Science courses

About Actuarial Science (msc) in University College Cork

This course is designed for graduates of quantitative disciplines who want to kick-start a career in Actuarial Science. It provides a solid foundation in statistics, financial mathematics, economics and business finance. Upon completion of the course, your knowledge and skills could be applied to a range of industries in the financial services such as insurance, pensions, healthcare, banking, investment and risk assessment.

You will be equipped with mathematical and statistical knowledge and problem-solving skills to help businesses and institutions evaluate the long-term financial implications of the decisions they make. You will also have the opportunity to undertake a minor dissertation involving the study of a number of problems specific to the insurance and financial sector.

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) have approved programme-level exemption status for the MSc programme in Actuarial Science at UCC in respect of their first 6 Core Principles in the new 2019 IFoA curriculum (equivalent to 8 Core Technical subjects in the pre-2019 curriculum). Students may be recommended for exemption from the Institute’s own professional examinations in up to 5 of these Core Principle subjects (equivalent to 7 exams in the pre-2019 curriculum) by performing sufficiently well in the corresponding examinations of the MSc programme. The IFoA exemptions covered are CM1, CM2, CB1, CB2, CS1 & CS2. UCC is one of the very few universities in Ireland which can offer students the potential to receive this level of exemptions from the professional actuarial examinations.

Why Choose This Course

This is an exciting new course allowing you to kick-start your career in actuarial science. It has similar core principle coverage to UCC’s very successful undergraduate course, which, over the last number of years, has achieved close to 100% employment. Graduates of this course are expected to also have no difficulty in gaining employment.

Placement or Study Abroad Information

Given the short duration of this course (one year full-time), work placement is not included. However, staff who teach on the course have well-established links with many employers and have actively assisted and advised undergraduate actuarial science students on securing jobs after graduation. Finance and actuarial companies, as well as actuarial recruiters, regularly visit UCC during the term to assist students in securing jobs.

Skills and Careers Information

An actuarial qualification gives an excellent grounding in subjects like economics, finance, mathematics, and statistics, as well as the more actuarial subjects. This makes actuarial graduates suitable for a range of careers, not just actuarial work.

Academic qualification equivalents

• Applicants should have an honours degree in a related subject.
• Indian applicants will normally be required to achieve a first class/first division mark in their undergraduate programme at a good institution of higher education in India. At the discretion of academic departments, students with degrees awarded by top universities such as the University of Mumbai, University of Delhi, University of Calcutta, and the University of Pune, may be accepted with high second class/high second division marks. 

English language requirements (one of the below):

• IELTS: 6.5  Minimum individual sections 5.5
• TOEFL: TOEFL 90  Listening - 17; Reading - 18; Speaking - 20; Writing 17
• PTE: 63 Minimum individual sections 51

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