MSc Actuarial Management

Overview

The MSc in Actuarial Management is fully accredited with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK for subjects: CP1, CP2, CP3, SP2, SP4, SP5, SP6 and SP9.  In addition, studying subject SP9 leads to the internationally recognised Certified Enterprise Risk Actuary (CERA) qualification.  It is also possible to 'catch up' with some of the earlier subjects that you may have missed – such as CB1, CB2 or CM2.

These subjects cover a variety of areas including life insurance, risk management, investment, derivatives, pensions, communication and modelling.  You choose the best combination for you.

Completing this degree gets you close to qualification as an actuary, with only one or two exams left to complete after leaving university.  It typically speeds up your qualification by one or two years.

Why choose Heriot-Watt University?

Heriot-Watt university was the first in the UK to offer a degree in actuarial science.  We have been leading the way in the UK ever since and built a wonderful teaching team of world renowned academics and experienced industry professionals.  Each year we enable between 100 and 200 students to gain exemptions from actuarial subjects.  For the MSc in Actuarial Management, we also understand that you need to become an excellent professional and so we enable the development of your softer skills, and integrity, in this area too.

Heriot-Watt University is the only Centre of Actuarial Excellence (as recognised by the society of actuaries (SOA) – North America) in Europe.

We excel in student surveys (this mostly relates to teaching quality) and our research output is world class. 

Study in Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a wonderful city close to the sea in Scotland in the United Kingdom.  Heriot-Watt Edinburgh campus is established 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 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 UK is straightforward, with fast travel to London for instance taking only 4 hours.

Your Actuarial Career Path

An actuary is an expert in risk management and this is usually applied in the world of insurance.  In order to qualify as an actuary in the UK a number of exams are completed with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) in the UK.  The first set of exams cover the mathematical material you need to know and have IFoA course codes: CB1, CB2, CM1, CM2, CS1 and CS2.  These exams cover the subject areas: accounts, economics, financial/actuarial mathematics and applied statistics.  Heriot-Watt University has a BSc in Actuarial Science and an MSc in Actuarial Science that are both fully accredited with the IFoA for these subjects.  The MSc in Actuarial Science is a particularly quick way to obtain exemptions from these subjects as it takes only one year to complete.

The second set of exams is much more about the application of the mathematics you have already learned in real life.  This is in respect of subjects CP1, CP2, CP3, SP2, SP4, SP5, SP6 and SP9 with the IFoA and is covered by our MSc in Actuarial Management.  We also have an alternative MSc in Actuarial Management with Data Science that covers these subjects but also develops your machine learning ability – something that is increasingly desirable in the modern world.

It is possible to reduce your fees and move extremely rapidly along the actuarial path to qualification by taking our 2-year MSc in Actuarial Science and Management.  This covers the CB1, CB2, CM1, CM2, CS1 and CS2 material in the first year and the CP1, CP2, CP3, SP2, SP4, SP5, SP6 and SP9 material (of which you choose a subset of subjects) in your second year.  It is also possible to take the data science (machine learning) courses.

Completing these exams leaves you with only 1 or 2 exams left to allow your qualification as a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries – and so as a professional actuary

Student Actuarial Society

Heriot-Watt has a very active Students' Actuarial Society which won several awards at a recent Heriot-Watt 'Oscars' ceremony. This body is completely managed, enthusiastically and professionally, by our students.