WELCOME
|
The Actuarial
Science program at the University of the West Indies (UWI),
Mona, is an interdisciplinary undergraduate major resident in
the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. It is the
only degree program in Actuarial Science in Jamaica. The Department
of Mathematics and Computer Science will admit about
twenty First Year students to the Degree Option in
Actuarial Science. The range of courses included
in the programme relates to the work of the actuary who must
advise insurance and other companies on the impact of various
kinds of risk on the financial decisions to be made.
The course details may be obtained from the respective faculty
booklets (hardcopy/online). In respect of courses offered by
the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences please see www.uwimona.edu.jm/fpas/PASBooklet2003.pdf
or wwwcs.uwimona.edu.jm:1104/math_acsci.htm.
Students are required to take courses that are designed to assist
them in the early sequence Actuarial Examinations. It is common
for students to complete at least the first two exams before
award of the degree. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Here’s
what Princeton Review says about Actuaries
As Frank Drebin so wisely reminds us in Naked Gun:
You take a chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street,
or sticking your face in a fan. Exactly how risky is it to stick
your head in a fan, though? For that matter, how can a corporation
determine the financial risks of manufacturing shoes in China?
How does an insurance company know how much to charge automobile
owners for collision insurance? Do people really keep tabs on
such things?
Of course they do. These risk evaluators are called actuaries,
and they spend their days calculating the costs to assume
all different kinds of risks. More precisely, Actuarial Science
is the mathematical and statistical underpinning of every
kind of insurance on earth - health insurance, life insurance,
property insurance, pension plans, you name it. There really
aren't that many people in the actuarial profession - less
than 20,000 in North America - but they make good money their
entire careers (most end up in upper management and executive
positions) and they like what they do; actuaries consistently
give their line of work stellar job satisfaction ratings.
If you major in Actuarial Science, you'll become something
of a Zen Master in statistics and, upon graduation, you will
likely take a job in the insurance industry. You should note
that actuaries only achieve professional status by passing
a series of hairy examinations prescribed by the Casualty
Actuarial Society (CAS) or Society of Actuaries (SOA). Examinations
are held twice each year, in the spring and fall.
http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/majors/majorbasics.asp?MajorID=2
For further information on the work of the actuary please
visit: www.BeAnActuary.com
|
| Back
to top |
| |
|
Admission
to the Programme |
|
|
The aim of the programme
is not merely to introduce students to Actuarial Science but
to provide a graduate with the necessary preparation to:
- Perform excellently at the workplace
- To sit some of the Associateship examinations of the SoA
(Society of Actuaries - US) or Series 100 of the Institute
of Actuaries (UK) and
- To proceed readily beyond this stage.
We invite students to seek admission to the programme with these
goals in view and we will seek to admit the best qualified.
Preference will be given to those students with:
- Very good qualifications in Mathematics (i.e. A
or B at A-Level/Cape or
A or B+ at Prelim).
- Qualifications which contain good passes in Accounting
and/or Economics and/or Computer Science at A-Level/Cape
or the equivalent.
|
| |
|
| Back
to top |
|
THE
FIRST YEAR COURSES
The First Year courses involve Mathematics,
Accounting, Computer Science and Economics as well as the Compulsory
University Course in English, entry to which requires a pass
in the Fundamentals of English Test.
|
|
YEAR
1 SEMESTER I |
YEAR
1 SEMESTER II |
|
Course
Code |
Title |
Course
Code |
Title |
|
M10A |
Basic
Introductory Mathematics |
M10B |
Functions
of Real Variables |
|
CS11A |
Introduction
to Computer Science I |
CS11B |
Introduction
to Computer Science II |
|
EC10C |
Introduction
to Microeconomics |
EC10E |
Introduction
to Macroeconomics |
|
MS15D |
Financial Accounting |
MS15B |
Introduction
to Cost & Management Accounting |
|
Exemptions
from MS15D and MS15B are possible
for those Cape candidates with satisfactory
grades in Accounting.
|
Back
to top
|
|
THE
SECOND YEAR COURSES
The Second Year courses, while including more
of the core courses required to complete a Mathematics major
in Algebra and Calculus, introduce Financial Management, Probability
and Statistics and two basic Actuarial Science courses*. These
courses also seek to deepen the students’ appreciation
and understanding of financial matters which are very important
for actuarial work.
