Actuarial / Science (Adv Math) - 3589
Program Summary
Faculty: UNSW Business School
Contact: UNSW Business School Student Centre
Campus: Sydney
Career: Undergraduate
Typical Duration: 5 Years 
Typical UOC Per Semester: 24
Min UOC Per Semester: 6
Max UOC Per Semester: 24
Min UOC For Award: 240
UAC Code: 424350
Domestic Entry Requirements: See Domestic Entry Requirements
International Entry Requirements: See International Entry Requirements
Award(s):
Bachelor of Actuarial Studies
Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics)
View program information for previous years
Program Description
The Bachelor of Actuarial Studies/Bachelor of Science in Advanced Mathematics (BCom/BSc (Adv Maths)) is a 5 year dual degree program which will meet the needs of students wanting an advanced program of study in mathematics or statistics, complemented with a strong, focused actuarial studies program. As part of this program students will complete a major stream in both a selected area of mathematics or statistics (from UNSW Science), and a sequence of actuarial studies courses within the UNSW Business School.
The BSc component includes the potential award of honours based on overall performance, and incorporates a single major and a research project. Majors are defined on the Advanced Mathematics Program (3986) page.
With approval, students with an appropriate academic record may also enrol in an additional actuarial studies Honours year within the UNSW Business School.
Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes
On successful completion of the BActSt component, students will be able to:
- demonstrate business knowledge and apply that knowledge in business problems
- demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving skills
- present complex issues in coherent written statements and oral presentations
- demonstrate understanding of actuarial issues in a local or global context
- demonstrate understanding of the principles of working collaboratively in teams
- understand the social and ethical dimensions in actuarial work.
The objective of the BSc (Advanced Mathematics) component is to:
- Graduate Mathematicians and Statisticians with both breadth and depth of mathematics, statistics and scientific knowledge and professional skills
- Develop the capacity for critical thinking and independent learning
- Provide training in the practice and management of research and instil a research ethos
- Develop general and science-specific graduate attributes
- Expose students to disciplines different to mathematics and statistics
Program Structure
A total of 240 units of credit is required to complete this dual degree program. Student must satisfy the following requirements for the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies and Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) components.
Where the requirements for the two programs are completed in less than 240 units of credit due to overlapping courses, students may satisfy the remaining units of credit from those offered by the UNSW Business School or from within UNSW Science.
Requirements for the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies in dual degree mode
Students are required to complete at least 96 UOC consisting of:
Where the requirements for the two programs are completed in less than 240 units of credit due to overlapping courses, students may satisfy the remaining units of credit from those offered by the UNSW Business School or from within UNSW Science.
Requirements for the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies in dual degree mode
Students are required to complete at least 96 UOC consisting of:
- Compulsory first and second year courses
- Third year elective courses from Actuarial Studies
- *Three elective courses (18 UOC) from Actuarial Studies or the UNSW Business School.
Please note *18 UOC of elective courses from Actuarial Studies or the UNSW Business School need to be completed as MATH1151 and MATH1251 count towards the BSc(AdvMaths) component of this dual program.
Compulsory core courses:
- ACCT1501 Accounting & Financial Mgt 1A (6 UOC)
- ACCT1511 Accounting & Financial Mgt 1B (6 UOC)
- ACTL1101 Intro Actuarial Studies (6 UOC)
- ACTL2102 Foundation of Actuarial Models (6 UOC)
- ACTL2111 Financial Maths for Actuaries (6 UOC)
- ACTL2131 Probability & Math Stat (6 UOC)
- ECON1101 Microeconomics 1 (6 UOC)
- ECON1102 Macroeconomics 1 (6 UOC)
- FINS1613 Business Finance (6 UOC)
- MATH1151 Maths - Actuarial & Finance 1A (6 UOC)
- MATH1251 Maths - Actuarial & Finance 1B (6 UOC)
- MGMT1001 Managing Organisations&People (6 UOC)
Third year elective courses from Actuarial Studies (18 UOC) are to be selected from:
Students may replace ACTL2131 with the two courses MATH2901 Higher Theory of Statistics and MATH2931 Higher Linear Models. If students make this replacements, the first of these courses (i.e. MATH2901) will count towards the compulsory course requirement, and the second course can be counted towards another major or minor or as an elective.
Note that a minimum of 96 UOC must be completed in UNSW Business School courses for the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies.
Requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics)
Students are required to complete at least 144 UOC of courses for this component which includes:
Note that a minimum of 96 UOC must be completed in UNSW Business School courses for the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies.
Requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics)
Students are required to complete at least 144 UOC of courses for this component which includes:
- An Advanced Mathematics major from program 3986 – applied maths, pure maths and statistics
- A 48 UOC Honours sequence at stage 5
- SCIF1121 or SCIF1131
- Science elective courses
Note that, for Bachelor of Actuarial Studies students completing a Major from the School of Mathematics and Statistics: MATH1151 replaces MATH1141 in any stream that requires either of the latter courses. Similarly, MATH1251 replaces MATH1241 in any stream.
