Actuarial

Actuarial science is the discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in the insurance and finance industries. Actuaries are professionals who are qualified in this field through education and experience. In the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries, actuaries must demonstrate their qualifications by passing a series of professional examinations.

Actuarial science includes a number of interrelating subjects, including probability and statistics, finance, and economics. Historically, actuarial science used deterministic models in the construction of tables and premiums. The science has gone through revolutionary changes during the last 30 years due to the proliferation of high speed computers and the synergy of stochastic actuarial models with modern financial theory (Frees 1990).

Many universities have undergraduate and graduate degree programs in actuarial science. In 2002, a Wall Street Journal survey on the best jobs in the United States listed "actuary" as the second best job (Lee 2002).[1]