This money is used primarily to award undergraduate scholarships, but

enhances the program in many ways. We have also established endowments

whose sum has passed the $500,000 mark.

Scholarships are awarded to undergraduate actuarial science students who excel

academically, exhibit strong leadership skills and provide community services.

In 2009, 29 scholarships were awarded with the average award being $2,100.

Scholarship Program

Number of Scholarships

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

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Every fall semester, we have career day. Approximately, thirty companies visit

our campus explaining to interested students actuarial opportunities at their

organizations. Following this event and continuing into the spring, many of these

organizations conduct on-campus interviews. From these interviews many of our

students are offered summer internships, or if they are graduating, they are

offered an entry level position in the organization’s actuarial trainee program.

The following is the list of some of the participating organizations:

Aetna, Inc. BlueCross/BlueShield

Buck Consultants CIGNA

Deloitte Consulting Guardian Life Insurance Company

Hanover Insurance Hartford Life

Hartford P&C Health Net Northeast

Hewitt Associates Hooker & Holcombe, Inc.

ING Liberty Mutual Group

Lincoln Financial Group MassMutual Financial Group

Mercer Human Resources Consulting MetLife

Milliman Phoenix Life Insurance

Prime Advisors Prudential Financial

Sun Life Financial Swiss Re

The Segal Company Towers Perrin

Travelers USI Consulting Group

Watson Wyatt Worldwide United Health Care Group.

XL Insurance Wellcare Healthcare Plans, Inc

Occasionally, we are approached by some organizations to enter into a work

study program. Under this arrangement, the student works during the school year

twelve to sixteen hours per week.

Employment Opportunities

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Gamma Iota Sigma is a fraternal organization. The purpose of Gamma Iota

Sigma is to encourage, establish, and enhance the professionalism of students in

the Risk Management, Insurance, and Actuarial Science majors. Their goal is to

prepare their members for quality employment opportunities in the risk

management, insurance, and actuarial fields. As a fraternal organization, they

strive to build a sense of community and cohesion among members while

improving their career opportunities through increased knowledge of the

industry. In addition, they aim to prepare their members to interact comfortably

with industry leaders, and form contacts that will serve them throughout their

careers.

The University of Connecticut-Storrs Gamma Iota Sigma XI Chapter was

chartered on February 12, 1978. The goal of the XI Chapter is to act as a

professional and social medium for bringing together Actuarial Science majors.

Members are united in their efforts to qualify for the profession as well as in

being college students. It is the responsibility of this chapter to maintain a strong

relationship with the National chapter and the other individual chapters.

Gamma Iota Sigma