ACTUARIAL SCIENCE
Florida State University Updated 4/2008 Contents General information . 2 The undergraduate major . 3 Academic and career advisement .... 3 Students already holding a bachelors degree . 4 Actuarial program requirements .. 6 State Common Prerequisites for Actuarial Science 6 Required Mathematics & Ecomonics . 6 Required Business and Economics . 6 Specialized Mathematics & Statistics . 7 Also Recommended 7 Minimum Total Hours 7 Other requirements .. 7 Electives .. 8 Outside the classroom . 8 Florida State Student Actuarial Society .. 8 Actuarial internships ... 8 Actuarial societies and examinations ... 9 FSU courses .... 9 Faculty . 10 Obtaining further information and an application ... 10 Prerequisites for required courses beyond calculus . 11 Checklist of Actuarial Science Requirements . 12 Guide to Actuarial Science at Florida State University Guide to Financial Mathematics at Florida State University Florida State Student Actuarial Society Florida State Pi Mu Epsilon Beta Chapter Professor Bettye Anne Cases webpage Professor Steve Paris webpage http://www.math.fsu.edu/~paris/actmath.math http://www.math.fsu.edu/~kercheva/FMGuide/ http://www.math.fsu.edu/~tboles/fssas/ http://www.math.fsu.edu/~jdenny/PME/pme.html http://www.math.fsu.edu/~smith/FacultyPages/case.html http://www.math.fsu.edu/~paris/
Casualty Actuarial Society The Society of Actuaries Be An Actuary International Association of Financial Engineers
The American Mathematical Society The Mathematical Association of America The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
If you are interested in any of the programs described above, contact the mathematics Academic Advisor (222 Love Building, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4510; (850) 644-5868 or 644-2202; e-mail advisor@math.fsu.edu). Professor Steve Paris (paris@math.fsu.edu) advises actuarial majors and will be happy to answer special questions.
General information
The Actuarial Science Program at the Florida State University is an interdisciplinary undergraduate major that resides in the Department of Mathematics. It is classified as Advanced Undergraduate and Graduate Education by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) / Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) Listing of Academic Actuarial Science Programs. The complete listing of all schools can be accessed from the Academic Relations page of the Society of Actuaries web site (www.soa.org) or the Casualty Actuarial Society site (www.casact.org). It can also be found at the Be An Actuary web site (www.beanactuary.com). The current process to become an actuary in the SOA or CAS, or a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) in the SOA, involves passing a sequence of preliminary exams and obtaining validation by educational experience (VEE) in the areas of applied statistics, economics, and finance from an approved university such as FSU. The preliminary exams in the SOA are called Exam P (Probability), Exam FM (Financial Mathematics), Exam M (Actuarial Models; which is split into two parts, Life Contingencies (Exam MLC) and Financial Economics (Exam MFE)), and Exam C (Construction of Models). The preliminary exams in the CAS are called Exam 1, Exam 2, Exam 3, and Exam 4. However, the following exams are jointly administered by the SOA and CAS: Exam P with Exam 1 (hence referred to as Exam P/1), Exam FM with Exam 2 (Exam FM/2), and Exam C with Exam 4 (Exam C/4). The SOA chose not to name their exams numerically, since doing so would possibly imply that the exams must be taken in a particular order. The required course content of FSU's program in actuarial science covers material for the preliminary exams as well as all three VEE areas. There are diverse entry-level opportunities for graduates, including many in Florida. Recent FSU graduates have readily found attractive employment; company interviews held in the department facilitate matching students with employer needs. The FSU Mathematics Department also offers a Financial Mathematics Masters Program (http://www.math.fsu.edu/~kercheva/FMGuide/index.html), in which students can choose to concentrate in Actuarial Science. The specialized courses in the Department of Mathematics required for Actuarial Science majors build on earlier mathematics and statistics. Graduate students and mathematically prepared undergraduates in economics, finance, statistics, mathematics, and computer science may elect these courses. The course work in the Financial Mathematics Master's Program involves readings, problem sets and presentations, which model theory through actuarial applications; examinations are typical of mathematics courses. The concentration in Actuarial Science is designed for students pursuing actuarial credentials from one of the professional societies or intending to apply the skills and information of a strong actuarial science program elsewhere in the financial or insurance industries, or in governmental applications. Students already holding the bachelor's degree in another field may pursue this degree. Please see ( Students already holding a bachelors degree for further options. The actuarial profession is consistently highly rated (e.g.; by Jobs Almanac, based on criteria related to salary, stress, work environment, outlook, security and physical demands). Banking and investment houses, in addition to the usual insurance and government employers, now employ many trained in actuarial science and the related mathematics, statistics, computing and finance. The students in this degree offering demonstrate strong mathematical and computational aptitude, leadership ability, and communications skills. They become knowledgeable in finance and insurance as well as in mathematics and statistics. Most of them successfully complete examinations in the joint SOA/CAS sequence. A number of students each year participate in internship activities. Graduates from recent past years are well placed in industry and government. These employers have been generous with advice from their experience for the program.
