θ 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.
θ 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.
θ
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 Corporate Finance (FIN311 - Financial Management and FIN313 Advanced Financial Management) and VEEApplied Statistical Methods (MAT413 Statistics II). 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 first two exams, Probability and Financial Mathematics, are accessible to upper-class undergraduates. The Shippensburg probability course MAT476 and mathematical statistics course MAT486 will prepare you for the Probability exam. The exam should be attempted during or immediately following MAT486. The Financial Mathematics exam should be attempted following FIN311 and some additional studying. FIN312, FIN313 and FIN314 each address topics not covered by FIN311.
Probability Exam Schedule (2012 Fee $200)
|
Exam Sitting |
Registration Deadline |
Examination Date |
|
January 2012 |
Dec 8, 2011 |
Jan 19-30, 2012 |
|
March 2012 |
Feb 2, 2012 |
March 15-26, 2012 |
|
May 2012 |
Mar 29, 2012 |
May 10-21, 2012 |
|
July 2012 |
June 7, 2012 |
July 19-30, 2012 |
|
September 2012 |
Aug 2, 2012 |
Sept 13-24, 2012 |
Financial Math Exam Schedule (2012 Fee $200)
|
Exam Sitting |
Registration Deadline |
Examination Date |
|
December 2011 |
Oct 25, 2011 |
Dec 6-15, 2011 |
|
February 2012 |
Dec 21, 2011 |
Feb 8-18, 2012 |
|
April 2012 |
Feb 27, 2012 |
April 9-18, 2012 |
|
June 2012 |
April 23, 2012 |
June 4-14, 2012 |
|
August 2012 |
June 27, 2012 |
Aug. 8-18, 2012 |
θ
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).
Suggested Course Schedule
|
|
Fall |
Spring |
|
First Year |
HCS100 - Human Comm HIS105 World History I MAT211 Calculus I 2 Gen Ed Electives |
ENG106 Writing Seminar HIS106 World History II 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 MAT313 Statistics I FIN311 Financial Management 2 Gen Ed Electives |
|
Third Year |
One of MAT413 Statistics II** Or MAT476 Probability* FIN312 Investments MKT305 Principals of Marketing 2 Gen Ed Electives |
MAT441 Real Analysis One of MAT486 Math. Statistics** Or FIN313 Adv. Fin. Management MGT305 Organizational Behavior 2 Gen Ed Electives |
|
Fourth Year |
One of MAT413 Statistics II** Or MAT476 Probability* FIN314 Fin. Institutions One of MAT4xx Elective*** Or Gen Ed Elective 2 Gen Ed Electives |
One of MAT486 Math. Statistics** Or FIN313 Adv. Fin. Management MAT326 Mathematical Modeling One of MAT4xx Elective*** Or Gen Ed Elective Gen Ed Elective Free Elective |
* offered only odd years (2007, 2009, ) ** offered only even years (2008, 2010, )
*** recommended electives are MAT410 Numerical Analysis and MAT456 Deterministic Methods of Operations Research