Actuarial Course Descriptions
See our curriculum for a full description of course requirements.
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MATH 4065 Theory of Interest
This course is a study of the time value of money, compound interest, annuities, loans, bonds, general cash flows and interest rate swaps.
The syllabus covers the majority of material for actuarial Exam FM – Financial Mathematics (SOA) or Exam 2 (CAS).
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MATH 4067W Actuarial Math in Practice
This course is a project-based course led by local actuarial practitioners in the areas of life insurance, health insurance, and property/casualty insurance. Students learn communication, project management and leadership skills by working in teams and presenting results.
This course satisfies the upper-division writing intensive liberal education requirement, but not the upper-division math requirement.
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MATH 5067 Actuarial Mathematics I
This course establishes the basic foundation for long term actuarial mathematics. Topics include the future lifetime random variable, the survival function, the future loss random variable, insurance, life annuities, premiums and reserves."
The syllabus covers the majority of material for actuarial Exam FAM-L - Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics - Long Term (SOA). A portion of the material is covered on the MAS-I Exam (CAS).
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MATH 5068 Actuarial Mathematics II
This course is a study of multiple state models, multiple decrements, joint life models, pension mathematics, profit analysis, Universal life insurance and embedded options in insurance and annuities.
The syllabus covers the majority of material for actuarial Exam ALTAM - Advanced Long Term Actuarial Mathematics (SOA). 5067 is a prerequisite.
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MATH 5075 Mathematics of Options, Futures, and Derivative Securities I
This course establishes the basic foundation for pricing and hedging derivative securities. Topics include arbitrage pricing, binomial tree model, Black-Scholes formula, the greeks, hedging, exotics and simulation.
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MATH 5490 Topics in Applied Mathematics - Predictive Analytics for Actuarial and Financial Mathematics
This course introduces Predictive Analytics with an emphasis on applications in Actuarial Science and Financial Mathematics. Throughout the course, case studies will be used to demonstrate how actuaries and financial quants use these concepts in real life. The course will use the statistical programming language R and assumes the student is already familiar with linear regression.
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MATH 5651 Basic Theory of Probability and Statistics
This course is a study in the logical development of probability and basic issues in statistics including probability spaces, random variables, probability distributions, expected values, law of large numbers, central limit theorem, generating functions, sampling, sufficiency and estimation.
The syllabus covers the majority of material for actuarial Exam P - Probability or Exam 1 (CAS).
*Students are required to take either Math 5651 OR 5101
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STAT 5101 Basic Theory of Probability and Statistics
This course is a study in the logical development of probability and basic issues in statistics including probability spaces, random variables, probability distributions, expected values, law of large numbers, central limit theorem, generating functions and multivariate normal distribution.
The syllabus covers the majority of material for actuarial Exam P – Probability (SOA) or Exam 1 (CAS).
*Students are required to take either Math 5651 OR 5101
Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) Classes
As part of the Professional Actuarial credentialing, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) require that VEE topics are fulfilled independently of the exam process through approved courses at a university such as the University of Minnesota. Required VEE topics include Economics, Accounting and Finance, and Mathematical Statistics.
To apply for VEE credit with the SOA or CAS, two actuarial exams must be passed and VEE courses must receive a grade of B- or better.
These following University of Minnesota classes have been approved to fulfill the VEE requirements.
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ECON 1101 Principles of Microeconomics
Microeconomic behavior of consumers, firms, and markets in the domestic and world economy. Demand and supply. Competition and monopoly. Distribution of income. Economic interdependencies in the global economy. Effects of global linkages on individual decisions.
This class in addition to ECON 1102 counts towards the Economics VEE
*Econ 3101 may be substituted for Econ 1101
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ECON 1102 Principles of Macroeconomics
Aggregate consumption, saving, investment, and national income. Role of money, banking, and business cycles in the domestic and world economy. International trade, growth, and development. U.S. economy and its role in the world economy. International interdependencies among nations.
This class in addition to ECON 1101 counts towards the Economics VEE
*Econ 3102 may be substituted for Econ 1102
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ACCT 2051 Introduction to Financial Reporting
This course is an introduction to financial accounting for U.S. organizations and reading financial statements.
This class in addition to FINA 3001 counts towards the Accounting & Finance VEE
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FINA 3001 Finance Fundamentals
How competition for capital in Capital Markets establishes metrics and measures used to understand financial performance of the firm. The course introduces the finance view of the firm and the application of value creation principles to firm decision making. Course presents the centrality of cash flows, the theoretical foundations for Time Value of Money, decision tools for investment of capital, basic valuation of stocks and bonds, and the theoretical foundations for the impact of risk on the required return on investor capital.
Prerequisite: ACCT 2051 (or SCO 2550)
This class in addition to ACCT 2051 counts towards the Accounting & Finance VEE
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STAT 5102 Theory of Statistics II
Sampling, sufficiency, estimation, test of hypotheses, size/power. Categorical data. Contingency tables. Linear models. Decision theory.
This class counts towards the Mathematical Statistics VEE and an upper division math course
*This course does not replace MATH 5652. Prerequisite: STAT 5101 or MATH 5651