May 09, 2024  
Xavier University Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog 2023-2024 
  
Xavier University Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog 2023-2024

Actuarial Science, B.S.


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Actuarial science applies quantitative methods to assess and manage risk.  It is especially important in the insurance and finance industries, where understanding risk is essential to providing services that offer financial security and peace of mind, regardless of the uncertainties in daily life.

The B.S. in Actuarial Science is an interdisciplinary major consisting of coursework in mathematics, statistics, and business.  Within the framework of a liberal arts tradition, the program emphasizes the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills by advancing the student’s mathematical ability and statistical expertise.  This serves as the basis upon which problems in various business contexts (such as insurance, finance, and investments) can be rigorously examined.

Actuarial Science majors are prepared to sit for the first two actuarial exams in Probability (P/1) and Financial Mathematics (FM/2).  They also take courses that are approved for Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) credit.  Although majors who successfully complete the program are ready to enter the actuarial profession, other careers that require strong quantitative skills and/or significant exposure to an undergraduate business curriculum are possible upon graduation

Requirements


Core Curriculum


48-63 Credit Hours dependent on courses taken, including mathematics and social science requirements included in major.

Major in Actuarial Science


Students majoring in Actuarial Science must complete core curriculum requirements plus an additional 57 hours of coursework specific to the major.

Required Courses (57 hours)


Business (18 hours)


Notes:


  • A 2.000 cumulative average must be attained in the student’s mathematics and business courses.
  • Students are prepared to take the first actuarial exam (Exam P/1), upon completion of MATH 311. 
  • Students are prepared to take the second actuarial exam (Exam FM/2), upon completion of the finance sequence: FINC 300, FINC 365, and FINC 465.
  • Prior to the final semester in the program, a student must successfully pass at least one actuarial exam, or complete an appropriate project under the supervision of a faculty mentor, including an oral presentation in a public colloquium.
  • Any student wishing to major in actuarial science should consult the chair of the department before registration. 

TOTAL Minimum Hours Required for Degree: 120 Semester Hours


B.S. Actuarial Science


These block schedules serves as a guideline for progress toward a degree. See your academic advisor. They assume the current bi-yearly frequency of certain required courses.  Students will be prepared to take an actuarial exam no later than the summer following their third year.          

Sequence for students beginning in the Fall of an odd-numbered year


Freshman Year


Fall Semester


  • MATH 180 - Differential Calculus
  • MACS 101 - Intro to Actuarial Science
  • ECON 200 - Microeconomic Principles
  • ENGL 101 or ENGL 115
  • CORE 100 - First Year Seminar
  • CORE 101 - GOA I 

Total (15)

Spring Semester


  • MATH 181 - Integral Calculus
  • MATH 225 - Foundations of Higher Math
  • ECON 201 - Macroeconomic Principles
  • PHIL 100 - Ethics as Intro to Philosophy
  • THEO 111 - Theological Foundations
  • CORE 102 - GOA II 

Total (15)

Sophomore Year


Fall Semester


  • MATH 311 - Probability Theory
  • MATH 182 or MATH 220
  • ACCT 200 - Introductory Financial Acct
  • CSCI 170 - Computer Science I
  • Second Language I

Total (15-17)

Spring Semester


  • MATH 256 - Intro to Probability & Stats
  • MATH 312 - Statistical Inference
  • FINC 300 - Business Finance
  • Oral Communication Flag
  • Second Language II 

Total (15)

Junior Year


Fall Semester


  • MATH 182 or MATH 220
  • FINC 365 - Investments
  • ENGL 205 - Lit. & Moral Imagination
  • Scientific Perspectives
  • Creative Perspectives

Total (15-17)

Spring Semester


  • FINC 465 - Options & Futures Markets
  • MACS 201 or MATH 230
  • MATH 240 - Linear Algebra
  • Natural Sciences Elective
  • Elective 

Total (15)

Senior Year


Fall Semester


  • PHIL 200 - Philosophical Perspectives
  • Humanities Elective
  • E/RS Elective
  • Elective
  • Elective

Total (15)

Spring Semester


  • MACS 201 or MATH 230
  • DCR elective
  • Theology Perspectives
  • Elective
  • Elective

Total (15)

Scheduling Notes:


  • Consult the “Undergraduate Core Curriculum ” requirements of the Catalog.
  • Mathematical Perspectives, Quantitative Reasoning, and Social Science Elective requirements satisfied within the major.

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