ACADEMICS & ADVISING
ACTUARIAL SCIENCE
Department website: http://insr.wharton.upenn.edu/programs/actuarial_program.cfm
Concentration Advisor: Dr. Jean Lemaire (3404 SH-DH, 215.898.7765)
Actuarial science stands at the intersection of risk and money. Actuaries are experts in evaluating the likelihood and financial consequences of future events, designing creative ways to reduce the cost of undesirable events, and decreasing the impact of tragic events that do occur. They are in great demand by insurance companies, consulting firms and financial institutions.
The concentration provides an intriguing blend of mathematics and business management for students with a strong mathematics aptitude. Ideally, students graduating from Wharton with an actuarial science concentration will be prepared to pass or will have passed many of the professional examinations given by the Society of Actuaries or the Casualty Actuarial Society.
Prerequisites:
Students who wish to concentrate in actuarial science should take two calculus and two statistics classes before enrolling in their first actuarial class. MATH 104 and 114 are recommended, and STAT 430-431 is recommended in place of STAT 101-102.
Required:
- BEPP 451/STAT 451: Fundamentals of Actuarial Science I (formerly INSR 251/451)
- BEPP 452/STAT 452: Fundamentals of Actuarial Science II (formerly INSR 252/452)
- BEPP 454/STAT 454: Applied Statistical Methods for Actuaries (formerly INSR 260/454)
Plus one of:
- BEPP 211: Financial Strategies and Analysis: Insurance (formerly INSR 210)
- BEPP 221: Employee Benefit Plan Design and Financing
(formerly INSR 221)
- BEPP 222: Business Insurance and Estate Planning (formerly INSR 222)
- BEPP 453/STAT 453: Actuarial Statistics (formerly INSR 260/453)
- STAT 471: Intermediate Statistics
An elective course taken to fulfill the actuarial concentration cannot be used for the insurance and risk management concentration.
