Actuarial Science and Management Heriot-Watt University

Overview

As an aspiring actuary, your expertise will find application in various sectors, including: 

• life insurance 
• general insurance 
• pensions 
• Investment 
• Banking 

• Fund Management Companies 
• Hedge Funds 
• Consultancies 
• Software Vendors 
• Regulatory Authorities. 

• Introduction To R Programming 
• Introduction To Python Programming (For R Users) 
• Report Writing 

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. 

Your Student Experience

Our Expertise

•  Heriot-Watt is a Society of Actuaries (SoA) Centre of Actuarial Excellence
• 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.   
• We also understand that you need to be ready for the business world and able to interview well. We develop these softer skills too, and develop your ethics, so you will become an excellent capable professional. 

Your Learning Environment

Students' Actuarial Society

We are very proud of our award-winning Students' Actuarial Society which is entirely managed, enthusiastically and professionally, by our students. As well as arranging a series of topical presentations by industry professionals, and popular social events, the Society's highly anticipated Annual Actuarial Conference attracts speakers and attendees from around the world.

Watch a video: http://www.youtube.com/user/HWActuarial?blend=3&ob=5#p/a

Visit our YouTube channel to see videos from our students and graduates, as well as an example of a lecture in Life Insurance Mathematics.

Customise Your Learning

• In year one of the programme you study courses that correspond with exemptions from IFoA subject codes: CB1, CB2, CM1, CM2, CS1 and CS2. 
• In year two of the programme you study your choice of courses that correspond with exemptions from IFoA subject codes: CP1, CP2, CP3, SP2, SP4, SP5, SP6 and SP9.  Typically students choose courses linking to subjects CP1, CP2 and CP3 and also three of the "SP" subjects.  (However, only two "SP" subjects are actually required by the IFoA.) 
• Alternatively, in the second year, one of the "SP" subjects can be replaced by courses in Machine Learning for Risk and Insurance.  Although not an IFoA exemption subject, machine learning is being increasingly applied by actuaries and is a growth area in the future. 

• Courses linked to IFoA subject code SP9 also gain you the internationally recognised Certified Enterprise Risk Actuary (CERA) qualification 

Employability

Our Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics graduates have gone on to have incredibly successful careers. Our alumni include 26 CEO's, 5 past presidents of professional actuarial associations, C-suite executives and partners of consultancies, and several founders.

Average salary of graduates: £32,388 

Percentage working 15 months after graduating: 100%

Accreditation

Fully accredited programme with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) in the UK for subjects: 

• CM1, CS1, CM2, CS2, CB1 & CB2
• SP2, SP4, SP5, SP6, SP7, SP8, SP9

HWU is recognised as a Center of Actuarial Excellence by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), North America. We were the first Center of Actuarial Excellence in Europe and one of only 30 other schools worldwide with this designation.