Overview
Entry to the actuarial profession is by a demanding series of examinations, but the rewards after qualifying are great. Taking the MSc in Actuarial 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 Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK has four levels of examinations to qualify. The Core Technical (CT) subjects are taught in our BSc or MSc in Actuarial Science and lead to exemptions from the profession’s own CT examinations. The MSc in Actuarial Management offers exemptions in two of the Core Applications subjects (CA1 and CA3) and a choice of up to three of the Specialist Technical (ST) subjects from a choice of ST2, ST4, ST5, ST6 and ST9 (you only need two ST subjects to satisfy the profession’s requirements).
If you graduate with a full set of exemptions from Heriot-Watt then you will only have three more examinations to pass, as well as gaining the necessary work experience, to qualify as a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
Programme duration
The PG Diploma comprises the taught coursework component leading to exemptions from CA1 and the ST professional subjects and takes 9 months to complete. Successful students can then progress to the project work in the summer. This takes the form of industry-relevant case studies, assessed by written reports, which leads to the award of an MSc and exemption from the Subject CA3. In exceptional cases a student may be allowed to write a research dissertation.
The programme is also available to be studied on a part-time basis, over a maximum of 4 years.