Other requirements
Students may not include more than 72 UOC of level I courses overall, except where specified in a particular program.
Other requirements
Students may not include more than 72 UOC of level I courses overall, except where specified in a particular program.
Honours
B Act St
BSc (Advanced Mathematics)
A Honours in this component must be completed by students. For details please refer to point 4 below in the Academic Rules for this program.
BSc (Advanced Mathematics)
A Honours in this component must be completed by students. For details please refer to point 4 below in the Academic Rules for this program.
Academic Rules
Requirements for the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies in dual degree mode (96 UOC):
Content of Program
To be awarded a degree at Pass level, the BActSt must contain (as a dual
degree):
1. 96 units of credit in compulsory and elective courses. These include 72UOC of compulsory courses, and at least 18UOC of elective Level 3 actuarial studies courses.
2. A minimum of 84 UOC of courses offered by the UNSW Business School.
Progression rules
3. A minimum of 24 UOC courses must be completed before enrolling in Level 2 courses.
4. A minimum of 72 UOC courses must be completed before enrolling in Level 3 courses.
Awarding degree
5. A Pass degree with Distinction may be awarded if a student achieves a minimum of 75 WAM across the program and completes a minimum of 72 UOC at UNSW.
Rules Relating to the Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) Component
Content of Program
To be awarded a degree at Pass level, the BSc (Advanced Mathematics) component must contain:
1. Students must complete a minimum of 144 units of credit;
2. Students must complete exactly one approved Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) major, and this must be declared before enrolling in level III courses. Details of approved Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) majors and how to declare a major can be found on the 3986 (Advanced Mathematics) program page
3. SCIF1121 Advanced Science: Professional Perspective and Practice (6 units of credit) or SCIF1131 Science: Technological & Professional Perspectives (6 units of credit) must be completed in first year;
4. An Honours Year of 48 units of credit must be completed. For information regarding the admission requirements and application process for honours, please see the information under 'Honours' on the 3986 Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) program page.
5. In addition to the courses required for a student's chosen major, SCIF1121/1131, and honours, students must take 'science' courses so that the major plus SCIF1121/1131, plus Honours, plus 'science' courses total 144 units of credit. Details of what courses constitute ‘science’ courses can be found in Table 1 on the 3986 Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) program page;
Majors in the Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) range from 84 units of credit to 114 units of credit. Honours is 48 units of credit, and SCIF1121/1131 is 6 units of credit, therefore students will typically need to take 0 - 6 units of credit of additional 'science' courses. This additional science course may need to be at level I depending on whether a major satisfies rule 6 below.
6. Students must complete a minimum of 24 units of credit of 'science' level I courses;
Typically Advanced Mathematics majors already contain 24 units of credit of science level I courses, therefore, no further level I science courses are required. However, where a major does not already meet this requirement, additional level I science courses will need to be taken. These science level I courses count towards the 144 units of credit requirement at rule number 5.
7. A minimum of 30 units of credit of level III science courses must be completed;
Typically Advanced Mathematics majors already contain 30 units of credit of level III courses, therefore, no further level III courses are required. However, where a major does not already meet this requirement, additional level III courses will need to be taken. These additional level III courses should be completed in a student's major area of study, or a complementary area that will be beneficial for a student's chosen honours area.
8. No student may commence level II courses until 30 units of credit of level I courses have been successfully completed (This is 30 units of credit of courses taken towards the entire dual program and not just courses for the Science component).
9. Students may commence level III courses upon successful completion of 72 units of credit (This is 72 units of credit of courses taken towards the entire dual program and not just courses for the Science component).
10. Progression to stages 2, 3 and 4 is subject to academic performance. Students will be required to attain a weighted average mark (WAM) of 70 in each semester. Where students do not maintain this minimum level of academic performance, they will be transferred to the Bachelor of Science program.
Notes:
Students wishing to complete a major in Quantitative Risk, should note that this is a large multi-disciplinary major, and when taken in a dual degree program where there is little or no overlap of courses with the other degree program, may involve extra time and cost to complete, and may have visa implications for international students.
Rules specifically applicable to the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies / Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics)
1. A maximum of 72 UOC of Level 1 courses overall.
2. MATH1151 replaces MATH1141 in any stream that requires either of the latter courses. Similarly, MATH1251 replaces MATH1241 in any stream.
Other rules in the BActSt and BSc (Advanced Mathematics) will apply wherever relevant.
Content of Program
To be awarded a degree at Pass level, the BActSt must contain (as a dual
degree):
1. 96 units of credit in compulsory and elective courses. These include 72UOC of compulsory courses, and at least 18UOC of elective Level 3 actuarial studies courses.
