Transferring into the Actuarial Science
Curriculum
from other UIUC
curricula
Are you a current undergraduate UIUC student who is
considering applying for transfer into the Actuarial Science curriculum?
The process for transferring into the program (or
adding actuarial science as a second major) is as follows:
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A. |
Familiarize yourself with the actuarial profession,
and with our actuarial science program. General actuarial information can be
found, for example, by referencing the Be An Actuary website at beanactuary.org. For UIUC curriculum
information, you should look at the advising notes for actuarial science
students, found here. |
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B. |
Take two specific actuarial science courses, and
fulfill the minimum grade requirement in each (see below). |
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C. |
After fulfilling item B above (i.e., after the courses
are completed and your final grades are available), contact the program
director, Professor Rick Gorvett (gorvett@illinois.edu),
for approval to transfer. The director will then indicate whether acceptance
will be granted. If it is granted, the director will ask you to identify the
math/actuarial science courses which you are interested in taking during the
following semester, and for which you may have been unable to register
because of major restrictions. If sufficient room remains in the classes
(which is typically the case), the director can usually provide you with an
override so that you can register for those courses immediately, rather than your having to wait until your transfer is
administratively official. (The director has no such power to get you into
courses in other departments, for example Accounting and Finance, since each
department controls the registration rules for its own courses.) |
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D. |
After getting the official signed transfer approval
form from Professor Gorvett, take the form to the LAS Office and request that
your major be changed. Please note that the LAS College allows curriculum
changes only at specified times, generally around the beginning of each
semester, and then again in the middle of the semester, prior to the
registration period for the following semester. |
Course and Grade Requirements
The requirements for transfer into Actuarial Science
focus on your performance in two gateway courses. Specifically, you are required
to take the following two courses, and achieve a grade of at least B-minus in
each:
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(1) |
Math 210 (Theory of Interest). |
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(2) |
Math 408 (Actuarial Statistics I). Math 461 and Stat
400 are each an acceptable substitute for Math 408, both for the purpose of
transferring into the curriculum, and as fulfilling a requirement for the
actuarial science degree. |
The prerequisites for these courses are Math 231
(Calculus II) for Math 210, and Math 241 (Calculus III) for Math 408 (or Math
461 or Stat 400). Thus, in addition to the above two gateway courses, the
calculus sequence I through III must also be completed before a transfer can be
requested.
The two-course B-minus-or-better grade requirement
identified above is the primary criteria for transfer into the actuarial
science curriculum. Generally, meeting this requirement is sufficient for
authorization for transfer into the program. However, in unusual circumstances
(for example, very poor grades in calculus, or other indications that a student
may have significant potential difficulties completing the program and entering
the actuarial profession), approval for transfer by the program director may be
withheld.
***Please note: The UIUC actuarial
science program has a large number of students, and unfortunately does not have
sufficient instructional resources to allow for multiple attempts to achieve
the minimum grade requirements. Thus, the program director will consider only
the first performances in the above two required courses when evaluating a
student transfer request.
Other Information
(a) Actuarial Science is a highly mathematical and
quantitative curriculum and profession. Historically, poor performance in
calculus courses has generally been a predictor of difficulty in advanced
actuarial science courses.
(b) Actuarial Science is also a very interdisciplinary
profession, particularly with respect to economics and finance. As such, it can
be very attractive to well-rounded and inquisitive individuals.
(c) Due largely to budgetary issues, many departments
at UIUC, as at most universities, restrict enrollments
for their classes to their own, and certain other selected, majors. There are several
courses outside of the Department of Mathematics which are required for
actuarial science majors, and some of them have restricted enrollment rules.
Actuarial majors have special permission to take such courses. The actuarial
science program has no authority or ability to assist non-actuarial students in
enrolling in such classes. Thus, until someone is actually and formally
admitted to the actuarial science curriculum, s/he will not be qualified to
register for such courses as potential actuarial students.
(d) After approval is granted to transfer into the
actuarial science curriculum, you will have to wait until around the beginning
of the next semester in which you register for classes in order to formally
transfer into the actuarial science curriculum. However, the program director
can usually provide you with an override so that you can register for
math/actuarial science courses for which you may have been unable to register
earlier because of major restrictions. (The director has no such power to get
you into courses in other departments, for example Accounting
and Finance, since each department controls the registration rules for its own
courses.)
If you have questions or would like more information,
please contact either Rick Gorvett, program director, at gorvett@illinois.edu, or Alison
Champion, advisor, at abc@illinois.edu.
****************************************************
Rick Gorvett, FCAS,
ASA, CERA, MAAA, ARM, FRM, Ph.D.
Director of the
Actuarial Science Program and
State Farm Companies
Foundation Scholar
in
Actuarial Science
Department of
Mathematics
Office: 374 Altgeld Hall
Phone: (217)
244-1739
Mailing address: 273
Altgeld Hall
E-mail: gorvett@illinois.edu
Website: www.math.uiuc.edu/~gorvett/
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