FINANCIAL MATHEMATICS ACTUARIAL SCIENCE

							                                                                                       College of
                                                                 Science, Engineering & Food Science

BSc
FINANCIAL MATHEMATICS &
ACTUARIAL SCIENCE


Course Code:          CK407 Mathematical Sciences                Programme Overview

Duration:             4 years                                    The UCC programme emphasises the fundamental Mathematics
                                                                 and Statistics that support Financial Mathematics and
Further Information: T: +353 (0) 21 490 2542/2269                Actuarial Science, and the coverage of both of these areas in
                     E: maths@ucc.ie                             the programme reflects the developing interactions between
                                                                 Financial Mathematics and Actuarial Science. Furthermore, the
                                                                 breadth of the programme is intended to avoid over-
                                                                 specialisation at too early a stage in the student’s academic
Why study Financial Mathematics and Actuarial                    studies, while still providing valuable education in key areas of
Science?                                                         the financial and insurance industry.

In recent times there has been a revolution in the extent of     This degree programme is offered by the School of
the application of mathematics to finance and investment.        Mathematical Sciences and provides a solid education in the
This has been driven by breakthroughs in the mathematical        fundamentals of Financial Mathematics and Actuarial Science,
valuation of complicated financial transactions. Financial       as well as a strong grounding in the core disciplines of the
decision making has been transformed by the development of       Mathematical Sciences.
sophisticated mathematical models, and their computer            .
implementations, that have in turn allowed the introduction      Career Opportunities
of financial and insurance products of increasing complexity.
These developments have led to increasing demand by the          Graduates in Financial Mathematics and Actuarial Science can
finance and insurance industry for graduate mathematicians       look forward to careers offering intellectual challenge,
who are knowledgeable about Financial Mathematics.               professional status, job satisfaction and high earnings.
                                                                 Designing solutions to mathematical problems involving financial
Actuarial Science may be thought of as the Financial             risk or future uncertainty places them among the most highly-
Mathematics of the insurance industry, but has developed         valued professionals in the financial world. The recent past has
separately. The applications of Actuarial Science are quite      seen enormous growth in the financial services industry world-
diverse ranging from assessment of life risks to the costing     wide. This, together with the increasing sophistication of
of insurance premiums, the formulation of investment             modern financial products, has led to increasing demand for
strategies, and the design of pension plans. Central is the      graduates in the areas of Financial Mathematics and Actuarial
prediction of the longer term financial consequences of          Science. Graduates of the BSc (Hons) programme in Financial
current and past decisions, taking due account of various risk   Mathematics and Actuarial Science who wish to pursue an
factors. Consequently mathematical models for uncertainty,       actuarial career may qualify for exemptions from a substantial
as provided by the theory and methods of probability and         number of the professional actuarial examinations, depending
statistics, are fundamental to the work of the actuary.          on their performance and choice of electives, and will have a
                                                                 thorough preparation to enable them to undertake the
                                                                 remaining examinations. It must also be emphasised that this
                                                                 degree programme provides an excellent education in the
                                                                 Mathematical Sciences, as well as a preparation for a career
                                                                 with a financial focus.
BSc                                                                               For further information contact:
                                                                       The College of Science, Engineering & Food Science, UCC
FINANCIAL MATHEMATICS &                                                               Tel: +353 (0)21 490 3075;

ACTUARIAL SCIENCE                                                                     Email: college-sefs@ucc.ie;
                                                                                    Web: http://www.ucc.ie/sefs


                                                               Postgraduate Opportunities in UCC
What will you be studying?
                                                               Graduates can undertake a wide range of one year fulltime
Year 1                                                         (or two year part-time) professional diplomas, as well as
                                                               research MSc and PhD degrees.
Core Modules:
• Introduction to Mechanics (5 credits) • Introduction to                           Graduate Profile
Mathematical Modelling (5 credits) • Mathematical Software
(5 credits) • Calculus and Analysis (10 credits) • Topics in   Emmet Leahy
Modern Mathematics (10 credits) • Introduction to              BSc (Hons) (Financial Mathematics and Actuarial Science)
Probability and Statistics (5 credits)                         2006
Elective Modules: (20 credits chosen from)
• Business Finance (10 credits) • Economics (10 credits) •     Position: Trainee Actuary in Mercer Human Resource
Computer Science (15 credits) • Physics (20 credits)           Consulting, Cork City.

Year 2

Core Modules:
• Financial Mathematics • Asset Pricing and Portfolio
Selection • C/C++ Programming with Applications • Fourier
Methods • Mathematical Analysis I • Ordinary Differential
Equations • Linear Algebra • Multivariable Calculus •
Probability and Mathematical Statistics • Introduction to      I graduated with an Honours BSc in Financial Mathematics
Regression Analysis                                            and Actuarial Science in 2006. I chose this degree because
                                                               of the great career prospects in such areas as actuary,
Year 3                                                         investment banking and other financially based roles as well
                                                               as opportunities for further research. Indeed, it seems from
Core Modules:                                                  my class’s experience that the job prospects are quite high
• Discrete Time Financial Applications • Derivatives,          for graduates of this course. I am now working as a trainee
Securities and Option Pricing • Numerical Analysis and         actuary and the skills that I have picked up in my
Computer Programming • Partial Differential Equations with     undergraduate studies have been of huge help in my work
Applications I • Mathematical Analysis II • Statistical        experience to date. The course also enabled me to obtain
Theory • Stochastic Modeling I • Generalised Linear Models     certain exemptions from the actuarial exams which are a
• Complex Analysis or • Vector and Tensor Methods              great start. My class was the first class to pass through this
Elective Modules: (10 credits chosen from)                     course which is well established by now. I found the course
• Accounting and Finance • Economics • Applied Mathematics •   both challenging and interesting. The small class size,
Mathematics • Statistics                                       together with the supportive and friendly nature of the staff
                                                               on the whole, is a huge plus and made my experience in UCC
Year 4                                                         an incredibly positive one.

Core Modules:
• Continuous Time Financial Models • Computational Finance •   Entry Requirements
Project • Stochastic Modelling II • Statistical Methods for
                                                               Minimum HC3 in two subjects & passes in four subjects at H or O level in the
Insurance • Measure Theory and Martingales • Time Series       Leaving Certificate, from Irish, English, another language, Mathematics and
Analysis                                                       two other subjects recognised as meeting minimum entry requirements.
Elective Modules: • Accounting and Finance • Applied           Additional programme requirements include HB3 in Mathematics in the
                                                               Leaving Certificate. In addition students must have the requisite points for
Mathematics • Mathematics • Statistics
                                                               entry to this particular course.