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Actuaries evaluate and manage financial risk. They make financial sense of the future for their clients by applying advanced mathematical and statistical techniques to solve complex financial problems.
Qualifying as an actuary is a passport to a wide variety of careers in insurance companies, investments, pensions, health care and banking – not just in the UK, but throughout the world.
The MSc is available as a full-time (one-year) programme and is suitable for those who have completed a first degree, postgraduate diploma or our MSc in Actuarial Science, or those who have studied the majority of the earlier subjects in the Core Principles Stage. Students who achieve a high enough overall mark in our programmes can obtain exemptions from the professional examinations included within their studies.
As one of the few universities to offer actuarial science in the UK, Kent’s programme is recognised for its strong mix of theoretical and practical expertise. The teaching staff include many actuaries drawn from professional practice, along with specialised researchers.
In 2010, the Centre for Actuarial Science, Risk and Investment (CASRI) was set up within the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science to reflect the widening scope of the teaching and research of the staff. Within CASRI, research in actuarial science can be broadly classified into the following three themes: economic capital and financial risk management, longevity risk modelling, and public policy aspects of insurance risk classification. This achieves a balance between theoretical and applied investigations, as well as addressing social policy implications. The group has a deep and long-standing association with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, as well as with other educational institutions worldwide.
How long are you likely to live? Being able to model human longevity accurately is essential for pension schemes and life insurance companies. In this entertaining University of Kent lecture, Honorary Professor Paul Sweeting, FIA, explores the key issues and how research is helping to address them.
In 2019 the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) introduced a new actuarial qualification structure. We are delighted to say that we successfully achieved re-accreditation for all of our Actuarial Science programmes and have been offering exemptions under the IFoA's new qualification structure since September 2019.
Kent is currently one of only two UK universities that are accredited to offer exemptions for IFoA subject SP9, which is a required subject to obtain the Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuary Accreditation (CERA). Students selecting this MSc may be interested in charting a route to CERA qualification.
A good first degree in Actuarial Science, or a degree that covers all or most of the Core Principles Stage subjects of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ examinations. We may also accept applicants who have a good first degree in another subject and who have passed most of the Core Principles Stage subjects.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree. Certain subjects require a higher level.
For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
Duration: 1 year full-time
The course is based on a ‘core modules plus options’ structure and exemptions can be gained from professional examinations.
You must take 180 credits in order to pass the MSc. If you take fewer than 180 credits, you may be eligible for the Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Actuarial Science.
The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This list is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take modules from other programmes so that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas that interest you.
The aim of this module is to develop the student's ability to apply a wide range of key actuarial concepts in simple traditional and non-traditional situations.
Outline syllabus includes:
* stakeholders;
* providers of benefits;
* managing risks;
* marketing;
* life and general insurance products;
* regulatory regimes;
* external environment;
* cashflows of simple products;
* money, bond, equity and property markets;
* futures and options; collective investment vehicles;
* overseas markets; economic influences on investment markets;
* other factors affecting relative valuation;
* relationship between returns on asset classes;
* asset modelling;
* meeting institutional investor needs;
* personal investment;
* valuation of individual investments;
* valuation of asset classes and portfolios;
* developing an investment strategy.
This module will cover a number of syllabus items set out in Subject CP1 published by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. This is a dynamic syllabus, changing regularly to reflect current practice.
The aim of this module is to develop the student's ability to apply a wide range of key actuarial concepts in simple traditional and non-traditional situations. Outline syllabus includes: how to do a professional job; contract design; modelling; data; setting assumptions; expenses; pricing and financing strategies; valuing liabilities; accounting and disclosure; surplus and surplus management; sources of risks; risks in benefit schemes; pricing and insurance risks; the risk management process; risk management tools; capital management and monitoring experience.
This module will cover a number of syllabus items set out in Subject CP1 published by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. This is a dynamic syllabus, changing regularly to reflect current practice.
Actuaries deal with complex concepts in multi-disciplinary teams, so it is vital that they can communicate clearly and effectively to a wider audience. This module helps students to develop the ability to present fundamental actuarial ideas and concepts clearly to a wide range of different recipients. Students will be expected to demonstrate effective communication skills using a variety of different media, including PowerPoint slide presentations, and formal/informal letters and e-mails. Exercises are based on real-world commercial situations, and include group exercises.
This module will cover a number of syllabus items set out in Subject CP3 published by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. This is a dynamic syllabus, changing regularly to reflect current practice.