2. A minimum of 84 UOC of courses offered by the UNSW Business School.
Progression rules
3. A minimum of 24 UOC courses must be completed before enrolling in Level 2 courses.
4. A minimum of 72 UOC courses must be completed before enrolling in Level 3 courses.
Awarding degree
5. A Pass degree with Distinction may be awarded if a student achieves a minimum of 75 WAM across the program and completes a minimum of 72 UOC at UNSW.
Rules Relating to the Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) Component
Content of Program
To be awarded a degree at Pass level, the BSc (Advanced Mathematics) component must contain:
1. Students must complete a minimum of 144 units of credit;
2. Students must complete exactly one approved Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) major, and this must be declared before enrolling in level III courses. Details of approved Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) majors and how to declare a major can be found on the 3986 (Advanced Mathematics) program page
3. SCIF1121 Advanced Science: Professional Perspective and Practice (6 units of credit) or SCIF1131 Science: Technological & Professional Perspectives (6 units of credit) must be completed in first year;
4. An Honours Year of 48 units of credit must be completed. For information regarding the admission requirements and application process for honours, please see the information under 'Honours' on the 3986 Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) program page.
5. In addition to the courses required for a student's chosen major, SCIF1121/1131, and honours, students must take 'science' courses so that the major plus SCIF1121/1131, plus Honours, plus 'science' courses total 144 units of credit. Details of what courses constitute ‘science’ courses can be found in Table 1 on the 3986 Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) program page;
Majors in the Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) range from 84 units of credit to 114 units of credit. Honours is 48 units of credit, and SCIF1121/1131 is 6 units of credit, therefore students will typically need to take 0 - 6 units of credit of additional 'science' courses. This additional science course may need to be at level I depending on whether a major satisfies rule 6 below.
6. Students must complete a minimum of 24 units of credit of 'science' level I courses;
Typically Advanced Mathematics majors already contain 24 units of credit of science level I courses, therefore, no further level I science courses are required. However, where a major does not already meet this requirement, additional level I science courses will need to be taken. These science level I courses count towards the 144 units of credit requirement at rule number 5.
7. A minimum of 30 units of credit of level III science courses must be completed;
Typically Advanced Mathematics majors already contain 30 units of credit of level III courses, therefore, no further level III courses are required. However, where a major does not already meet this requirement, additional level III courses will need to be taken. These additional level III courses should be completed in a student's major area of study, or a complementary area that will be beneficial for a student's chosen honours area.
8. No student may commence level II courses until 30 units of credit of level I courses have been successfully completed (This is 30 units of credit of courses taken towards the entire dual program and not just courses for the Science component).
9. Students may commence level III courses upon successful completion of 72 units of credit (This is 72 units of credit of courses taken towards the entire dual program and not just courses for the Science component).
10. Progression to stages 2, 3 and 4 is subject to academic performance. Students will be required to attain a weighted average mark (WAM) of 70 in each semester. Where students do not maintain this minimum level of academic performance, they will be transferred to the Bachelor of Science program.
Notes:
Students wishing to complete a major in Quantitative Risk, should note that this is a large multi-disciplinary major, and when taken in a dual degree program where there is little or no overlap of courses with the other degree program, may involve extra time and cost to complete, and may have visa implications for international students.
Rules specifically applicable to the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies / Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics)
1. A maximum of 72 UOC of Level 1 courses overall.
2. MATH1151 replaces MATH1141 in any stream that requires either of the latter courses. Similarly, MATH1251 replaces MATH1241 in any stream.
Other rules in the BActSt and BSc (Advanced Mathematics) will apply wherever relevant.
Fees
For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/FeesMainPage.html
Professional Recognition
For further information, please refer to the Professional Recognition of Programs in the UNSW Online Handbook.
Further Information
Please note that these requirements may be subject to change. Students should always follow the program requirements according to the year they started their degree. For more information please visit Previous UNSW Online Handbooks
Contact the UNSW Business School Student Centre for advice.
tel: + 61 2 9385 3189
location: Level 1, room 1028, Quadrangle Building
Forms, policies and procedures
Frequently asked questions
Contact the UNSW Science for advice on B Sc (Advanced maths) component.
e-mail: sso@unsw.edu.au
tel: + 61 2 9385 6125 / 9385 7788
location: Robert Webster Building, Room 128
Contact the UNSW Business School Student Centre for advice.
tel: + 61 2 9385 3189
location: Level 1, room 1028, Quadrangle Building
Forms, policies and procedures
Frequently asked questions
Contact the UNSW Science for advice on B Sc (Advanced maths) component.
e-mail: sso@unsw.edu.au
tel: + 61 2 9385 6125 / 9385 7788
location: Robert Webster Building, Room 128
Area(s) of Specialisation
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