Waterloo actuarial science and risk management

faculty offer hands-on, intense class work at the

frontiers of risk in insurance and finance.

Master of Actuarial Science Degree

One year fast track program

Excellent program, learned

so much from the highly
qualified professors who
always related what we were
learning in the classroom to
the insurance industry.

Carole Bernard, PhD Financial asset pricing; fair value

Jun Cai, PhD distribution theory; insurance mathematics;
reliability; risk management
Mary Hardy, PhD, FIA, FSA, CERA financial risk management for life
insurers and pension plans

Katrina Putnam
Class of 2012

David Landriault, PhD, FSA, FCIA risk, ruin and queuing theories;
dependence modelling; actuarial mathematics

Johnny Siu-Huang Li, PhD, FSA mortality modelling, demography;

financial risk management

design: creative services, uWaterloo

Christiane Lemieux, PhD, ASA quasi Monte Carlo methods and highlyuniform sampling; variance reduction techniques; risk theory

To learn more about Actuarial Science visit:

Society of Actuaries
soa.org

David Saunders, PhD credit risk; application of stochastic

optimization and probability to problems in finance

Ruodu Wang, PhD distribution theory; statistical inference;

quantitative risk management
Chengguo Weng, PhD financial risk management; applied probability
and statistics
Gordon Willmot, PhD, FCIA, FSA risk, loss distributions; stochastic
modelling in insurance

To learn more about the MActSc program visit

MActSc Program Director

University of Waterloo
Waterloo, ON Canada N2L 3G1
mactsc@uwaterloo.ca

C907717

math.uwaterloo.ca/sas/mactsc

For more information, please contact

Photos: ELED Photography and Simon Wilson Photography

Ken Seng Tan, PhD, ASA, CERA development, implementation of

financial risk management; quantitative finance

Faculty of Mathematics

Adam Kolkiewicz, PhD computational and mathematical finance;

stochastic processes

Being part of the MActSc program

at Waterloo helps me to gain current,
relevant skills essential for modern
actuarial work. In only one year, the
program covers the subject from the
basic foundations to advanced applied
risk management topics, material
which would take me many years
to master without this opportunity.
JV Prasad, Class of 2011

The MActSc program is a unique

opportunity that enables transition
into the actuarial profession after
one year of intensive training.
Thanks to the reputation of
the university, the dedication
of the professors and the skills
the program helps to develop, I
successfully changed profession
and landed a research position
in the worlds largest reinsurance
company. The MActSc program was
an investment with great return.

Success always starts with a first step.

Take it at the University of Waterloo.
As a Waterloo Actuarial Science graduate student, youll have the
opportunity to develop your skills outside what is ordinarily taught.
Youll receive an education that delves deeply into the latest innovative
techniques and models developed by actuarial researchers. And because
were Waterloo, a known leader in real-life learning, were committed to
hands-on training, practical workshops, case learning and group projects
that hone business, technical, and leadership skills. Its little wonder that
employers tell us they value our graduates for their technical skills and
outside-the-box problem solving.

Peter Petrovszki
Class of 2012

Plan for your own future. Study at Waterloo to become an actuary.

The thing that I like in this

program most is that it delivers
fast-tracked actuarial education
while maintaining high quality. The
class is very small and therefore
very interactive. Each term, we
were assigned to do lots of group
projects. Additionally, by having
regular guest lecturers from
industry to give us presentations,
we had chances to gain exposure
to real-life issues in industry.
Daisy Wan
Class of 2012

Waterloo offers you

An elite, fast-track, international program in actuarial science with other
outstanding students from around the world.

A Center of Actuarial Excellence designated by the Society of Actuaries.

Accreditation by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, and the only North
American program accredited by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
in the UK. As a graduate, you may be exempt from several exams of the
Canadian and UK professional credentials, both recognized around the world.

A highly selective program with small classes.

Employment results. Our graduating classes enjoy an extremely high
placement record upon graduation.

What is an actuary?
Actuaries are business professionals who apply their knowledge of
mathematics particularly statistics, probability and risk modelling
to real-life financial problems involving future uncertainty.
Most actuaries work in life insurance, property and casualty
insurance, financial risk management or in employee benefits
risk management. Some work in wider risk management fields.
Actuaries may be employed directly by insurance companies,
or may work for consulting firms.

Why become an actuary?

It is one of the most important jobs in financial services. In fact,
anyone who buys life insurance, or auto insurance, or belongs to a
pension plan, relies on actuaries to ensure their money is available
when they were promised. Actuaries are stewards of the financial
well-being for individuals and business.
Youll have an exciting career. Actuaries find themselves at the top
of job rankings year after year, for the combination of high salaries,
high job satisfaction and professional recognition.

Who should apply?

Applicants should have, or expect to graduate with, a top quality
bachelors degree in a quantitative area (such as engineering,
mathematics, statistics, computer science).
We are looking for people who are ambitious, hard-working
and have good communication skills.
Anyone who wants to take the fast track to an actuarial credential
with advanced study in quantitative risk management.

Why Waterloo?
Waterloo is a world leader in actuarial science research and
education.
Our professors are internationally recognized for their innovative
research and teaching. Youll learn about the most advanced tools
and techniques in actuarial risk management, and how these are
applied in real-world settings.
As a Waterloo graduate, youll benefit from Waterloos excellent
reputation and your in-depth, expert knowledge in quantitative
risk management for finance and insurance.

The University of Waterloo

MActSc program consists
of 15 courses offered over
3 terms.
Term 1
Financial Mathematics I
Life Insurance Math I
Statistics for Actuarial Science
Corporate Finance I
Economics
Term 2
Financial Mathematics II
Life Insurance Math II
Applied Statistics
Stochastic Processes for
Actuarial Practice
Casualty and Health Insurance
Mathematics
Term 3
Financial Mathematics III
Life Insurance Math III
Actuarial Risk Management
Quantitative Risk Management
Communications in Actuarial
Science