Course summary

This exciting 2-year MSc programme is designed to kick-start your career as an actuary, preparing you to take a leading role in managing risk in financial institutions worldwide. Entry to the actuarial profession is by a demanding series of examinations, but the rewards after qualifying are great. Students that enrol onto this programme will follow the syllabus of MSc Actuarial Science in their first year and the MSc Actuarial Management programme in their second. Taking our MSc in Actuarial Science and Management is a great way to speed your progress to this most prestigious of careers - it's designed to take you almost all of the way to qualification. The first year content is equivalent to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ Core Modelling, Core Statistics and Core Business professional examinations (Subjects CM1, CM2, CS1, CS2, CB1, CB2), and could enable you to gain exemptions from all of them. The second year can lead to exemptions from all of Subjects CP1, CP2 and CP3, and three of Subjects SP2, SP4, SP5, SP6 and SP9. Heriot-Watt University is recognised as a Center of Actuarial Excellence by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), North America. We are the only Center of Actuarial Excellence in Europe and one of only 30 other schools worldwide with this designation. With roots dating back to 1889, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world's largest actuarial professional organization with more than 28,000 actuaries as members. Reputation for excellence Established in 1972, we were the first UK university to introduce a dedicated programme in Actuarial Science, and have since evolved to become highly renowned as a world-leading centre in actuarial and financial teaching and research.”