Actuarial science teaches you the art of turning risks into opportunities. Actuaries provide assessments of financial security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and their mechanisms. You benefit from an excellent starting salary, with graduates earning upwards of £30,000 on average.

Our BSc Actuarial Science course covers the syllabus of many core subjects of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. Depending on your choice of optional modules, and upon sufficient attainment, this can lead to exemptions from the professional exams CS1, CS2, CM1, CM2, CB1 and CB2. More generally, our course features an attractive blend of solid mathematics, an understanding of real-world financial issues, optimisation, experimental design and computing skills which provide you with core skills for entering the world of actuaries and data scientists.

Study topics including:

Mathematical finance

Financial reporting

Contingencies, risk management and survival analysis

Mathematical, statistical and probabilistic techniques

Programming and computation in languages such as Matlab and R

Professional actuaries in the insurance industry, including influential businesses AXA and Buck Consultants, contribute to our employability module and also host students at their offices to show them typical challenges that actuaries face.

As part of our School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science, you're a member of an inclusive and approachable research community which allows you to explore topics in pure, high-level mathematics and applied mathematics.

Professional accreditation

Accredited by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries for the purpose of exemption from some professional examinations.

This programme will meet the educational requirements of the Chartered Mathematician designation, awarded by the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, when it is followed by subsequent training and experience in employment to obtain equivalent competences to those specified by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for taught masters degrees.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course.

Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.

If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university

Placement year

Alternatively, you can spend your third year on a placement year with an external organisation, where you learn about a particular sector, company or job role, apply your academic knowledge in a practical working environment, and receive inspiration for future career pathways. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and the placements team.

If you complete a placement year you'll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.