The aim of this module is to introduce the key principles of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM") within an organisation (e.g. insurance companies
This module introduces students to the principles of actuarial planning and control, and mathematical and economic techniques, relevant to life insurance companies. The student should gain the ability to apply the knowledge and understanding, in simple situations, to the operation, on sound financial lines, of life insurance companies. Outline syllabus includes: principal terms used in life insurance; the main types of life insurance products; methods of distributing profits to with profits policyholders including the use of asset shares; effect of the general business environment on a life insurance company; risks to a life insurance company and methods to manage these risks (including the use of reinsurance and underwriting); use of actuarial models for decision making purposes; principles of unit pricing and the technique of actuarial funding for unit linked life insurance contracts; cost of guarantees and options; determining discontinuance and alteration terms for without profits contracts; factors to consider in determining a suitable design for a life insurance product; setting assumptions for pricing and valuing life insurance contracts; determining supervisory reserves; principles of investment for a life insurance company; monitoring actual experience of a life insurance company.
This module will cover a number of syllabus items set out in Subject SP2 published by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. This is a dynamic syllabus, changing regularly to reflect current practice.
The aim of this module is to introduce students to various financing and investment opportunities available to participants in financial markets. The module covers various different asset classes like hedge funds, private equity, infrastructure and derivatives pricing and valuation. The module also explores the relationship between investors and investment managers in detail. The concepts of risk and return and the roles of regulators, central banks and governments are also analysed. Outline syllabus includes: the theory of finance, specialist asset classes, influence of regulatory and legislative framework on markets, fundamental analysis, valuation of assets, investment indices, performance measurement, risk control, actuarial techniques, portfolio management and taxation.
This module will cover a number of syllabus items set out in Subject SP5 published by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. This is a dynamic syllabus, changing regularly to reflect current practice.
The aim of this module is to develop the student's ability to apply, in simple situations, the mathematical and economic techniques and the principles of reserving and capital modelling needed for the operation on sound financial lines of general insurers. Outline syllabus includes: insurance products; reinsurance products; the business environment; Lloyd's; risk and uncertainty; data; actuarial investigations; reserving by triangulation methods; reserving bases; stochastic claims reserving; assessment of reserving results; use of ranges and best estimates in reserving; investment principles and asset liability matching; capital modelling; determining appropriate reinsurance; reserving of reinsurance; accounting principles; interpreting accounts; regulation.
This module will cover a number of syllabus items set out in Subject SP7 published by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. This is a dynamic syllabus, changing regularly to reflect current practice.
The aim of this module is to develop the student's ability to apply, in simple situations, the mathematical and economic techniques and the principles of premium rating needed for the operation on sound financial lines of general insurers. Outline syllabus includes: insurance products; reinsurance products; the business environment; risk and uncertainty; data; actuarial investigations; aggregate claim distribution methods; introduction to rating methodologies and bases; rating using frequency-severity and burning cost approaches; rating using original loss curves; generalised linear modelling; use of multivariate analysis in pricing; credibility theory; rate monitoring; pricing of reinsurance; use of catastrophe models.
This module will cover a number of syllabus items set out in Subject SP8 published by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. This is a dynamic syllabus, changing regularly to reflect current practice.
This module gives students practical experience of working with the financial actuarial model, PROPHET, which is used by commercial companies worldwide primarily for profit testing, valuation and model office work. Outline syllabus includes: overview of the uses and applications of PROPHET; introduction on how to use the software package (including security implications); using Example Profit Test to perform and check the results (for reasonableness) on new business profit tests on various products using the edit facility on the model point file, parameter file and global file; creation of a new product on PROPHET using an empty workspace and selecting the appropriate indicators and variables for that product; setting up a model point file, parameter file and global file for the new product and also setting up a run setting and run structure for this product; performing a profit test for the new product using one in force model point and one new business model point and checking the cash flow results obtained; performing a number of sensitivity tests on a series of new business model points to achieve a given profit criteria; reporting on dependencies in Diagram View; updating the library and product; using the re-scan and regeneration of products facilities.
The curriculum is intended to be consistent with that of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries professional subject CP2.
Students will be given training to use Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint to a level that is needed for the module (some familiarity with the packages is assumed).
The curriculum provides an introduction to, and development of, practical modelling techniques including the need for appropriate documentation, with a series of exercises to develop skills in applying techniques. Exercises are completed and discussed in class, along with the methods and principles of financial modelling and documentation.
Introduction: Machine learning and data visualisation with R.
Classification and prediction: Generalised linear model (GLM), linear discrimination analysis (LDA), k-nearest neighbours (KNN). R-based worked examples.
Resampling methods: Cross-validation (CV) and bootstrap. R-based worked examples.
Regression tree-based methods: Classification and regression trees (CART), bagging, random forests and boosting. R-based worked examples.
Support vector machines (SVM): Support vector classifier, regression SVM. R-based worked examples.
Machine Learning in Action:
(a) Biomedical and health data analysis;
(b) Bond default data analysis;
(c) Insurance data analysis;
(d) Financial data analysis;
(e) Other big data analysis.
