Actuarial Preparation at Shippensburg

è What is an actuary?

Actuaries are professionals working in the business world. They use various problem solving skills to assess risk, including mathematical and statistical techniques, thereby helping their company to make informed and profitable decisions.

Actuary is consistently ranked among the top 5 careers in the United States, based on environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands, security and stress. Actuaries are well-paid and they control their own advancement by reaching various industry standard benchmarks; most notably, passing examinations to improve professional standing.

Actuaries provide the backbone of the insurance industry, allowing the economy to function smoothly in face of all the unexpected events which the world presents.

è Preparing for your career while at Shippensburg

Actuaries are business people as well as mathematicians and statisticians. As such, you will require a broad liberal arts education, with an emphasis on business and mathematics. Shippensburg University is an excellent environment in which to obtain these skills.

To prepare for your career, we suggest you pursue a B.S. in mathematics with a statistics concentration and a business minor. With a thorough grounding in calculus, statistics, finance, general business and liberal arts, you will possess a skill set uniquely suited to actuarial work. A suggested course schedule appears later in this package.

è Professional Requirements – VEE and Actuarial Exams

Various benchmarks must be passed to become a certified actuary. These include VEE (Validation by Educational Experience) and actuarial examinations, as well as other forms of professional development.

VEE requirements can be satisfied by achieving a B- or better in approved college course sequences. All three VEE certifications are available at Shippensburg: VEE – Economics (ECO101 - Principles of Macroeconomics and ECO102 - Principles of Microeconomics or ECO113 – Principles of Economics), VEE – Accounting and Finance (ACC200 – Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, FIN311 - Financial Management and FIN313 – Advanced Financial Management) and VEE–Mathematical Statistics (MAT486 – Mathematical Statistics). VEE requirements can also be satisfied by passing standardized tests.

Along with the VEE requirements, there are the actuarial exams and other requirements such as online coursework. These achievements determine advancement in the profession. The more you complete, the higher your standing.

The Probability and Financial Mathematics are accessible to upper-class undergraduates. Shippensburg has courses covering the material for these three exams: MAT476/MAT486 for Probability and MAT483 for Financial Mathematics. Shippensburg also covers material for the Statistics for Risk Modeling exam in MAT317.

Probability Exam Schedule: The probability exam is currently offered 6 times per year, in September, November, January, March, May, and July. Deadlines for registration are approximately 6 weeks in advance of the exams dates. The exam fee is currently $225.

Financial Math Exam Schedule: The financial math exam is currently offered 6 times per year, in October, December, February, April, June, and August. Deadlines for registration are approximately 6 weeks in advance of the exams dates. The exam fee is currently $225.

Statistics for Risk Modeling Exam Schedule: This exam is currently only offered in September. Deadlines for registration are approximately 6 weeks in advance of the exams dates. The exam fee is currently $260 for students.

è Further Information

For more information about being an actuary and the professional requirements, please visit the following websites:

- http://webspace.ship.edu/pttaylor/ActuaryHandbook.pdf - Shippensburg actuary preparation handbook

- http://www.beanactuary.org/ - An excellent, broad resource. Includes exam schedules, sample exams, VEE information and more.

- http://www.soa.org/ - Society of Actuaries professional organization

- http://www.casact.org/ - Casualty Actuarial Society professional organization

- http://www.prometric.com/SOA/default.htm - List of test centers (click “Locate a test center”).

- http://www.casact.org/admissions/syllabus/exam1.pdf - Probability exam syllabus

- http://www.casact.org/admissions/syllabus/exam2.pdf - Financial mathematics exam syllabus

- For information regarding the Shippensburg program, please contact Dr. Taylor (pttaylor@ship.edu), Dr. McNichols (dtmcni@ship.edu) or Dr. McGivney (kgmcgi@ship.edu).

è Suggested Course Schedule

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	Fall	Spring
First Year	HCS100 - Human Comm UNIV101 - First Year Seminar MAT185 - First Year Seminar MAT211 – Calculus I 1 or 2 Gen Ed Electives	ENG114 – Academic Writing HIS105 – World History I MAT212 – Calculus II MAT225 – Discrete Mathematics ECO113 – Principles of Economics
Second Year	MAT213 – Calculus III MAT318 – Elem. Linear Algebra CSC110 – Computer Science I ACC200 – Fund. of Financial Accounting Gen Ed Elective	MAT320 – Intro to Abstract Algebra MAT217 –Statistics I FIN311 – Financial Management 2 Gen Ed Electives
Third Year	One of MAT476 – Probability* Or MAT483 – Math Theory of Interest * FIN312 – Investments MKT205 – Principals of Marketing 2 Gen Ed Electives	MAT441 – Real Analysis One of MAT486 – Math. Statistics* Or MAT317 – Statistics II* FIN313 – Adv. Financial Management 2 Gen Ed Electives
Fourth Year	One of MAT476 – Probability* Or MAT483 – Math Theory of Interest * MAT326 – Mathematical Modeling One of MAT4xx – Elective*** Or Gen Ed Elective 2 Gen Ed Electives	One of MAT486 – Math. Statistics* Or MAT317 – Statistics II* MGT305 – Organizational Behavior One of MAT4xx – Elective*** Or Gen Ed Elective Gen Ed Elective Free Elective

* MAT476/486 and MAT483 are offered in alternating years. MAT317 is offered every year.

*** recommended electives are MAT410 – Numerical Analysis, MAT322 – Differential Equations, MAT219 Data Science I, and MAT319 Data Science II.