The Actuarial Science Program at Ohio State provides students with a strong background in the mathematical and statistical underpinnings of the design, financing, and operation of all types of insurance plans, pension and benefit plans, and related regulatory issues. Between 15 and 20 students each year have been graduating in this major, most of whom join insurance firms or consulting firms immediately upon graduation.

The goals of the curriculum in the Actuarial Science Program are twofold. First, The program supplies a strong general background in mathematics, statistics, and relevant concepts from the insurance industry. Second, the program prepares students to take some of the national actuarial examinations administered by the Society of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society.

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Students who major in Actuarial Science at The Ohio State University will receive rigorous training in the mathematics and statistics needed for the design, financing, and operation of all types of insurance plans, pension plans and benefit plans. Students will acquire a broad background in economics, finance, and risk management as well as technical aspects of actuarial science. They will be expected to communicate fluently, both orally and in writing, about their technical expertise and the problems they solve.
 
 

Examinations administered by the Society of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society make up an important part of the career of an aspiring actuary. Courses required for the Actuarial Science Major will be designed to prepare students to pass Exam P and Exam FM, and students will be encouraged to sit for these examinations before graduation. In addition, the senior Actuarial Mathematics courses will serve as an introduction to the topics included in Exam M.

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*ALERT: In the courses that constitute the major, students must have a C- or better and a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA in these courses.*

Total credits required for major = 53 cr.

Hidden requirements and prerequisites:

• Mathematics 151-152-153 or honors equivalent: 10 - 15 cr.
• Economics 200 and 201 (Prereqs for finance): 10 cr.
• Accounting   211-212 or 310 (Prereqs for finance) 5 - 10 cr.

** Exams. Formal course work should prepare the students to pass the exams in the first quarter shown. We hope that students will be able to pass Exam P sometime in the junior year and Exam FM sometime in the senior year.

Courses for Exam P: Math 151 - 254, Math 530 or Stat 420, Math 532

Course for Exam FM: Math 618

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** Exams. Formal course work should prepare the students to pass the exams in the first quarter shown. We hope that students will be able to pass Exam P sometime in the junior year and Exam FM sometime in the senior year.

Courses for Exam P: Math 151 - 254, Math 530 or Stat 420 or Math 531H, Math 532

Course for Exam FM: Math 618

Mathematics 530    Probability     3 cr.
Prereq: Math 254

Combinatorial probability, random variables, independence, expectations, variance, limit theorems. There is a great deal of technical overlap between Math 530 and Stat 520, but the philosophy of instruction is different. We would like actuarial students to take both courses, but the order in which they take the courses is not important.

Mathematics 532    Mathematical Foundations of Actuarial Science    3 cr.
Prereq: Math 530 or Stat 420 or Math 531H.

This course will cover the syllabus for the new Society of Actuaries/Casualty Actuarial Society Exam P. The course will contain a quick review of ideas from calculus and probability, an introduction to the ideas of risk management needed for the examination, and extensive problem solving.

Mathematics 588    Actuarial Practicum     4 cr.
Prereq: Second Writing Course

Visiting actuaries will present practical problems which will require extensive written projects and oral presentations. Math 588 will serve as the third writing course for the actuarial science major.

Mathematics 618    Theory of Interest     4 cr.
Prereq: Math 254

Math 618 will serve as preparation for Exam FM.  It is a required prerequisite or corequisite for Math 630.

Mathematics 630, 631 and 632    Actuarial Mathematics I, II and III     4 cr. each
Prereq: Math 530 or Stat 420 or Math 531H, and Math 618  (Math 618 may be taken simultaneously).

These courses will include some life insurance topics as well as topics in property and casualty insurance. The courses will introduce students to issues and problems arising in Exam M.

Finance 620    Business Finance     4 cr.
Prereq: Econ 200, Econ 201, Accting 310 or 212

This course is a standard offering in the Department of Finance. We propose to add it to the major requirements for Actuarial Science. Investment issues make up an increasingly important part of the toolbox of working actuaries.

Computer and Information Science 200 or 201 or 221    5 cr.

Fluency in the use of computers for business analysis and some programming skills is important for a working actuary.

Statistics 420    Mathematical Statistics I    5 cr.
Prereq: Math 254

Probability, random variables, discrete and continuous distributions; binomial, Poisson, normal, gamma (chi-square), t, F, distributions; change of variable and moment-generating function techniques; order statistics; limit theorems.

Statistics 421    Mathematical Statistics II    5 cr.
Prereq: Stat 420 or Math 530 or Math 531H

Confidence intervals; minimum variance unbiased estimation, maximum likelihood estimation; Neyman-Pearson theorem, uniformly most powerful tests, likelihood ratio tests, chi-square and F tests, nonparametric tests.