Assessment is usually by a mixture of coursework and examination; exact weightings vary from module to module.
Students who are considered to have performed sufficiently well in the programme (both in examinations and coursework), as determined by an examiner appointed by the UK Actuarial Profession will receive exemptions.
If you fail to achieve a suitable overall standard, you might still be awarded individual module exemptions as recommended by the Profession’s examiner. Please note that individual exemptions are granted based on the final written examinations only.
This programme aims to:
You will gain knowledge and understanding of:
You develop intellectual skills in:
You gain subject-specific skills in:
You will gain the following transferable skills:
The 2023/24 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Find out more about general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
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In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, 93% of our Mathematical sciences research was classified as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ for outputs.
Work in actuarial science at the University of Kent can be divided into three broad themes achieving a balance of theoretical and applied investigations, as well as addressing social policy implications.
With the advent of new risk-based regulations for financial services firms, specifically Basel 2 and Basel 3 for banks and Solvency 2 for insurers, there is now a heightened focus on the practical implementation of quantitative risk management techniques for firms and defined benefit pension schemes operating within the financial services sector.
In particular, financial services firms are now expected to self-assess and quantify the amount of capital they need to cover the risks they are running. This self-assessed quantum of capital is commonly termed risk, or economic, capital.
At Kent we are actively involved in developing rigorous risk management techniques to explicitly measure how much risk a firm or pension scheme is taking, holistically, across the entire spectrum of risks it accepts.
More about our research in this area
Longevity risk represents a substantial threat to the stability of support programmes for the elderly, most notably to the subset that provides income protection but also to non-traditional products such as home equity release schemes.
One approach to dealing with longevity risk is to model key factors that influence mortality; this may be achieved using aggregate (causal) mortality rates or panel data with individual-specific covariates. Another approach to modelling longevity risk is via an investigation of positive quadrant dependence between lives, which requires a multivariate framework. Once this is in place, longevity risk may be investigated on various fronts ranging from entire populations to couples.
More about our research in this area
Restrictions on risk classification can lead to adverse selection, and actuaries usually regard this as a bad thing. However, restrictions do exist in many countries, suggesting that policymakers often perceive some merit in such restrictions. Careful re-examination of the usual actuarial arguments can help to reconcile these observations.
Models of insurance purchasing behaviour under different risk classification regimes can quantify the effects of particular bans, e.g. on insurers’ use of genetic test results, or gender classification in the European Union.
More about our research in this area
Full details of staff research interests can be found on the School's website.
The UK Actuarial Profession is small, but influential and well rewarded. There are more than 6,500 actuaries currently employed in the UK, the majority of whom work in insurance companies and consultancy practices.
Survey results published by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries suggest that the average basic salary for a student actuary is £36,842 with pay and bonuses increasingly sharply as you become more experienced. The average basic salary of a Chief Actuary is £209,292.
As an actuary, your work is extremely varied and can include: advising companies on the amount of funds to set aside for employee pension payments; designing new insurance policies and setting premium rates; pricing financial derivatives and working in fund management and quantitative investment research; advising life insurance companies on he distribution of surplus funds; and estimating the effects of possible major disasters, such as earthquakes or hurricanes, and setting premium rates for insurance against such disasters. For more information about the actuarial profession, see www.actuaries.org.uk
Helping our students to develop strong employability skills is a key objective within the School and the University. We provide a wide range of services and support to equip you with transferable vocational skills that enable you to secure appropriate professional positions within industry. Within the School we run specialist seminars and provide advice on creating a strong CV, making job applications and successfully attending interviews and assessment centres.
Our graduates have gone on to successful careers in the actuarial, finance, insurance and risk sectors.
Professional accreditation by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
The University’s Templeman Library houses a comprehensive collection of books and research periodicals. The University of Kent has entered into an exclusive arrangement with SunGard, a global leader in integrated software and processing solutions primarily for financial services, who market the industry’s leading actuarial software package PROPHET. As a result, our taught postgraduate courses include optional modules on the uses and applications of PROPHET.
The Centre for Actuarial Science, Risk and Investment maintains close relationships with industry actuaries through the Invicta Actuarial Society, a regional actuarial society which holds its meetings at the Canterbury campus and is organised by University of Kent students and academic staff. The Society hosts an annual lecture in conjunction with the Worshipful Company of Actuaries, featuring prestigious speakers from industry and the profession. The Society also arranges talks from external speakers including practitioners, careers advisers and recruiters from the UK and overseas.
Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: British Actuarial Journal; Actuary Australia; Annals of Actuarial Science; Journal of Pension Economics and Finance. Details of recently published books can be found under staff research interests.
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
Learn more about the application process or begin your application by clicking on a link below.
You will be able to choose your preferred year of entry once you have started your application. You can also save and return to your application at any time.
T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk
