Actuarial Finance MSc

Actuaries evaluate and manage financial risk. They apply advanced mathematical and statistical techniques to solve financial problems, assess the likelihood of a particular event and the possible financial costs. The role of the actuary is increasingly important in the current economic climate, where volatile markets are contributing to financial uncertainty.

Our MSc Actuarial Finance will introduce you to essential business topics and enable you to apply your quantitative skills to solve complex business problems, such as risk management, insurance and derivatives. You’ll gain comprehensive knowledge in business areas such as accountancy, corporate finance and economics, as well as key analytical techniques, processes and models that have significant applications in actuarial finance.

The Business School has strong links with the actuarial profession and the insurance and pensions industry, giving you the opportunity to interact with practising actuaries and industry experts.

Academic excellence

This course is delivered in partnership with the University’s School of Mathematics. You’ll learn from leading academics based in both schools, giving you access to world-class expertise in both areas.

As a student, you will be able to access the knowledge of our advanced specialist research units, which also have strong links with leading institutions in the US, Europe and Asia. These include the Centre for Advanced Studies in Finance, the International Banking Institute and the Credit Management Research Centre.

You will also benefit from our strong relationships with the actuarial profession. This provides a connection to the latest developments in the industry and gives you a masters degree that is relevant to the contemporary environment.

You’ll take compulsory modules in corporate finance and economics allowing you to put your work into context and understand the importance of the role played by actuaries. At the same time, you’ll build your mathematical skills with classes in applied statistics and probability, as well as discrete time finance.

Building on this, you’ll study continuous time finance and gain an understanding of how different stochastic processes and survival models are applied to actuarial science. This will compliment your studies in topics such as accounting, professionalism and ethics, international investment and portfolio risk management.

Throughout the year you’ll build your professional skills with a core module focussing on critical practical skills that will prepare you for the workplace. At the end of the course, you’ll bring together your business, mathematical and professional knowledge to complete an independent project on a topic of your choice, which will demonstrate your ability to apply the skills you’ve gained.

Course structure

The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.

For more information and a full list of typical modules available on this course, please read Actuarial Finance MSc in the course catalogue

Modules

Year 1

Learning and teaching

Our tutors come from highly respected professional and academic backgrounds. We use a range of teaching methods so you can benefit from their expertise including lectures, workshops, seminars, computer simulations and tutorials.

In addition to the assessed modules and research dissertation, you benefit from professional training activities and employability workshops.

Independent study is also an important part of the course, allowing you to prepare for taught classes and sharpen your own research and critical thinking skills.

Assessment

Assessment methods emphasise not just knowledge, but essential skills development too. They include formal exams, group projects, reports, computer simulation exercises, essays and written assignments, presentations and reflective logs. This diversity enables you to develop a broad range of skills as preparation for professional life.

Entry requirements

A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) in a related subject such as mathematics, statistics, economics or finance. You must have a strong grounding in quantitative subjects with high scores in quantitative modules.

International qualifications

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Economics and Finance (6 weeks) and Language for Business: Economics and Finance (10 weeks).

If you need to study for longer than 10 weeks, read more about our postgraduate pre-sessional English course.

How to apply

Application deadline:

We operate a staged admissions process for this course with selection deadlines throughout the year.

If you do not receive an offer in a particular round, you will either be notified that your application has been unsuccessful, or we will carry your application forward to be considered in the next round.

Please see our How to Apply page for full details and the application deadlines for each stage.

Apply

Documents and information you’ll need

• A copy of your degree certificate and transcript, or a partial transcript if you’re still studying
• Two academic references
• A personal statement
• An up-to-date CV
• Your approved English Language test* (if applicable)
• A letter of sponsorship, if you need one.

* Applicants who have not yet completed an approved English language test may apply for a Masters course prior to taking a test.

Read about visas, immigration and other information in International students. We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.

Admissions policy

Leeds University Business School Taught Postgraduate Admissions Policy

Fees

• UK/EU: £14,500 (total)
• International: £27,000 (total)

Read more about paying fees and charges.

For fees information for international taught postgraduate students, read Masters fees.

Additional cost information

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more about additional costs

Scholarships and financial support

We award a range of scholarships to UK, EU and international students. Scholarships are available to candidates who can demonstrate an excellent academic record and show excellent professional and personal skills.

There are several scholarships available for this course that you may be eligible to apply for, including:

• Masters in Accounting and Finance UK/EU Excellence Scholarship
• Masters in Accounting and Finance International Excellence Scholarship
• Dean's Excellence Scholarship (UK/EU and International)
• Leeds Alumni Bursary and Excellence Scholarship

Read more about Business School scholarships.

As a graduate of this course you will be able to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of core actuarial principles, and the numerical and analytical skills to succeed in this rapidly changing complex environment.

Graduates have entered successful careers in insurance, pensions, accountancy, risk management and consultancy. Job prospects are wide ranging and include careers as accountants, consultants, scheme and insurance actuaries, and employment in investment banking and risk management.

As a result of the high level of quantitative skills developed, you also gain an excellent grounding for PhD study in accounting, finance and economics

Careers Support

We help you to achieve your career ambitions by providing professional development support and training as part of the Masters programme. You benefit from the support of a Professional Development Tutor, who will work with you to develop the important professional skills that employers value.

We’re committed to offering a wide range of development and training opportunities. Recent activities have included CV building and interview sessions, professional risk management workshops and commercial awareness networking events.

Read more about our careers and professional development support.

The University of Leeds Careers Centre also provides a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate.