Skip to Content

Future Students Undergraduate

Actuarial Studies

The Area of Study

Actuaries analyse and manage the risks of financial contracts. The actuary's work is based on the application of mathematical, statistical, economic and financial analysis to a range of practical problems in long-term financial planning and management. Actuaries relate numbers to real life. Macquarie's actuarial studies program was the first of its kind in the English speaking world to be accredited by a professional actuarial body and is the longest running program of its kind in Australia.

As a student in actuarial studies, you will complete units in accounting, economics, finance, mathematics, statistics, and actuarial studies in the first year. In subsequent years actuarial and other units will be studied in
greater depth.

^back to top

Degree Program Information

Degree UAI 2008 CSP Course Duration
Bachelor of Commerce – Actuarial Studies 95.00 3 years full-time
Bachelor of Commerce – Actuarial Studies with Bachelor of Economics 96.50 3 years full-time
Bachelor of Commerce – Actuarial Studies with Bachelor of Science 95.00 4 years full-time
Bachelor of Commerce – Actuarial Studies with Bachelor of Laws 95.70 5–6 years full-time
Bachelor of Commerce – Accounting with Bachelor of Commerce – Actuarial Studies 95.35 4–4.5 years full-time
Bachelor of Applied Finance with Bachelor of Commerce – Actuarial Studies 95.40 4 years full-time
Bachelor of Economics 82.50 3 years full-time/ equivalent part-time

^back to top

What You Will Study

You must complete a program of study (major) in one of the following:

  • Risk and Insurance
  • Actuarial Studies
  • Actuarial Studies and Professional Accounting
  • Actuarial Studies and Applied Econometrics
  • Actuarial Studies and Economics
  • Actuarial Studies and Statistics
  • Actuarial Studies and Mathematics
  • Actuarial Studies and Computing
  • Actuarial Studies and Law

Your program of study may include units from the subject areas listed below:

  • accounting
  • finance
  • computing
  • economics (econometrics)
  • finance
  • insurance and superannuation
  • law
  • mathematics
  • statistics

^back to top

HSC Mathematics Extension 1 is a subject prerequisite and Mathematics Extension 2 is recommended study for actuarial studies units. Other units taken as part of a degree may require assumed knowledge, prerequisites or recommended studies and you should refer to the Macquarie University Handbook of Undergraduate Studies for full degree requirements.

^back to top

Accreditation

The professional accounting sequence in any of the degrees listed will meet the tertiary accreditation requirements of CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA). The Institute of Actuaries of Australia (IAAust) is the professional body for actuaries in Australia. A Fellow of the IAAust (FIAA) is a fully qualified actuary. To become a FIAA is a three-part process. You must pass, or be exempt from:

Part I

Consists of subjects CT1 to CT8 of the Institute of Actuaries (London) which can be studied in the first three years of the actuarial degree program at Macquarie University.

Part II

The Actuarial Control Cycle subject of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia (IAAust) which can be studied as part of an honours year, or in the fourth year of a double degree program at Macquarie University, part-time in the evening after graduation, or as part of a Master of Commerce in Actuarial Studies.

Part III

Consists of four modules offered by distance education through the IAAust. The investments module and commercial actuarial practice module are compulsory. The other modules can be chosen from life insurance, general insurance, superannuation and planned savings, and investment management and finance. Attendance at a professionalism course and one year of practical experience are also required. Provided that at least credit level passes are attained in the required units of study at Macquarie University, the three-year program gives students the possibility of exemption from Part I, and the double degree programs give students the possibility of exemption from both Parts I and II. The Associateship of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia (AIAA) is awarded on completion of Parts I and II.

International recognition

Part I of the IAAust syllabus is identical to the first part of the joint examinations of the Institute of Actuaries (London) and the Faculty of Actuaries (Edinburgh), and at least credit level passes in the required Macquarie University units are recognised for exemption purposes by those bodies.

The FIAA qualification is recognised in the UK, Ireland, USA, and Canada and also in most of Asia, enabling FIAAs to undertake all statutory actuarial duties in those countries, after a suitable period of local experience.

^back to top

Career Options

  • banking and finance
  • energy and environment
  • general and health insurance
  • investment
  • life insurance
  • management
  • non-traditional areas such as e-commerce, climate change, IT
  • risk management
  • superannuation and wealth management

^back to top

Some Major Employers

  • accounting firms
  • actuarial and superannuation consulting firms
  • banks and funds management
  • general insurance companies
  • health insurance companies
  • life insurance companies
  • management consulting firms
  • software development companies
  • stockbrokers
  • public sector such as APRA, Australian Taxation Office

^back to top

Further Information

Department of Actuarial Studies
Macquarie University, NSW, 2109
Email: actuarial@mq.edu.au
Phone: (02) 9850 9987
Fax: (02) 9850 9481
Web: www.acst.mq.edu.au

^back to top