School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Actuarial Science (BS)
The Bachelor of Science Actuarial Science (AS) Program at The University of Texas at Dallas is administered through the Department of Mathematical Sciences. Students receive rigorous well-rounded actuarial education with a strong foundation in mathematics, statistics, computer and data science, economics, and finance. All students are prepared to take seven actuarial preliminary Society of Actuaries (SOA) exams: Probability - P/1, Financial Mathematics - FM/2, Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics - FAM, Advanced Short Term Actuarial Mathematics - ASTAM, Advanced Long Term Actuarial Mathematics - ALTAM, Statistics for Risk Modeling - SRM, Predictive Analytics - PA. Students achieve Validation of Educational Experience (VEE) credits in Accounting and Finance, Economics, and Mathematical Statistics. Students also receive rigorous instruction in preparation for a major part of the three Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) Exams: Actuarial Models: Financial Economics - 3F, Modern Actuarial Statistics I and II - MAS I and MAS II. Upon completion of this program, students will have the knowledge and business background necessary to pursue a career as an actuary, as well as to undertake graduate study in actuarial science, statistics, mathematics, economics, data science or finance.
Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science
Degree Requirements (120 semester credit hours)
View an Example of Degree Requirements by Semester
Faculty
Professors: Swati Biswas, Min Chen, Pankaj Choudhary, Baris Coskunuzer, Mieczyslaw Dabkowski, Vladimir Dragovic, Sam Efromovich, Yulia Gel, Wieslaw Krawcewicz, Susan Minkoff, L. Felipe Pereira, Dmitry Rachinskiy, Viswanath Ramakrishna, Janos Turi, John Zweck
Associate Professors: Maxim Arnold, Yan Cao, Liang Hong, Oleg Makarenkov, Tomoki Ohsawa, Anh Tran
Assistant Professors: Carlos Arreche, Noirrit Chandra, Ronan Conlon, Rizwanur Khan, Qiwei Li, Stephen McKeown, Chuan-Fa Tang, Jiayi Wang, Nathan Williams, Nan Wu, Yunan Wu
Professors Emeriti: Larry Ammann, Ali Hooshyar, Patrick Odell, John Van Ness
Clinical Professor: Natalia Humphreys
Clinical Associate Professor: Mohammad Akbar
Clinical Assistant Professor: Wenyi Lu
Professors of Instruction: Anatoly Eydelzon, Manjula Foley, Bentley Garrett, Yuly Koshevnik
Associate Professors of Instruction: Mohammad Ahsan, Kelly Aman, Malgorzata Dabkowski, Rabin Dahal, Derege Mussa, My Linh Nguyen, Jigarkumar Patel, Julie Sutton
Assistant Professors of Instruction: Anani Komla Adabrah, Iris Alvarado, Saikat Biswas, Hui Ding, Adannah Duruoha, Kemelli Estacio-Hiroms, Huizhen Guo, Shengjie Jiang, Joselle Kehoe, Runzhou Liu, Neha Makhijani, Irina Martynova, Diarisoa Mihaja Rakotomalala, Adrian Murza, Ajaya Paudel, Octavious Smiley, Nasrin Sultana, Che-Yu Wu
I. Core Curriculum Requirements: 42 semester credit hours1
Communication: 6 semester credit hours
Select any 6 semester credit hours from Communication Core courses (see advisor)
Mathematics: 3 semester credit hours
Or select any 3 semester credit hours from Mathematics Core courses (see advisor)
Life and Physical Sciences: 6 semester credit hours2,5
PHYS 2325 Mechanics
or PHYS 2421 Honors Physics I - Mechanics and Heat6,7
or CHEM 1311 General Chemistry I
or CHEM 1315 Honors Freshman Chemistry I
PHYS 2326 Electromagnetism and Waves
