Actuarial Science

Types of Degrees Actuarial Science Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many actuarial science graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	1,335
Master’s Degree	278
Basic Certificate	82
Graduate Certificate	8
Undergraduate Certificate	2

What Actuarial Science Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, actuarial science majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Actuarial Science Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in actuarial science should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Actuarial Science Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to actuarial science:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Actuarial Science Majors

Actuarial Science majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

What Can You Do With a Actuarial Science Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with actuarial science:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Actuaries	22.5%	$102,880
Business Professors	18.0%	$83,960

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Actuarial Science?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 61% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of actuarial science majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	151
Black or African American	28
Hispanic or Latino	84
White	768
International Students	238
Other Races/Ethnicities	66

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Actuarial Science, too. About 17.8% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Actuarial Science

Some careers associated with actuarial science require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to actuarial science have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	3.1%
Some College Courses	2.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	43.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	9.4%
Master’s Degree	7.5%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.1%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	4.3%
Doctoral Degree	26.7%

Online Actuarial Science Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	9	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	28	1
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Actuarial Science

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to actuarial science.

Major	Number of Grads
Management Science	30,891
Other Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	19,243
Business Statistics	4,908

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By в±® under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.