5177-5178 (Actuarial Models; Advanced Actuarial Models, Credibility, and Simulation). Students have opportunity for some relevant electives from the College of Business in the Departments of Finance, and Risk Management and Insurance. a. Financial Mathematics MS, Actuarial Science Concentration: The student completes the listed requirements see Financial Mathematics Guide. Pursuing this "concentration", students take a fixed schedule of courses during the first year enhanced by the special seminars. The first year also provides courses for VEE credits. In conjunction with the Department of Finance and the Department of Risk Management and Insurance in the College of Business, a plan is being developed for study focused toward the Advanced Finance/ Enterprise Risk Manangement Exam and the Financial Reporting and Operational Risk Module of the CERA designation. This option, earning the MS in Financial Mathematics with an actuarial concentration, is a good CERA preparation while providing more depth of knowledge for applications in the financial sector than is available in most actuarial programs. b. MS in Pure or Applied Mathematics (utilizing a Directed Program of Study): This option involves completing most of the required courses in either the pure or applied master's program, with a few of the required courses replaced by the module of courses directly related to actuarial science. This option could be invoked to have more flexibility than the above Master's Degree in Financial Mathematics and is attractive for students who are not sure about their career path particularly if they might be interested in community college level teaching. The option must be planned at the beginning of the program, and would typically be developed by the student and Dr. Paris, in association with the Associate Chairs of Mathematics, Professors Bettye Anne Case and Steven Bellenot. CONTACTS: Ms. Esther Diaguila is the departmental academic advisor, and for beginning as a special student or for the degree options you should write her first: advisor@math.fsu.edu. For the graduate options, you will be put in contact with Dr. Paris and/or Dr. Bettye Anne Case, the Associate Chair of Graduate Studies.
Requirements
If you want to become an actuary, then you are well advised to complete a curriculum which supports requirements of the Society of Actuaries and Casualty Actuarial Society (see www.BeAnActuary.org). Required Mathematics and Economics State Common Prerequisites for transfer students into Actuarial Science* (22 hr.) Florida students may take these courses as a first time in college student at FSU or in a Community College for transfer to FSU. A statewide board sets these requirements. A student may be classified with the Actuarial Science major code 116820 as soon as MAC 2311 and two other courses on this list have been completed. Students should ask for this major code as early as possible. MAC 2311 MAC 2312 MAC 2313 COP 3014 ECO 2013 ** ECO 2023 (4) Calculus I (4) Calculus II (5) Calculus III (3) OO Programming (unless C++ is exempted, then MAD 3703 or JAVA may be taken) (3) Economics of the National Economy (3) Economics Price System
*The community college transfer student may also be able to complete some of the courses listed below before entering FSU; in particular, MAP 2302 and ACG 2021 are advised if available. ** Some students who have been strong in ECO 2013 may go directly to ECO 4101. This is not generally recommended but it may help students who come to the Actuarial Science program late and have already satisfied their Social Science liberal studies with another course than Economics; ask the Academic Advisor in Mathematics for details. Complete all of the following: Required Business and Economics (12 hr) ACG 2021 FIN 3403 RMI 3011 FIN 4504 (3) Principles of Accounting I (3) Financial Management of the Firm (3) Intro to Risk Management/Insurance (3) Investments
Upper Division and Specialized Requirements (beyond Prerequisites) Required Mathematics & Statistics (17 hr) MAP 4170 MAP 4175 MAT 4930r STA 4321 (4) Introduction to Actuarial Mathematics (4) Actuarial Models (4 1-hr repetitions) Actuarial Applications (3) Introduction to Math Statistics
