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Actuaries manage risk and uncertainty and evaluate the likely impact of future events. Heriot-Watt’s Actuarial Science programme is world-famous for its excellence. It contains all the courses that are essential for ensuring a flying start to a career as an actuary whilst at the same time fostering highly transferable mathematical skills.

If you excel at mathematics, enjoy problem solving and are looking for a degree that will prepare you for a rewarding career – both intellectually and financially – Actuarial Science could be the programme for you.

This Bachelor’s degree mirrors the highly successful BSc Actuarial Science degree offered in the UK, which is accredited by the UK Actuarial Profession. This can significantly reduce the time taken to qualify as a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Course content

View or download full details of core, optional and elective courses/projects.

Year 1

• Probability and Statistics A & B
• Actuarial and Financial Mathematics A & B
• Multivariable Calculus and Real Analysis A & B
• Linear Algebra
• Algorithmic and Scientific Programming

Optional and elective courses available for Year 1 include:

• Finance and Financial Reporting
• Database Management Systems

Year 2

• Life Insurance Mathematics A & B
• Stochastic Processes
• Survival Models
• Derivative Markets and Discrete-time Finance
• Statistical Models A & B
• Portfolio Theory & Asset Models

Year 3

Students typically take Introductory Economics, Continuous-time Finance, Risk Theory, and Time Series Analysis. They can also
choose from a range of options such as Statistics for Social Science, Bayesian Inference and Computational Methods, Statistical
Machine Learning, and Optimisation.

Students take a total of 8 or 9 core/optional courses per year. For full details of the optional and elective courses, please refer to our
website.

STPM/UEC/A-Levels/IB Diploma with 5 credits or above

September

Employment prospects are good, with excellent financial rewards. Our students readily find work as trainee actuaries and graduates are also well-equipped for more general careers like accountancy, banking, stockbroking or teaching. What’s more, actuarial skills are appreciated anywhere in the world.