Program Overview

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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 Department of Mathematical Sciences , 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

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. Why we're great.

• 85% of our Department of Mathematical Sciences graduates are in employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes 2023).
• We are continually broadening the array of expertise in our department, giving you a wide range of options and letting you tailor your degree to your interests.
• You have access to our excellent dedicated computing facilities that provide real-world experience.

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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

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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.

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Our expert staff

Many of our academics have won national or regional awards for lecturing, and many of them are qualified and accredited teachers – something which is very rare at a university. Our course teachers are expert academics conducting internationally excellent multidisciplinary research, with significant multi-year experience in consulting and practicing actuarial science. Our key actuarial science staff are Professor Spyridon Vrontos (specialising in actuarial and financial data science, predictive modelling and predictability), Dr Tolulope Fadina (mathematical finance), Dr Junlei Hu (reinsurance and optimal risk transfer), Dr Peng Liu (applied probability and queueing systems), Dr Jackie Wong (Bayesian methods and survival analysis), and Dr John O’Hara (financial mathematics and machine learning in finance).

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Specialist facilities

• In addition to teaching, we have a Maths Support Centre , which offers help to students on a range of mathematical problems. Throughout term-time, we can chat through mathematical problems either on a one-to-one or small group basis
• We have a dedicated social and study space for maths students in the department, which is situated in the STEM Centre
• We host regular events and seminars throughout the year
• Our students run a lively Actuarial Science Society, an active and social group where you can explore your interest in your subject with other students

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Your future

We expect our graduates of BSc Actuarial Science to become actuaries in a range of industries. It is predicted by the US Department of Labor that the employment of actuaries is expected to grow faster than any other occupation, making it a great prospect for a graduate job. Aside from a rewarding career as an actuary, clear thinkers are required in every profession, so the successful mathematician has an extensive choice of potential careers. The Council for Mathematical Sciences offers further information on careers in mathematics. We also work with our University's Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities. “Since graduating I have worked as a Trainee Actuary for a London brokerage, then took a year off to learn to code, and now I am working as an Actuarial Systems Analyst at Pacific Life Re. I help design actuarial models as well as working on tools for the actuarial systems team. My Essex degree definitely helped shape my career choices - and the maths is pretty useful!” Frederick Coles, BSc Actuarial Science, 2017