Additional Course Requirements Complete at least 6 of the following: (Course choice should take into account the students background and goals and prerequisites must be satisfied.) Specialized Mathematics and Statistics Choose at least 2 of the following: MAP 2302 (3) Ordinary Differential Equations MAP 4176 (4) Actuarial Models and Credibility MAS 3105 (4) Applied Linear Algebra I Choose at least one of the following: MAA 4224 (3) Introduction to Analysis I or MAA 4226 (3) Advanced Calculus I MAA 4227 (3) Advanced Calculus II MAD 3703 (3) Numerical Analysis I MAP 4341 (3) Elementary Partial Differential Equations I MAS 4106 (3) Applied Linear Algebra II STA 4203 (3) Applied Regression STA 4322 (3) Mathematical Statistics STA 4853 (3) Time Series Choose at least one of the following: ECO 4101 (3) Intermediate Microeconomic Theory ECO 4203 (3) Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory ECO 4401 (3) Intro to Mathematical Economics ECO 4421 (3) Introduction to Econometrics RMI 4224 (3) Property & Casualty Insur Products RMI 4292 (3) Property & Casualty Insur Operations RMI 4115 (3) Life & Health Insurance Prod Products RMI 4135 (3) Employee Benefits Plans FIN 4514 (3) Security Analysis & Portfolio Mgmt Also Recommended: MAT 4945r. Internship in Actuarial Science (1-3, S/U graded). Minimum Total Hours: 22 SCNS Prerequisite (advised in first two years) + 44-45 required at FSU = total 66-67
Other Requirements
The liberal studies program of the university provides a broad base of intellectual and multicultural interests and accomplishments. A minimum 40 hours of the total graduation hours must be at the 3xxx or 4xxx level. These courses may be in any field in the major or in electives. The Department of Mathematics resides in the College of Arts and Sciences, which has a foreign language requirement. See the General Bulletin for complete description of language requirements as well as the liberal studies and multicultural requirements. The student is urged to ask early for advice in planning an individualized program and to follow it carefully. It is important to spread the language and liberal studies requirements somewhat evenly over the entire four years of study, while beginning immediately to take and making progress each term on the sequential required courses of the program. Many of these courses themselves have several prerequisite courses, sometimes in other departments, so careful planning is essential if graduation is to be timely. 7
Electives
Some hours may remain after all requirements have been satisfied, and the student is urged to choose these carefully. A faculty committee has consulted with actuaries and with faculty in other actuarial science programs, and recommends first choosing additional courses from the lists above; other good choices, depending on individual goals, are: ACG 3171; BUL 3310; MAA 4402; MAP 4103; MAP 4180; MAP 4202; MAS 4302; RMI 4295; RMI 4420; SPC 1600
FSU Courses
The following concordance between course material and some of the current early exams may be helpful: Exam Basic ActSci courses Other FSU courses P MAC 2311, 2312, 2313; STA 4321 FM MAP 4170; FIN 3403, 4504 MLC MAP 4170, 4175, 4176; RMI 3011 RMI 4135, 4224 MFE MAP 4176 FIN 4514 C MAP 4176 STA 4502
Faculty
The program is resident in the Department of Mathematics. Students have the opportunity to profit from instruction by many of its award-winning faculty members in their earlier courses such as calculus and linear algebra. Professor Bettye Anne Case is Director of the Actuarial Science Program. She teaches the specialized interest and life contingencies courses and is the faculty advisor. Faculty from mathematics and the associated departments in the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Business work closely with students in the option. An ongoing advisory committee gives consideration to both academic standards in actuarial science education and program flexibility to meet industry needs. Keeping a finger on the pulse of future trends in educating students for this occupation is inherent in this groups responsibility.
