Offered in: Chicago

Risk analysts and actuaries earn professional designation from either the Society of Actuaries (life and health insurance) or the Casualty Actuarial Society (property and casualty insurance). These societies administer a series of examinations that lead to the risk analyst designation or actuaries, first to the designation of associate and then to fellow. The initial exams are the same for both societies. The courses required for the major and the minor will aid the student in preparing for the first two of the professional societies' examinations. They will also satisfy their Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) requirements in economics, corporate finance, and mathematical statistics.  

Actuarial Science involves applying probability theory and risk management to the areas of life and health insurance, property and casualty insurance, pension plans, and other employee benefit plans. Risk analysts and actuaries, who evaluate the long-term financial impact of these plans on both the issuing company and the purchaser or beneficiary of the plan, are employed by insurance companies, consulting firms, large corporations, and governmental agencies. The major in actuarial science emphasizes the mathematical theory that underlies risk evaluation.

Admission

Advanced placement in mathematics is possible for well-prepared students.

Standards

All courses presented for the major and the minor(s) must be completed with C- or higher grades with an overall GPA of 2.0 or higher. A maximum of two grades of C- may be presented for the major. Repeated courses in the major or minor require specific approval of the department chair. The average grade for all courses taken in actuarial science and mathematics must be C- or higher. Note that although the major only requires a grade of C- or above for graduation, ECON 101 PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS I, ECON 102 PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS II, FIN 311 PRINCIPLES OF FINANCE, FIN 321 INVESTMENTS, and ACSC 348 MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS must be passed with a grade of B- or above to fulfill Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) requirements for the CAS (Casualty Actuarial Society) and the SOA (Society of Actuaries). Students with a grade of C+ or below in ECON 101 PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS I, ECON 102 PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS II, FIN 311 PRINCIPLES OF FINANCE,  FIN 321 INVESTMENTS, or ACSC 348 MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS are strongly encouraged to retake the course to earn a grade of B- or above.  

Requirements

• At least four courses in Actuarial Science must be completed at Roosevelt University.
• All courses presented for the major must be completed with C- or higher grades with an overall GPA of 2.0 or higher. A maximum of two grades of C- may be presented for the major.
• The BA degree requires a Finance minor (for non-Business majors). 
• Students completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Actuarial Science must take at least one professional exam prior to graduation. Proof should be submitted to the chair.
• All credit must be approved by the department to be applied toward the major.

Recommendations

• Appropriate supporting courses in computer science, economics, and finance are recommended.
• Students should prepare to take an actuarial professional exam early in their degree plan, which is often a requirement for actuarial internships. Both ACSC 367 FINANCIAL MATH and ACSC 347 PROBABILITY THEORY correspond to the content of the first two of these actuarial professional exams; the corresponding seminar courses ACSC 380FM ACTUARIAL SCIENCE SEMINAR:EXAM FM/2 and ACSC 380P ACTUARIAL SCIENCE SEMINAR: EXAM P/1 aid in exam prep.
• ACSC 390 INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH PROBLEMS is recommended as an experiential learning course, as is ACSC 349 REGRESSION & TIME SERIES.
• ACSC 348 MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS satisfies the Mathematical Statistics VEE requirement provided a student earns a grade of B- or higher.
• Students are encouraged to do an actuarial, financial, programming, or statistical internship prior to graduation.

The major sequence for the Bachelor of Arts degree is given below.

CORE Requirements (General Education)

¹

Higher level of Math may be required by major

²

Coursework must come from outside of students' major discipline

³

A maximum of 9 credits can be applied from a single discipline towards humanities and social science requirements

These quantitative requirements also apply to degrees.

• Students must earn a minimum of 120 semester hours.
• Students may apply no more than 60 credit hours of 100-level courses toward the degree.
• Students must apply no fewer than 60 credit hours of 200- and 300-level courses toward the degree.
• Students must have at least 18 credit hours (of the 60 credit hours above) at the 300 level.
• Students may transfer in no more than 70 credit hours from community colleges.
• Students earning less than 60 total hours in residence must take their final 30 hours at Roosevelt University. Note that some majors have additional requirements for RU hours.
• Students must have a grade point average of 2.0 or higher to graduate. Note that some majors have additional GPA requirements.
• Students may apply no more than 51 hours in the major (BA) or 57 hours in the major (BS)

 Your degree map is a general guide suggesting courses to complete each term on the academic pathway to your degree. It is based on the most current scheduling information from your academic program. Your program’s degree map is reviewed annually and updated as schedules change (although you retain the same course requirements as long as you are continuously enrolled in your degree program).

Students should begin and continue in the calculus sequence: MATH 121 COLLEGE ALGEBRA, MATH 122 TRIGONOMETRY AND PRECALCULUS, MATH 231 CALCULUS I, MATH 232 CALCULUS II, MATH 233 CALCULUS III . Students should take ACSC 367 FINANCIAL MATH and ACSC 347 PROBABILITY THEORY as soon as they compete MATH 232 CALCULUS II; note that ACSC 367 FINANCIAL MATH is offered in odd-numbered fall terms, and ACSC 347 PROBABILITY THEORY is offered in even numbered fall terms.

Always work closely with your academic advisor to understand curriculum requirements and scheduling, as each student’s academic plan can look slightly different.

 A three-year degree plan is shown below for the well-prepared student who has the time available to take 18-credits in the fall and spring terms as well as the ability to take summer courses.

¹

Or course towards an optional Minor.

²

One Natural Science course must have a lab.

³

Any course at the 300 Level within the discipline.

⁴

Experiential Learning class must be 200/300 level. Students are encouraged to take ACSC 390 INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH PROBLEMS along with the required ACSC 349 REGRESSION & TIME SERIES course to satisfy their Experiential Learning requirements.

⁵

Where a student begins their math sequence depends on their placement, and so some students will start in MATH 231 CALCULUS I instead.  Students should take this sequence of courses each semester until they complete MATH 232 CALCULUS II; they should take MATH 233 CALCULUS III in the next possible fall term.

⁶

ACSC 347 PROBABILITY THEORY and ACSC 367 FINANCIAL MATH should be taken in the first fall term that occurs after a student completes MATH 232 CALCULUS II.