or PHYS 2422 Honors Physics II - Electromagnetism and Waves6
or CHEM 1312 General Chemistry II
or CHEM 1316 Honors Freshman Chemistry II
Or select any 6 semester credit hours from Life and Physical Sciences Core courses (see advisor)
Language, Philosophy and Culture: 3 semester credit hours
Select any 3 semester credit hours from Language, Philosophy and Culture Core courses (see advisor)
Creative Arts: 3 semester credit hours
Select any 3 semester credit hours from Creative Arts Core courses (see advisor)
American History: 6 semester credit hours
Select any 6 semester credit hours from American History Core courses (see advisor)
Government/Political Science: 6 semester credit hours
Select any 6 semester credit hours from Government/Political Science Core courses (see advisor)
Social and Behavioral Sciences: 3 semester credit hours
ECON 2302 Principles of Microeconomics2
Or select any 3 semester credit hours from Social and Behavioral Sciences Core courses (see advisor)
Component Area Option: 6 semester credit hours
PHYS 2125 Physics Laboratory I2,5
or PHYS 2421 Honors Physics I - Mechanics and Heat6,7
or CHEM 1111 General Chemistry Laboratory I2,5
Or select any 6 semester credit hours from Component Area Option courses (see advisor)
II. Major Requirements: 77-78 semester credit hours
Major Preparatory Courses: 29-30 semester credit hours beyond Core Curriculum
NATS 1101 Natural Sciences and Mathematics Freshman Seminar
ACCT 2301 Introductory Financial Accounting
ACCT 2302 Introductory Management Accounting
BCOM 3300 Business Communication
CS 1436 Programming Fundamentals
CS 1337 Computer Science I
or MATH 2370 Introduction to Programming with MATLAB8
ECON 2301 Principles of Macroeconomics
ECON 2302 Principles of Microeconomics
MATH 2418 Linear Algebra
MATH 2420 Differential Equations with Applications
and PHYS 2125 Physics Laboratory I2,5
or PHYS 2421 Honors Physics I - Mechanics and Heat2,6,7,9
or CHEM 1311 General Chemistry I2,5
and CHEM 1111 General Chemistry Laboratory I2,5
or CHEM 1315 Honors Freshman Chemistry I2,5
and CHEM 1115 Honors Freshman Chemistry Laboratory I
PHYS 2326 Electromagnetism and Waves2,5
or PHYS 2422 Honors Physics II - Electromagnetism and Waves2,5,6
or CHEM 1312 General Chemistry II2,5
or CHEM 1316 Honors Freshman Chemistry II2,5
PHYS 2126 Physics Laboratory II
or CHEM 1112 General Chemistry Laboratory II
or CHEM 1116 Honors Freshman Chemistry Laboratory II
Major Core Courses: 48 semester credit hours
ACTS 4301 Long Term Actuarial Mathematics I
ACTS 4302 Investment and Financial Markets
ACTS 4303 Long Term Actuarial Mathematics II
ACTS 4304 Short Term Actuarial Mathematics I
ACTS 4305 Short Term Actuarial Mathematics II
ACTS 4307 Statistics for Risk Modeling
ACTS 4308 Actuarial Financial Mathematics
ACTS 4310 Predictive Analytics
ACTS 4311 Theory of Credibility
MATH 3351 Advanced Calculus
ITSS 3300 Information Technology for Business
ITSS 4301 Database Systems
STAT 3355 Introduction to Data Analysis
STAT 4351 Probability
STAT 4352 Mathematical Statistics
STAT 4382 Stochastic Processes
III. Elective Requirements: 0-1 semester credit hour
RMIS 3370 Principles of Risk Management and Insurance
RMIS 4331 Business Liability Risk Management and Insurance
MATH 3310 Theoretical Concepts of Calculus
MATH 3311 Abstract Algebra I
MATH 3379 Complex Variables
MATH 4334 Numerical Analysis
The plan must include sufficient upper-division courses to total 45 upper-division semester credit hours.
