Actuaries evaluate and manage financial risk. They make financial sense of the future for their clients by applying advanced mathematical and statistical techniques to solve complex financial problems.

Qualifying as an actuary is a passport to a wide variety of careers in insurance companies, investments, pensions, health care and banking – not just in the UK, but throughout the world. Kent is one of a very few universities in the UK to teach the subject.

Our MSc in Applied Actuarial Science with an Industrial Placement is fully accredited by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries; it also provides a fast-track route to qualifying as an actuary, because students who achieve a high enough overall mark in this programme can obtain exemptions from the professional examinations included within their studies.

The MSc is only available as a full-time two-year programme including a 12 month placement. It is suitable for those who have completed a first degree or postgraduate diploma in Actuarial Science, or those who have studied the majority of the earlier subjects in the Core Technical Stage subjects.

Accreditation - Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Curriculum 2019

This year, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) is introducing a new actuarial qualification structure called Curriculum 2019.  We are delighted to say that we have successfully achieved re-accreditation for all of our Actuarial Science programmes and will be offering exemptions under the IFoA's new qualification structure from September 2019.

About the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science (SMSAS)

The School has a strong reputation for world-class research and a well-established system of support and training, with a high level of contact between staff and research students. Postgraduate students develop analytical, communication and research skills.

In 2010, the Centre for Actuarial Science, Risk and Investment (CASRI) was set up within SMSAS to reflect the widening scope of the teaching and research of the staff. Areas of research interest include economic capital and risk management for financial services firms, mortality and longevity modelling, longevity indices and markets. Other research topics include genetics and insurance, insurance economics, pensions and corporate reporting.

The Centre includes 11 professionally qualified actuaries with many years’ practical experience in insurance and pensions, and who maintain excellent links with the actuarial profession.

Think Kent video series

How long are you likely to live? Being able to model human longevity accurately is essential for pension schemes and life insurance companies. In this entertaining lecture, Professor Paul Sweeting, Professor of Actuarial Science at the University of Kent, explores the key issues, and how research is helping to address them.