The underlying cornerstone of the Actuarial Science and Risk Management degree is the application of financial and statistical theories to help solve real business problems.

Actuarial Science and Risk Management combines courses in actuarial modelling, financial reporting, insurance, pensions, economics, finance, mathematics and statistics to develop techniques and skills to assess, evaluate and manage future financial risk and thereby address a wide range of practical problems in long-term financial planning and management.

A lot of actuaries’ work might be thought of as risk management, that is assessing how likely an event may be and the costs associated with that event; for example, investigating how life insurance reserves and future premiums might balance future claims; analysing investment risks; projecting the financial costs of an epidemic.

Actuarial Science and Risk Management at Queen’s University Belfast is a four-year degree with the third year spent in a salaried placement in an actuarial or risk management environment.

On successful completion of the placement year students are eligible for a Licentiateship award, which is a vocational qualification provided through the City and Guilds of London Institute.

In each of Year 1, Year 2 and Year 4, six compulsory modules are studied and they are as follows:

Year 1
Economics I
Economics II
Financial Reporting and Analysis
Financial Institutions and Markets
Introduction to Probability and Operational Research
Statistical Methods

Year 2
Actuarial Mathematics
Actuarial Methods in General Insurance
Investment Analysis
Mutual and Pension Fund Management
Placement Learning Module
Principles of Actuarial Modelling

Year 4
Actuarial Modelling
Financial Engineering
Fixed Income Instruments
Capital Markets
Stochastic Processes
Time Series Financial Econometrics

The academics who teach on the Actuarial Science and Risk Management degree are all actively engaged in research, which means that they are at the cutting edge of their field. On completion of the degree, many students will proceed to qualify as professional actuaries and the degree at Queen’s University Belfast will provide students with a number of exemptions from their professional examinations.

Actuaries are professionals who provide expert advice and relevant solutions for business and societal problems that involve economic risk.

Actuaries are experts in evaluating the likelihood of future events; designing creative ways to reduce the likelihood of undesirable events; and decreasing the impact of undesirable events that do occur.

Actuaries are highly sought after within both the private and public sectors. Employment prospects on graduating with a degree in Actuarial Science and Risk Management are excellent. The traditional areas in which actuaries are employed include actuarial consultancies, the insurance industry, the pensions industry and investment and risk management functions in financial institutions.