Actuarial Science course gets global nod
THE Actuarial Science programme offered by Sunway University has recently been accredited by the Education Committee of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) in the United Kingdom.
The accreditation will provide Sunway students from the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Actuarial Studies with the maximum professional papers exemptions based on the new IFoA curriculum.
These are mapped from the old CT1, CT2, CT3, CT4, CT5, CT6, CT7 and CT8 papers into the new codes, namely, CS1 and CS2 (Actuarial Statistics), CM1 and CM2 (Actuarial Mathematics), CB1 (Business Finance) and CB2 (Business Economics).
Currently, less than 50 institutions in the world offer exemptions approved by IFoA, out of which, approximately 20 offer the above maximum exemptions.
Of these, five are in Asia and they are Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong as well as the Central University of Finance and Economics and the University of International Business and Economics in China.
Sunway University now joins this list of well-established institutions which are leaders in actuarial education.
“The IFoA accreditation provides students with another pathway to become an actuary, one of the world’s top professions.
“The Sunway University’s Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Actuarial Studies programme is now recognised by professional actuarial bodies from both the United States and the United Kingdom,” said Sunway University School of Mathematical Sciences dean Prof Ho Chee Kit.
Sunway University vice-chancellor Prof Graeme Wilkinson said: “I am delighted to learn of this outstanding new international recognition of our Actuarial Studies degree, which confirms yet again that Sunway is leading the way in finance education.”
The only way to become an actuary is to pass all (or get exemptions from) the required professional exams offered by professional actuarial bodies.
“Our Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Actuarial Studies programme provides support in areas of curriculum, additional study materials, reimbursement and encouragement for passing (or get exemptions from) professional exams,” Prof Ho explained.
The Actuarial Studies programme at Sunway University is also recognised by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) in the US, through the Validation by Educational Experience (VEE), where students are eligible for three VEE exemptions.
The SOA is a world leading professional actuarial body and qualifications are globally recognised.
Passing the SOA Exams and completing the “Grand Slam” for all five Preliminary SOA Exams which include Exam P (Probability), Exam FM (Financial Mathematics), Exam MFE (Models for Financial Economics), Exam MLC (Models for Life Contingencies) and Exam C (Construction and Evaluation of Actuarial Models) is a mark of world class achievement.
Another hallmark of the programme is students have the opportunity to attend Actuarial Practice Courses, Preparatory Workshops for SOA Exams, Industrial Workshops for Excel, R and SAS, conducted by in-house actuaries and practitioners where the aim is to help boost students’ career prospects.
The Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Actuarial Studies under the School of Mathematical Sciences at Sunway University which was first offered in March 2013, is fully accredited by the Finance Accreditation Agency, an international and independent quality assurance and accreditation body for the financial services industry.
This year, the School of Mathematical Sciences will be expanding its offering with the introduction of the Masters in Actuarial Science (by Research) in June.