Obtaining an application
For information about applications and deadlines: Office of Admissions Florida State University University Center A 2249 Tallahassee, Florida 32306-1009 850/644-6200 FSU Mathematics Admissions Information Faculty and staff involved with the program may also be contacted for specific information For individual academic advisement: Esther Diaguila Academic Advisor 222 Love Building Department of Mathematics Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4510 phone: 850/644-5868 fax: 850/644-4053 email: advisor@math.fsu.edu Dr. Steve Paris Coordinator of Actuarial Science 202 Love Building Department of Mathematics Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4510 Phone: 850/644-4419 email: paris@math.fsu.edu 10 Dr. Bettye Anne Case Associate Chair of Graduate Studies 210 Love Building Department of Mathematics Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4510 phone: 850/644-1586 email: case@math.fsu.edu
Prerequisites for required courses beyond calculus course prerequisites* + MAP 4170 MAC 2312 MAP 4175 MAP 4170 recommended STA 4321 MAP 4176 MAP 4175 MAD3703 MAC 2312, MAS 3105 and a sci prog lang (C++, ForTran) MAP 2302 MAC 2312 + MAS 3105 MAC 2312 MAP 4341 MAC2313 and {MAP2302 or 3305} MAS 4106 MAC2313 and MAS3105 MAA4224 MAC 2313, MAS 3105, MGF 3301 (latter can be waived) or 4226 MAA 4227 MAA 4226, MAC 2313, MAS 3105 + COP 3014 MAC 1140 (Instead: another approved high-level programming language) + ECO 2013 + ECO 2023 ECO 4101 (ECO 2013 and ECO 2023) or (ECO 2013 with an A, by permission) ECO 4203 (ECO 2013 and ECO 2023) ECO 4401 (ECO 2023 or ECO 4101) and MAC 2311 (Rec: ECO 2013) ECO 4421 ECO 2023 and STA 3014, 2122 or 4322 (Rec: ECO2013) STA 4203 STA 2122 or STA 4322 + STA 4321 MAC 2313 + STA 4322 MAC 2313, STA 4321 STA 4853 STA 2122 or STA 4322 + ACG 2021 + FIN 3403 ACG 2021 and {ECO 2023 or ECO 4101} + FIN 4504 FIN3403 and any statistics **(FIN3244 is not required for Actuarial Science Students) FIN 4514 FIN4504 + RMI 3011 Any probability or statistics (can be concurrent; sometimes waived) + RMI 4115 RMI 3011 RMI 4135 RMI 3011 + RMI 4224 RMI 3011 RMI 4292 RMI 3011, RMI 4224, FIN 3403
offered * F, Su F only Sp F (only!) F, Su F, Sp, Su F, Su Su F Sp F, Sp, Su F, Sp, Su F, Sp, Su F (only!) Sp (only!) check with dept F, Sp, Su Sp (only!) Sp (only!) F, Sp, Su F, Sp, Su F, Sp, Su F, Sp F, Sp, Su F, Sp ** F, Sp F, Sp
* The information above has been collected for your long-term planning, but there are often changes. You are responsible for checking the current University Bulletin and Schedule of Classes. Terms in which particular courses are taught depend on many factors and the student should check schedule of classes. + This course is itself prerequisite for some other program course. Plans should be made to work in these courses as early possible when they are prerequisites to courses you must or want to take. ** Alternates with RMI 4295; check with RMI department for next offering after Fall 97, which is RMI 4135.
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Mathematics and Collateral Taken MAC 2311 (4) MAC 2312 (4) MAC 2313 (5) MAP 4170 (4) MAP 4175 (4) MAT 4930 (Act Tutorial; 4 at 1 hr each) COP 3014 (3)
Grade
Exam
M (C)
At least two of the following: Taken MAP 2302 (3) MAP 4176 (4) MAS 3105 (4)
Grade
Exam
At least one of the following: Taken MAA 4224 or MAA 4226 (3) MAA 4227 (3) MAD 3703 (3) MAP 4341 (3) MAS 4106 (3)
Grade
P, FM, M
STA 4322 (3) STA 4853 (3) STA 4203 (3) At least one of the following: Taken RMI 4115 (3) RMI 4135 (3) RMI 4224 (3) RMI 4292 (3) FIN 4514 (3)
Exam
VEE FIN VEE ECON VEE ECON VEE FIN
Required Minor: Taken ACG 2021 (3) FIN 3403 (3) RMI 3011 (3) ECO 2013 (3) ECO 2023 (3) FIN 4504 (3)
Grade
VEE AP
Exam
Grade
VEE ECON
ECO 4101 (3) ECO 4203 (3) ECO 4401 (3) ECO 4421 (3)
Early 2005 exams: P, FM, M and C. VEE certification is approved as indicated. See www.soa.org.
VEE ECON
Note: It is the students responsibility to be sure to satisfy the University requirement to complete at least forty (40) semester hours in courses numbered 3000 and 4000. These upper division hours may come from the major or minor, or any other courses you have taken, e.g., THE 3000 would count for this purpose, as does MAP 4170.
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