Frequently Asked Questions | Master of Actuarial Science Program | Statistics and Actuarial Science

Actuaries are business professionals who apply their knowledge of mathematics---particularly statistics, probability and risk modeling--- to real-life financial problems involving future uncertainty.
These uncertainties are usually associated with life insurance, property and casualty insurance, annuities, pension and other employee benefit plans, or providing evidence in courts of law on the value of lost future earnings.

Actuaries find themselves at the top of several job rankings year after year, with the most recent instances reported on CNN and the Wall Street Journal.
Our graduating students find jobs very easily and as the above links indicate, this trend is expected to continue for a while.

If you already have a bachelor's degree in a quantitative area (e.g., engineering, mathematics, statistics, computer science) and wish to quickly acquire the proper training to become an actuary, this is the perfect program for you.

Waterloo is a world leader in actuarial science research and education.
Several faculty members are internationally renowned professors, who write the textbooks used in actuarial science programs around the world.
Fees and cost of living in Waterloo compare favourably with programs in the UK and US. More information about Waterloo can be found on the Graduate Studies website.

Two scholarships, provided by Sun Life Financial of $12,500 are available for students applying to this program. The scholarships are based on academic record and are awarded by the Director of the program.
Students are encouraged to apply to the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program (OGS). Information can be found here.

The M.Act.Sc program has been accredited by the Institute of Actuaries in the UK for most of the preliminary exams (CT 1 to 8, CA1 and CA 3) in their system. An average of 75% over all 15 courses of the program will be required to get credit for these exams. If this average requirement is not met, then it will still be possible to get credits for some exams if the corresponding courses have been completed with an average of at least 70%.

You will be contacted by email and you should also check your Quest account for updates.
You may send us an email to if you want an updated anticipated date for the status of your application or where we are with the application processing.

The MActSc is a professional program, similar to an MBA. Like other professional programs, we do not provide financial support, through TA or RA positions, for students on this program.

The MActSc is a professional program, designed for high calibre students with a quantitative undergraduate degree, but who have little or no previous formal study in actuarial science. The objective of the MActSc program is to prepare students for a career at the leading edge of actuarial science.
The MMath (ActSc) is a research degree, requiring an undergraduate degree with an actuarial major or equivalent. The main objective of the MMath is to pursue mathematical research, and consequently the MMath has a more loosely defined curriculum, which does not cover the business, industry and communications topics that form the capstone content for the MActSc program.