Preparation for Actuarial Exams
Exam 1/P: STAT 4351
Exam 2/FM: ACTS 4308
Exams 3L/FAM/ALTAM: ACTS 4301 and ACTS 4303
Exams 4/FAM/ASTAM: ACTS 4304 and ACTS 4305 and ACTS 4311
Exam SRM: ACTS 4307
Exam PA: ACTS 4310
Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) Credits
Mathematical Statistics: STAT 3355 and STAT 4352
Accounting and Corporate Finance: ACCT 2302 and ACTS 4302
Economics: ECON 2301 and ECON 2302
Fast Track Baccalaureate/Master's Degrees
In response to the need for post-baccalaureate education, a Fast Track program is available to well-qualified UT Dallas undergraduate students. Qualified seniors may take up to 15 graduate semester credit hours that may be used to complete the baccalaureate degree and also to satisfy the requirements for the master's degree. Interested students should see the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education (ADU) for specific requirements.
1. Curriculum Requirements can be fulfilled by other approved courses from institutions of higher education. The courses listed are recommended as the most efficient way to satisfy both Core Curriculum and Major Requirements at UT Dallas.
2. A required Major preparatory course that also fulfills a Core Curriculum requirement. Semester credit hours are counted in Core Curriculum.
3. Three semester credit hours of Calculus are counted to fulfill the Mathematics Core Requirement with the remaining one semester credit hour to be counted under Component Area Option Core Requirement.
4. Students may choose one of the following calculus sequences: (a) MATH 2413, MATH 2414, and MATH 2415; or (b) MATH 2417 and MATH 2419.
5. Six semester credit hours of Physics or Chemistry are counted under Science core, and one semester credit hour of Physics or Chemistry (PHYS 2125 or CHEM 1111) are counted under Component Area Option core.
6. Please consult your advisor if selecting Honors Physics.
7. Students may use three semester credit hours of PHYS 2421 to count under Science core, and one semester credit hour of PHYS 2421 under Component Area Option core.
8. MATH 2370 will provide basic knowledge of a programming and numeric computing platform MATLAB and a better preparation for MATH 4334 Numerical Analysis course if elected.
9. Students who complete PHYS 2421 do not need to complete PHYS 2125.
Minors
Students must take a minimum of 18 semester credit hours for the minor, 12 of which must be upper-division semester credit hours. Students who take a minor will be expected to meet the normal prerequisites in courses making up the minor, and should maintain a minimum GPA of 2.000 on a 4.00 scale (C average). Semester credit hours may not be used to satisfy both the major and minor requirements; however, free elective semester credit hours or major preparatory classes may be used to satisfy the minor.
For all minors in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics students must complete all prerequisite sequences for required minor courses.
Minor in Actuarial Science
23 semester credit hours
The Minor in Actuarial Science program at UT Dallas is administered through the Department of Mathematical Sciences. It is ideal for students who are interested in broadening their experience and knowledge base in the study and analysis of principles of Actuarial Science. The minor core courses prepare students for a number of actuarial exams required for a designation of Associate of the Society of Actuaries, Casualty Actuarial Society, or Canadian Institute of Actuaries. All of the courses in the minor serve as starting points for learning the concepts covered on the preliminary actuarial exams (P/1 - Probability, FM/2 - Financial Mathematics, portions of FAM-L - Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics, ALTAM - Advanced Long Term Actuarial Mathematics) and Finance VEE (Validation by Educational Experience) requirement.
Students not majoring in Actuarial Science may obtain a minor in Actuarial Science by satisfying 23 semester credit hours (11 semester credit hours of minor core courses and 12 semester credit hours of minor preparatory courses).
Minor Preparatory Courses (11 semester credit hours)10
MATH 2415 Calculus of Several Variables
or MATH 2419 Calculus II
MATH 3351 Advanced Calculus
MATH 2418 Linear Algebra
Minor Core Courses (12 semester credit hours)11
STAT 4351 Probability
ACTS 4301 Long Term Actuarial Mathematics I
ACTS 4302 Investment and Financial Markets
ACTS 4308 Actuarial Financial Mathematics
10. Students whose major does not require MATH 2417 and MATH 2419 as part of their Mathematics and Component Area Option Core Curriculum Requirements, should take this sequence as their core curriculum courses to ensure efficiency toward the minor.
11. These classes prepare for the major parts of three preliminary actuarial examinations administered by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA).