MSc Applied Actuarial Science (International Masters)
Canterbury, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 24,700 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for international | UK: TBC
Key Summary
Accreditation
Our Integrated Master’s programme is fully accredited by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. It is equivalent to the conversion MSc in Actuarial Science followed by the one-year MSc in Applied Actuarial Science.
The Integrated Master’s in Applied Actuarial Science programme provides a fast-track route to qualifying as an actuary.
Students who achieve a high enough overall mark in this programme can obtain exemptions from professional examinations. Specifically, in the first year of the programme, depending on the modules chosen, students may be eligible to gain exemptions from subjects CB1, CB2, CM1, CM2, CS1 and CS2 of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. In the final year of the programme, depending on the modules chosen, students are eligible to gain exemptions from subjects CP1, CP2, CP3, SP2, SP5, SP7, SP8 and SP9 of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
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.
About the Centre for Actuarial Science, Risk and Investment
In 2010, the Centre for Actuarial Science, Risk and Investment (CASRI) was set up to reflect the widening scope of the teaching and research of our 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.
Scholarship value
The award covers tuition fees, return airfares and living costs for a one-year taught Master's programme.
Deadline
Deadline for Commonwealth application: - 12 December 2024.
Hold an unconditional offer (with the only outstanding condition, international fee deposit) of a programme of study from the University of Kent - 31 January 2025
Criteria
To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, candidates must:
- Hold an undergraduate degree at UK first-class level equivalent.
- Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by one of the eligible Commonwealth countries listed or be a British Protected Person.
- Be a permanent resident in one of the eligible Commonwealth countries listed above.
- To be committed to the University of Kent, you can apply for more than one course and/or to more than one University, but you may only accept one offer of a Shared Scholarship.
- Not have studied or worked for one (academic) year or more in a high-income country.
- Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship.
- Return to their home country as soon as their period of study is complete. In some circumstances, a student may be permitted to remain in the UK if seeing doctoral study and satisfy certain strict conditions.
- Hold an offer by the deadline for a full-time postgraduate taught degree on one of the eligible courses at the University of Kent:
- MSc Artificial Intelligence
- MSc Infectious Diseases
- MSc Cyber Security
- MA International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
- MSc Applied Actuarial Science
- MSc Conservation Science
- MA English and American Literature
Further details
Commonwealth Shared Scholarships, set up by DFID in 1986, represent a unique partnership between the United Kingdom government and UK Universities.
Funded by the UK Department of International Development (DFID), Commonwealth Shared Scholarships enable talented and motivated individuals to gain the knowledge and skills required for sustainable development. They are aimed at those who could not otherwise afford to study in the UK.
These scholarships are offered under six themes:
- Science and technology for development
- Strengthening health systems and capacity
- Promoting global prosperity
- Strengthening global peace, security and governance
- Strengthening resilience and response to crises - Access, inclusion and opportunity.
How to apply
To be considered for the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship you must:
- Make a formal application for a postgraduate degree at the University of Kent commencing September 2025/26. This can be done online here.
- Complete the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) online application process. For information on how to do that and full details of the application process please go directly to the Commonwealth Scholarships webpages.
- Applications will be considered based on Academic Excellence and a completed application.
- The Commonwealth will accept applications until 12th December 2024 (closing at 16:00 GMT).
Stage 1
Compulsory modules currently include the following
- Probability and Statistics for Actuarial Science
- Financial Mathematics
- Actuarial Risk Modelling
- Financial Economics and Derivatives
- Actuarial Mathematics
- Statistical Modelling for Actuaries
- Data Modelling and Consultancy
- Corporate Finance for Actuaries
- Economics for Actuaries
Stage 2
Compulsory modules currently include the following
- Core Actuarial Practice 1
- Core Actuarial Practice 2
- Specialist Actuarial Practice
- Introduction to PROPHET Modelling
- Professional Skills
- Modelling Practice
Optional modules may include the following
- Life Insurance
- Investment and Finance
- General Insurance Reserving and Capital Modelling
- General Insurance Pricing
- Enterprise Risk Management
Programme aims
This programme aims to:
- provide you with eligibility for subject exemptions from the Core Practices and Specialist Principle series of examinations of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. This means obtaining a thorough knowledge of core actuarial applications, developing the ability to apply this knowledge in a practical situation and gaining current knowledge and understanding of the practice of major areas in which actuaries are involved
- develop your understanding, knowledge and awareness of current problems, much of which is at the forefront of current professional practice
- ensure you are competent in the use of information technology, and are familiar with computers, together with the relevant software.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You will gain knowledge and understanding of:
- complex techniques applicable to the solution of problems in all the major areas of current professional actuarial practice
- complex current issues in all the major areas of current professional practice.
Intellectual skills
You develop intellectual skills in:
- the ability to demonstrate a high level of understanding of the main body of knowledge for the programme
- the ability to demonstrate skill in calculation and manipulation of the material written within the programme
- the ability to apply a range of concepts and principles in various contexts
- the ability for logical argument
- the ability to demonstrate advanced skills in solving problems in complex situations by various appropriate methods
- the ability to work with relatively little guidance.
Subject-specific skills
You gain subject-specific skills in:
- the specific mathematical and statistical techniques used in actuarial science, and in their application to solving actuarial problems
- understanding the practical applications of programme material in insurance.
Transferable skills
You will gain the following transferable skills:
- communication: the ability to organise information clearly, respond to written sources, present information orally, adapt style for different audiences and use images as a communication tool
- numeracy: make sense of statistical materials, integrate numerical and non-numerical information, understand the limits and potentialities of arguments based on quantitative information
- information technology: produce written documents, undertake online research, communicate using email
- improve your learning: explore your strengths and weaknesses, time management, review your working environment (especially the student-staff relationship), develop specialist learning skills (eg foreign languages), develop autonomy in learning
- problem-solving: identify and define problems, explore alternative solutions and discriminate between them
- working with others: define and review the work of others, work co-operatively on group tasks, and understand how groups function
- make sound judgements
- make decisions in complex situations.
The UK Actuarial Profession
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 £35,936 with pay and bonuses increasing sharply as you become more experienced. The average basic salary of a Chief Actuary is £206,236.
As an actuary, your work is extremely varied and can include: advising companies on the number 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 the 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.
Employability support
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 the 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 Recognition
Fully accredited by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. Students who achieve a high enough overall mark can obtain exemptions from the professional examinations included in their studies.
Teaching and assessment
Assessment is usually by a mixture of coursework and examination; exact weightings vary from module to module.
Accreditation
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.
Study support
Postgraduate resources
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.
Professional qualifications
This Integrated Master’s offers exemptions from subjects within the Core Principle stage in the first year and exemptions from the Core Practices and Specialist Principle stages in the second year of the programme.
The MSc in Actuarial Science offers exemptions from subjects within the Core Principle Stage of the professional examinations of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
The MSc in Applied Actuarial Science offers exemptions from subjects in the Core Practices Stage and the Specialist Principle Stage of the professional examinations.
Links with industry
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.
Dynamic publishing culture
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.