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6729 Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science
Programme Highlights and Key Features
The Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science (programme code: 6729) is the only programme in Hong Kong accredited by the UK’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. It provides formal academic and professional training to students who wish to join the actuarial profession. Although actuarial science is a separate discipline with its own area of knowledge, modern actuarial training requires multidisciplinary knowledge in probability, statistics, data science, economics, investment, finance, law, taxation and accounting. Meanwhile, the Actuarial Science programme is also specifically designed to provide adequate knowledge for students to sit for the early professional examinations organised by international actuarial organisations, thus allowing them to successfully join the actuarial profession with internationally-recognised qualifications upon graduation. In addition, the programme provides sufficient academic training to allow students to pursue postgraduate studies in actuarial science or related areas should they wish to.
Becoming an Actuary
To become an actuary, you could first obtain a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science degree from HKU (4 years).
To qualify as an actuary, you must obtain an Associateship and Fellowship title from a professional organisation. Qualifications from Australia, the UK and the US are all fully recognised in the local actuarial and insurance industries. The average time needed to obtain the necessary titles ranges from three to nine years. The relevant professional organisations are Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (UK), Casualty Actuarial Society (US), Society of Actuaries (US), and Institute of Actuaries of Australia.
The HKU Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science programme has exemption arrangements for certain professional examinations with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries. It has also obtained Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) course approval from the Casualty Actuarial Society, the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries in North America.
Society of Actuaries
Center of Actuarial Excellence
The Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, the University of Hong Kong has been designated a Center of Actuarial Excellence (CAE) by the US Society of Actuaries (SOA) since December 2011. This prestigious designation is awarded to schools that demonstrate excellence in Actuarial Science by meeting strict criteria on curriculum quality, number and quality of graduates, qualified faculty, ties with business, and beneficial research and scholarship. Over the years, the Department has dedicated itself to world class standards of research, teaching and learning, and it is now highly regarded as an international centre of research and learning in the field of statistics and actuarial science.
Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
IFoA Accreditation
Under a new accreditation agreement with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), the University of Hong Kong now joins the ranks of select institutions worldwide that offer the maximum exemptions (CS1, CS2, CM1, CM2, CB1, and CB2) approved by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), United Kingdom. With the new accreditation, students who graduate with a BSc(ActuarSc) degree from the University of Hong Kong with the required marks in specified subjects will be exempted from taking various IFoA subjects in the new curriculum, as they begin their journey towards qualifying as an actuary.
SOA – University-Earned Credit (UEC) Programme
The University‐Earned Credit (UEC) programme of the Society of Actuaries (SOA) allows university students to become eligible for SOA exam credit by attaining a designated UEC mark on university courses at approved Centers of Actuarial Excellence (CAE). The University of Hong Kong (HKU), as one of the CAE designated by the SOA, obtained the UEC status approved by the SOA in July 2022, as one of the 13 inaugural UEC participants.
Students who have taken the approved courses at HKU (not by credit transfer) and received a UEC mark of 60% or above are eligible to apply for the corresponding UEC from the SOA for exam exemption.
The UEC mark of a student taking an approved HKU course refers to Final Exam mark of that course. The related SOA exams and the corresponding approved HKU course(s) are listed as follows:
| Exam FM | STAT2902 |
| Exam SRM | STAT3907, STAT4904 |
| Exam ASTAM | STAT3908, STAT4903 |
| Exam ALTAM | STAT3909, STAT3956 |
Note: Exam P is not eligible for UEC.
Admissions Requirements
6729 Bachelor Sciences in Actuarial Science BSc(ActuarSc) 理學士(精算學)
| Programme Name | Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science [BSc(ActuarSc)] 理學士(精算學) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Academic Spectrum of 6729 BSc (Actuarial Science)
Inspiring Innovation, Shaping the Future
Curriculum Map
1
2
3
4
Statistics Core(Foundation)
36 Credits
Actuarial Core (Advanced)
66 Credits
Actuarial Core (Foundation)
48 Credits
Capstone
Internship or Project
6 Credits
Actuarial Electives
12 Credits
Free Electives / 2nd Major / Minor(s)
54 Credits
University Requirements
Common Core, Language Enhancement
54 Credits
Programme Features
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1
Accreditation and exemption of professional exams by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA)
-
2
Validation by Educational Experience (VEE)
-
3
University-Earned Credit (UEC) program of the Society of Actuaries (SOA)
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4
Designation of Center of Actuarial Excellence (CAE) by the SOA
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5
Actuarial internship & industry exposure
The HKU Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science programme equips students with a solid background and specialist training in actuarial science. Students will acquire the confidence and analytical skills to define and tackle problems in actuarial science and related fields. The degree programme prepares students to sit the early actuarial exams to join the profession with an internationally recognised qualification upon graduation.
Offering modern actuarial training, the programme is designed to equip students with a solid background in actuarial science, and enable them to develop the confidence and analytical skills needed to define and tackle problems in actuarial science and related fields. The comprehensive degree is infused with multidisciplinary courses in diverse areas, including probability, statistics, economics, investment, finance, law, taxation, and accounting. Over the course of studies, students should be able to evaluate and measure various kinds of risk using effective quantitative methods, and become proficient in formulating and communicating practicable business strategies with professionalism as well as accuracy. Students may also choose to add a major in a science or non-science discipline, provided the course requirements are met.
There is no better training than obtaining solid hands-on experience in the real workplace. Our Internship Programme serves precisely this purpose. As an intern, the student will gain insight into the challenging world and daily activities of an actuary while strengthening his/her technical, analytical and communication skills.
Under the Internship Programme, BSc(ActuarSc) students are eligible to use the School’s Internship / Job Online-Application System, where related internships and other job openings including graduate positions will be posted. Our alumni may wish to know that normally they will still be eligible to use the System after graduation from our School.
The Internship Programme assists students by advertising part-time, summer, temporary and full-time internship positions, sending the CVs of interested students to employers, and arranging interviews for shortlisted students.
For details about our Internship Programme, please visit: https://saasweb.hku.hk/teaching/internship-details.php
1. Strong Network: As the first programme of its kind in Hong Kong, it has built a large and active network of alumni in the industry. All major insurance companies and many well-known financial institutions in Hong Kong have our graduates, and many of them hold a senior manager or higher position.
2. Career Advising Programme (CAP): The CAP has been introduced to help students pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses in terms of interview/CV writing skills and better prepare students to seize career opportunities readily. Besides one-to-one career consultation, the CAP will organise career-related activities to deepen students’ understanding of the industries.
3. Career Development: Job opportunities for actuaries are vast and available in a variety of industries. Financial institutions like insurance firms, investment banks, accounting firms, government/regulatory bodies, risk/asset/liability management consulting firms, even universities are hiring our Actuarial Science graduates.
Given Hong Kong’s booming insurance industry and the rapid development of the mainland China market, actuaries enjoy very attractive career prospects. Recent graduates hold positions in major insurance and reinsurance companies, actuarial consulting firms, and investment banks such as AIA, AXA Insurance, BOC Group Life Assurance, HSBC Life, Manulife, Sun Life Financial, Prudential, Willis Towers Watson, General Re, Reinsurance Group of America, JP Morgan, Standard Chartered, Ageas Insurance, Ernst and Young, Mercer, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and many others.
Some of our graduates have also pursued postgraduate studies in world-renowned universities such as Harvard University, Cambridge University, Oxford University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University and Cornell University. According to a survey conducted by the University in 2023, the average salary (gross monthly income) of our Actuarial Science fresh graduates is $29,741 whilst the maximum is $50,000.