About Master of Act.Sc.Program

Who Is It For?

The Master of Actuarial Science program is for candidates with no previous formal study in Actuarial Science. Please review the program brochure for details.

Fees

Tuition fees can be found on the Fee Schedule for the appropriate term. The M.Act.Sc. program is located under Special Graduate Programs on the Graduate Fee Schedules.

Applying to the program

To qualify for this program, you need to have a bachelor's degree with high standing (equivalent to at least an A- average) in a quantitative area (engineering, mathematics, statistics, etc.). Some English Language Proficiency requirements must also be met.

Applicants who have not completed three or more years of post-secondary work at an institution at which English was the language of instruction, or have not been employed for a similar period of time in a position in which English was the language of business, are required to provide certification of English language proficiency with a minimum TOEFL score of 600, or a minimum of 100 on the Internet-based TOEFL exam (with a minimum of 25 in the speaking and writing sections) or the equivalent on a comparable test. Comparable tests include: CanTEST 4.5, CAEL 60, IELTS 6.5, MELAB 85.

Admission Information and On-Line Applications

The application deadline for this program is February 1.

Overview

The University of Waterloo operates three semesters of teaching each calendar year. Each semester comprises 13 weeks of teaching and around 4 weeks of examinations. Using all three semesters allows the program to fit 1.5 years of education in a single calendar year, with 39 teaching weeks compared with around 25 teaching weeks in a typical UL academic program.
The program is small, with a maximum of 30 students. The teaching is therefore highly interactive, using engagement techniques to achieve a highly active learning environment.
The students are allocated a home room, where classes are held and where they may work outside class if desired.
Students are allocated to study groups on arrival. Some of the coursework element of the teaching will be required to be done by the study groups as a whole. Groups work together for assignments and presentations. This gives the students opportunities to develop communication, organizational and interpersonal skills, all of which are essential in their future career. This so called cooperative learning can lead to a highly vibrant classroom environment benefiting all the students, but requires careful course design and grouping.
Each course is delivered through three one-hour or two 90-minute classes per week, plus a one-hour tutorial class.
The instructors in the program are full-time faculty of the university. For the core actuarial courses, instructors are credentialed actuaries. In some of the more advanced practice courses, such as Actsc 633, 634 and 635, guest lecturers from industry are invited to give regular presentations.
All instructions hold regular weekly office hours, where students are encouraged to discuss any problems or concerns.
Each course has a dedicated website, where students can pose problems and discuss issues with instructors and each other. The website is also a valuable tool for posting on-line background study materials.
Each course uses a number of assignments (typically weekly or bi-weekly) which are submitted, marked and returned. The assignment grades count towards the final course grade. More senior courses involve project work where it can provide a quality learning experience.
Each course has two exams; a midterm assessment, of around 1-2 hours, and a final exam, of 2.5 hours. The continuous nature of the assessment maintains the intensity of the students' learning, which will be essential as the program is high in content, and also allows the instructor to identify and take action where a student is not achieving a sufficiently high level.
The University of Waterloo faculty in actuarial science are highly distinguished, both in teaching and research. Two professors are Honorary Fellows of the Institute of Actuaries. Four have authored or co-authored seminal actuarial textbooks.