|
|
YEAR
2 SEMESTER I |
YEAR
2 SEMESTER II |
|
Course
Code |
Title |
Course
Code |
Title |
|
M20A |
Abstract
Algebra |
M20B |
Linear
Algebra
|
|
M21A |
Analysis
& Mathematical Methods I |
M21B |
Analysis
& Mathematical Methods II |
|
M25A |
Probability
Theory |
M25B |
Statistical
Inference |
|
M27A* |
Mathematics
of Finance |
M27B* |
Introduction
to Actuarial Mathematic
|
|
MS28D |
Introduction
to Management I |
MS38H |
Introduction
to Management II |
|
Back
to top
|
|
THE
FINAL/THIRD YEAR COURSES
The Third Year courses naturally include a
stronger input of Actuarial Science courses but also topics
from Mathematics and Statistics that contribute significantly
to Actuarial analysis.
|
CORE
COURSES |
|
YEAR
3 SEMESTER I |
YEAR
3 SEMESTER II |
|
Course
Code |
Title |
Course
Code |
Title |
|
M31E |
Applied
Statistics |
M34R |
Risk
Theory |
|
M34Q |
Life
Contingencies |
M35R |
Principles
of Asset/Liability Management |
|
| |
| |
|
|
Course
Code |
Title |
Course
Code |
Title |
|
CS22Q |
Software
Engineering |
M32C |
Topics
in Operations Research |
CS35Q** |
Information
Systems |
M33R |
Complex
Analysis |
M30Q |
Matrix
Theory |
M34T |
Survival
Models & Construction of Tables |
M32A |
Numerical
Analysis |
M36Q |
Metric
Spaces & Topology |
|
M32B |
Optimization
Theory |
SY35B |
Demography
I |
|
In
addition to the above, candidates are required to sit three
University courses (including the compulsory
University course in English sat in Year I) over the three year
course of study.
|
|
UNIVERSITY
COURSES |
|
Course
Code |
Title |
|
FD10A |
English
for Academic Purposes |
FD11A |
Caribbean
Civilization |
|
FD13A |
Law,
Governance, Economy & Society |
|
Back
to top
|
|
How
Does One Become An Actuary? |
|
|
It should be
emphasised that in order to become a qualified Actuary, it is
necessary to pass the examinations of certain internationally
recognised bodies. Students in the Caribbean have usually taken
the examination of the Society of Actuaries
(SoA of USA and Canada) or the Institute of
Actuaries (of the UK). This involves
in the case of the Society, passing the Associateship and then
the Fellowship examinations to achieve the designations Associate
of the Society of Actuaries, ASA
and Fellow of the Society of Actuaries,
FSA respectively. In the case of the Institute,
Series 100, 200, 300 and the Fellowship Paper to achieve the
designation Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries,
FIA. For further information about these professional
exams you may visit the following web-sites:
Canadian Institute of Actuaries: www.actuaries.ca
Casualty Actuarial Society: www.casact.org
Faculty of Actuaries or Institute of Actuaries: www.actuaries.org.uk
Society of Actuaries: www.soa.org
|
A University Degree
does not at present award exemptions to any of the Society’s
examination but may provide exemptions from the Series 100 of
the Institute’s. (We would naturally expect to apply for
recognition and exemption in the near future).
Actuarial Study
Material is available at the following websites: www.bpptraining.com/,
www.actexmadriver.com
|
| Back
to top |
|
The
Caribbean Actuarial Association |
|
|
The degree course
has the approval and support of the Caribbean Actuarial
Association (CAA). The CAA was officially formed in
Jamaica in December 1991.
The main objective of the CAA is to encourage and support the
development of actuarial science in the Caribbean and to maintain
the high standards and image of the actuarial profession. You
may obtain further information about the CAA at the following
web-site www.caa.com.bb.
|
| Back
to top |
| |
| |
|
Destiny
is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice;
it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to
be achieved.
- William Jennings Bryan |
|
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
|
University
of the West Indies
Department of Mathematics & Computer Science
Mathematics Office
Call 927-2464 or 977-2693
|
|
