Why study Actuarial Science at Melbourne Business School?

1. Study in a world class research centre: The Centre for Actuarial Studies sits within the Department of Economics and is a registered Centre of Actuarial Excellence (CAE), accredited by the Society of Actuaries (SOA). This is the highest level of recognition the SOA offers to universities, and has specific requirements relating to degree, curriculum, graduate count, faculty composition, graduate quality, appropriate academic integration, connection to industry, and research/scholarship.
2. Accreditation: Students who perform to a high enough standard are able to start working towards Part II of the professional requirements of the Actuaries Institute.
3. Connect with your peers: The University of Melbourne Actuarial Students' Society provides a calendar of events every year, aimed at building social connections and offering members career opportunities.
4. Select your pathway: Build upon the foundation of your Actuarial Science major and develop advanced professional skills through the ‘practice’ pathway, or begin preparing for studies in a Doctoral Program through the ‘research’ pathway.
5. Become part of our global network: With over 60,000 business alumni in over 100 countries, you’re ensuring that you join a valuable network of peers from all business disciplines right from day one.

What is it about?

Melbourne Business School's Master of Commerce (Actuarial Science) is for students who hold an actuarial degree and wish to pursue their actuarial training further. With a broad grounding in quantitative techniques in insurance and financial risk modelling, graduates of this program will be well positioned to pursue a professional career in the actuarial domain and related fields. It focuses on actuarial theory and practice, specialising in quantitative techniques for insurance, superannuation and financial risk modelling. The program has a ‘practice’ pathway, which focuses on advanced professional training, and a ‘research’ pathway, which prepares students for the PhD in Actuarial Studies.

Who is it for?

The Master of Commerce (Actuarial Science) is designed to provide business/commerce graduates who already have an actuarial major with further advanced studies in actuarial science. If you do not have an actuarial major, please refer to the Master of Actuarial Science.

The degree is designed to be completed in one and a half years of full-time study or three years part time and requires completion of 150 points, comprised of:

• 7 core actuarial subjects and
• 5 elective subjects.

Student can elect to follow one of two pathways; the practice pathway or the research pathway.

Note: Students interested in progressing to the PhD program will need to follow the research pathway.

Our graduates have gone on to some successful and varied careers. These are just some examples:

• PhD candidate, Cass Business School, United Kingdom
• Research Assistant, Melbourne Business School, Australia
• Actuarial Analyst, China Continent Property & Casualty Insurance, China

Practical Skills

You will leave the degree with a number of essential skills, including the ability to:

• Critically analyse theoretical and practical problems in actuarial work
• Evaluate analytically and numerically using actuarial models
• Understand actuarial practice and conduct

Melbourne Business School students are also offered the opportunity to develop their employability skills through our Skills Workshops.

Professional Accreditation

Graduates of the degree who have performed at a sufficiently high level will have gained the knowledge to complete the associateship of the Actuaries Institute and may gain exemptions from almost all of its requirements.

Have completed an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in actuarial science (or similar) with a Weighted Average Mark of at least 75%) (or equivalent), AND Have completed the Graduate Records

IELTS (academic English Only): 6.5 (no band less than 6.0)
TOEFL Internet-based test: 79 + ; Writing 21; Speaking 18; Reading 13; Listening 13;
Pearson Test of English Academic: 58 + no communicative skill below 50
Cambridge English: Advanced/ Certificate of Advanced English (CAE): 176 + no skill below 169.