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Undergraduate Programs of Study

Interdisciplinary and Interdepartmental 
Majors and Minors

Back to the list of Interdisciplinary/Interdepartmental Majors and Minors

Interdisciplinary
Actuarial Science Major
B.A., B.S. degrees

For information, contact T. Miles, advisor, 774-6518, Pearce 211, miles1tj@cmich.edu.

Why Study Actuarial Science?
Actuaries analyze risk. The work is quite quantitative. About 70% of actuaries work for insurance companies, about 25% for consulting firms, and about 5% for government agencies. The publication Jobs Rated Almanac has always rated actuary as one of the top five jobs in the United States. In the 2002 edition (sixth edition), it is rated number 2.

Actuarial Science at CMU
The Actuarial Science major is an interdisciplinary major with an advisor from the Department of Mathematics. If offers courses to prepare students for the first actuarial exam jointly administered by the Society of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society and much of the coursework to prepare students for the second actuarial exam. Students should try to pass at least the first exam by the time they graduate from CMU. The major also provides coursework to prepare a graduate for the business world in which the insurance industry is located. More direct contact with actuaries comes through the student organization Gamma Iota Sigma. As early as possible, a student interested in actuarial science should contact the actuarial science advisor. It is important to get through the calculus sequence as soon as possible in order to give the student maximum opportunity to pass actuarial exams.

This major consists of 60 hours of course work in mathematics, statistics, accounting, economics, finance, business law, and computer science. The major is designed to give the student the type of background necessary to pursue a career in actuarial science and, in particular, to prepare the student to pass two actuarial exams. There is no required minor. Advisors are from the Department of Mathematics.

NOTE to students with an Actuarial Science major and Mathematics minor: for this combination students must take six hours of mathematics courses numbered 300 or above which are not counted toward the Actuarial Science major.

Required Courses:
MTH 132 (4) Calculus I
MTH 133 (4) Calculus II
MTH 223 (3) Linear Algebra and Matrix Theory
MTH 233 (4) Calculus III
MTH 332 (3) Introduction to Analysis
MTH 532 (3) Advanced Calculus I
MTH 539 (3) Mathematical Foundations of Actuarial Science
STA 575 (3) Introduction to Statistical Packages
STA 580 (3) Applied Statistical Methods I
STA 584 (3) Mathematical Statistics I
STA 585 (3) Mathematical Statistics II
ACC 201 (3) Concepts of Financial Accounting
ACC 202 (3) Concepts of Managerial Accounting
BLR 202 (3) Legal Environment of Business
CPS 150 (2) FORTRAN Programming
ECO 201 (3) Principles of Macroeconomics 
ECO 202 (3) Principles of Microeconomics
ECO 365 (3) Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
FIN 257 (3) Risk Management
FIN 332 (3) Managerial Finance

Total: 62 semester hours

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