Key information
- Level
- Postgraduate Taught
- Delivery type
- Full Time, Part Time
- Degree qualification
- MSc
- Mode of delivery
- On-Campus
- Duration
- 1 year
- Location
- Edinburgh
- Start date
- September
Our MSc Actuarial Science provides you with a fast track into the actuarial profession by providing up to six exemptions from the exams you must pass to become a fully qualified actuary.
As an actuary, you are an expert in risk management. Actuaries work in areas like life insurance, pensions, investments, banking and more. With your data science skills, you are in high demand across the world.
Salaries are typically high and the work-life balance excellent. A newly qualified actuary in the United Kingdom usually earns between £55,000 and £60,000 each year, with salaries increasing significantly post-certification.
Our MSc takes you through the first six actuarial exams with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) in the UK, accelerating your journey to becoming an actuarial professional. These examinations enhance your expertise in statistical and financial modelling.
Our actuarial transformation: introducing an innovative curriculum
We launched an exciting curriculum update recently for our MSc Actuarial Science programme at Heriot-Watt University.
This comprehensive overhaul offers you a well-rounded approach to actuarial education, going well beyond academic theory to equip you with the practical skills and business awareness sought after by employers, allowing you to hit the ground running on day one of your actuarial career.
Tailored for success as an actuary
This programme has been uniquely designed to offer a blend of technical mastery, business acumen, and communication skills essential for a successful actuarial career.
Developed in collaboration with industry leaders, it ensures the acquisition of sought-after skills, setting you apart in interviews and excelling in real-world tasks.
Gain a competitive edge with an intensified focus on software tools like Excel and R, and experience enriched learning through 'value-added' components, emphasizing teamwork and communication skills. You will have a choice of wider knowledge and skills such as Python programming and the opportunity to dive into the implications of climate change for the finance sector.
Courses on enrolment
On enrolment, you will gain access to our Maths Gym which provides you with support from the very start and throughout your time with us to make sure your maths skills are fresh and ready for your programme of study.
Enrolment with us also gives you access to the following optional self-taught courses that you can use (if you wish) before you begin or at any time throughout your programme:
- Introduction To R Programming
- Introduction To Python Programming (For R Users)
- Report Writing
You will also have free access to LinkedIn Learning which contains thousands of online courses covering a wide range of subject areas.
Why choose Edinburgh?
Edinburgh is a wonderful city close to the sea in Scotland in the United Kingdom. Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh campus is found just to the west of the city in a beautiful green space. Transport links into the city centre are regular and travel by bus takes around thirty minutes, and so you can choose the mix of city and campus life that you like best.
Edinburgh is the financial heart of Scotland, and many such companies are based there. It is also a centre of arts and culture, with the famous Edinburgh International Festival taking place in August each year.
It is built on seven hills, and views regularly emerge and surprise as you walk the cobbled streets in the old town or explore the beautiful sandstone buildings in the new town. Edinburgh Castle rises high in the centre of Edinburgh and is a big attraction for tourists.
Access to all other cities in the United Kingdom is straightforward, with fast travel to London for instance taking only 4 hours.
Your student experience
Our distinguished programme is taught by qualified actuaries with industry experience and by high-flying researchers. Heriot-Watt University is the home of actuarial science in the United Kingdom. We were the first university in the UK to offer a degree in actuarial science and the first Society of Actuaries (SoA) Center of Excellence in Europe. Now, each year, we help over 200 students gain the exemptions they need from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA).
Go Global
With Go Global, Heriot-Watt's global student programme, you can carry your studies to new places and experience new cultures, expanding your horizons on the way. You'll discover what it means to be a true global citizen and emerge prepared for wherever your career journey will take you.
Inter-Campus Transfer
Course content
September Intake - Edinburgh
You will take up to 11 courses from the following selection including F71AD. These courses cover all 6 of the IFoA Core Principles exemptions CM1, CM2, CB1, CB2, CS1, CS2 and give you the option to go beyond to deepen your actuarial knowledge and make yourself stand out to employers.
Optional September
- Economics
- Actuarial Applications
- Financial Mathematics Fundamentals
- Financial Mathematics of Life Contingencies
- Statistical Methods
Optional January
- Finance and Financial Reporting
- Climate Change and Sustainability
- Financial Economics for Actuarial Science
- Markov Processes and Survival Modelling
- Data Analytics and Time Series Analysis
- Data Science Life Cycle
- Life Office Practice
- Risk Management: Techniques and Tools
- Stochastic Networks
Mandatory May
- Dissertation
Programme Video
Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics subject video
Student testimonials
Varun Katariya
MSc Actuarial Science graduate
Learning from people who have been in the industry and are qualified actuaries brought a great impact. Not only are they great at teaching the subject but I also got to discuss the actuarial market, job preparation and made great connections.
Fees and funding
| Status | Full Time | Part Time |
|---|---|---|
| UK | £12,344 | £6,172 |
| International | £24,176 | £12,088 |
- Status: Your residency status is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course.
- International: 'International' includes applicants from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in UK. (This does not include students from the Republic of Ireland - see above).
Additional information
Contact us for the fee for the Diploma in Actuarial Science. This option is available only to UK and EU students.
Scholarships and bursaries
Heriot-Watt Actuarial Scholarship For Academic Excellence for 2024-25
Students with a strong academic record, or a strong record in passing Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) exams to date, will be awarded a 20% discount on their fees. The award is at the programme manager's discretion - and they will make their assessment based on your application.
The award is made automatically on each application received. If you are successful, then you will see details of the award on your offer letter.
Entry requirements
We have standard entry requirements for all of our courses that you will have to meet.
The programme is primarily intended for graduates with a strong numerate background. Our normal minimum entry requirement is the equivalent of a UK 2:1 degree in mathematics or statistics, or a related discipline with a high mathematics or statistics content (such as economics or physics).
The degree is challenging and it is necessary to be able to work hard and to have a strong drive to succeed.
Why Heriot-Watt
We're the top university in Scotland for graduate outcomes which means that more of our graduates are employed or in postgraduate education than any other institution in the country and we ranked 5th in the UK.
We're also rated number one in the UK for CEO or MD roles, meaning more of our graduates go on to become CEOs or MDs than any other university in the whole of the UK. On top of that, we have beautiful campuses, across the globe, so you'll get a truly international education. Our Edinburgh Campus is home to Oriam, Scotland's National Sports Performance Centre combined with plenty of wellbeing resources, prioritising fitness and mental health for all students. Our Global Research Institutes look at solving real world issues such as climate change and saving our oceans as well as working on the next medical technological breakthrough and the future of AI and robots.
Employability
Career prospects and salaries are excellent for graduates of our specialist actuarial science programmes – 93% of recent graduates have secured employment or gone onto further study within six months of graduating. Of those employed, 96% are in professional-level jobs. Recent students have gone on to work for industry-leading organisations including: Standard Life Aberdeen, Lloyds Banking Group, Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, Prudential, Royal London and many more.
Student life
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