Actuarial Science Program at the University of Connecticut

- -

What is an actuary?

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.

-2-

Started in 1970s

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 Masters 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 Masters 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.
Actuarial Science Majors
250

200

150

100

50

0 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

Undergraduates

Graduates

Today, the program has approximately 185 undergraduate students, 35 Masters level students, and 6 students working on a doctoral thesis in Actuarial Science. We estimate that, since its inception, our program has contributed over 500 baccalaureate and 350 masters 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.

-3-

Multidiscipline Profession

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.

-4-

Plan of Study Year Freshman Math 1131 1 Econ 1200 Fall Math 1132 Acct 2001 Spring

Sophomore

Math 2110 Math 2210 Math 2610 Math 2620

Math 2410 Acct 2101 Math 3160 Math 3615 (Exam FM Preperation) Exam FM (May) 1 Math 3650 Stat 3445 Econ 2202

Junior

Math 3615 (Exam P Preperation) Stat 3375 Econ 2201

Senior

Exam P (Nov) 1 Math 3621 Math 3630 Math 3660 Econ 2411

Math 3170 Math 3634 Math 3631 or Math 3632 Math 3670W Exam MLC & MFE (May)

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

-5-

Validation by Educational Experience (VEE)

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

-6-

Scholarship Program

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 Actuaries Club of Hartford & Springfield Aetna CIGNA Corporation Deloitte Consulting Guardian Life Insurance The Hartford Hartford Life ING Lincoln Financial Mass Mutual Financial Mercer Phoenix Life Prudential Financial Sun Life Financial Swiss Re Travelers Towers Perrin 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.

Number of Scholarships
40

35

30

25

20

15

10

0 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

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.

-7-

Employment Opportunities

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 organizations actuarial trainee program. The following is the list of some of the participating organizations: Aetna, Inc. Buck Consultants Deloitte Consulting Hanover Insurance Hartford P&C Hewitt Associates ING Lincoln Financial Group Mercer Human Resources Consulting Milliman Prime Advisors Sun Life Financial The Segal Company Travelers Watson Wyatt Worldwide XL Insurance BlueCross/BlueShield CIGNA Guardian Life Insurance Company Hartford Life Health Net Northeast Hooker & Holcombe, Inc. Liberty Mutual Group MassMutual Financial Group MetLife Phoenix Life Insurance Prudential Financial Swiss Re Towers Perrin USI Consulting Group United Health Care Group. 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.

-8-

Gamma Iota Sigma

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.

-9-