How to pursue a career in actuarial science after Class 12?
Actuarial science deals with assessing risks and ensuring the financial stability of insurance or financial institutions. Actuarial science graduates understand how to predict future events and take preventive steps using mathematical, statistical, and probability principles. Here is what aspiring candidates need to know about this career option.
Available Courses
There are a few undergraduate and postgraduate courses in actuarial science that students can take up after Class 12. These courses will teach students about insurance risk calculation, insurance premiums, application of economic and mathematical analysis for making any decision in financial planning, insurance investment and management.
The undergraduate degree courses (3 years) include:
- BSc in Actuarial Science
- BSc in Actuarial and Financial Mathematics
- BA (Hons.) in Insurance and Banking
The postgraduate degree courses (2 years) include:
- MBA in Actuarial Science
- MSc in Actuarial Science
Institutes for Actuarial Science
Some of the popular institutes in India where students can pursue actuarial science are Aligarh Muslim University, Christ University, Bangalore, Amity School of Insurance and Actuarial Science, Noida, Institute of Actuaries of India, The National Insurance Academy, Pune, and NMIMS University, Mumbai.
Eligibility criteria
For admission to the UG programmes, students must have completed Class 12 from Commerce stream with a minimum of 50% aggregate. Candidates from other streams should have studied Mathematics as a subject in Class 12 to be eligible for admission to this course. Students need to qualify the Actuarial Common Entrance Test (ACET), a university-level entrance examination conducted by the Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI) for admission into this university.
Subjects taught in actuarial science programmes
Individual dynamics and leadership, risk management, financial mathematics, enterprise risk management, actuarial mathematics, financial valuation and contingencies, statistics and probability and mathematical functions are some of the prominent subjects taught as part of the actuarial science programme at the graduate and postgraduate level.
Career options
Actuarial science graduates are in demand across various sectors such as insurance companies, investment consultancies, financial services, banking and stock exchanges. Some of the popular career profiles available to students after studying actuarial science are actuaries, business analysts, risk analysts, financial planners, risk managers, auditors, budget analysts, economists, insurance underwriters and cost estimators.
Organisations that hire actuarial science graduates comprise both government and private sector firms, such as Life Insurance Corporation of India, HDFC Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Max Bupa Health Insurance, IDBI, McKinsey Advanced Healthcare Analytics, CRISIL, EY, PwC, etc.