Entry to the actuarial profession is by a demanding series of examinations, but the rewards after qualifying are great. The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK has four levels of examinations to qualify. The first level, the Core Technical (CT) subjects, are taught in our BSc or MSc in Actuarial Science and lead to exemptions from CT1 to CT8.
Our MSc in Actuarial Management is an established and successful programme covering the more advanced actuarial subjects and offering exemptions from the syllabuses of the Core Application subjects CA1 and CA3 and Specialist Technical subjects ST2, ST4, ST5, ST6 and ST9 of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
Students will typically study CA1, CA3 and up to three ST subjects (two ST subjects are needed to satisfy the profession's requirements).
Taking our MSc in Actuarial Management is a great way to speed your progress to this most prestigious of careers - it's designed to take you almost all of the way to qualification. A student who graduates with a full set of exemptions from Heriot-Watt (CT, CA and ST subjects) will only have three more examinations to pass, as well as gaining the necessary work experience, to qualify as a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
Programme duration
The PG Diploma comprises the taught coursework component leading to exemptions from CA1 and the ST professional subjects and takes 9 months to complete. Successful students can then progress to the project work in the summer. This takes the form of industry-relevant case studies, assessed by written reports, which leads to the award of an MSc and exemption from the Subject CA3. In exceptional cases a student may be allowed to write a research dissertation.
The programme is also available to be studied on a part-time basis, over a maximum of 4 years.
Accreditation
Center of Actuarial Excellence
The programme is fully accredited by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
Heriot-Watt University is recognised as a Center of Actuarial Excellence by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), North America. We are the only Center of Actuarial Excellence in Europe and one of only 30 other schools worldwide with this designation. With roots dating back to 1889, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world's largest actuarial professional organization with more than 28,000 actuaries as members.
Teaching excellence and student satisfaction
30% of our teaching staff are qualified actuaries, the others are leading Mathematicians, Financial Mathematicians and Statisticians, who are nationally and internationally recognised for their research. This expertise ensures that what we teach you is current, applicable to the real workplace and current economy. Our National Student Survey results are consistently high for overall student satisfaction.
Results from the National Student Survey for 2011 reveal that 88% of our Mathematics and Statistics (including Actuarial Science) graduates are employed with a graduate position and/or undertaking further study. Our graduates go on to work for companies such as Swiss Re, Standard Life, Towers Watson, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays Capital, Scottish Widows, Ernst & Young and many more. Graduates are employed locally in Edinburgh, London and throughout the world.
Watch a video
Visit our YouTube channel to watch short videos from our students and graduates, and see an example of a lecture at Heriot-Watt.
Student Actuarial Society
Heriot-Watt has a very active Students' Actuarial Society which won several awards at a recent Heriot-Watt 'Oscars' ceremony. This body is completely managed, enthusiastically and professionally, by our students.
