The Bachelor of Actuarial Studies / Bachelor of Science is a 4 year dual degree program which will meet the needs of students wanting a program of study in science, complemented with a strong, focused actuarial studies program. As part of this program students will complete a major stream in science, and a sequence of actuarial studies courses within the UNSW Business School.

With approval, students with an appropriate academic record may also enrol in a separate 1 year Honours program in the field of actuarial studies, or a separate 1 year Honours program within UNSW Science.

Studies leading to the award of the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies/Bachelor of Science combined degree normally consist of 192 UOC or 32 courses to be completed over 4 academic years. Where the requirements for the two programs are completed in less than 192 UOC 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.

Bachelor of Actuarial Studies component:

Students are required to complete at least 96 UOC consisting of:

Students may replace ACTL2131 with the two courses MATH2901 Higher Theory of Statistics and MATH2931 Higher Linear Models. If students make this replacement, 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.

Third year elective courses from Actuarial Studies (18 UOC) are to be selected from:

Three additional Elective courses (18 UOC) from the School of Actuarial Studies, or from courses offered by another school in the UNSW Business School, must be completed to satisfy the depth component.

Click here to view the Progression Plan for your Actuarial Studies program

Bachelor of Science component:

Students are required to complete at least 96 UOC for the Bachelor of Science component, consisting of:

BSc major requirements: Completion of the required courses for a major in one approved Science discipline. Majors in the Bachelor of Science range from 60 UOC to 90 UOC. Please refer to the majors available in the 3970 Bachelor of Science program page.

Science elective courses: These will typically account between 6 and 36 UOC in ‘science’ courses to ensure a student completes 96 UOC for the BSc component. The exact number of additional 'science' courses to be completed will depend on the major chosen. For details of what courses constitute ‘Science’ courses, please see the 3970 Bachelor of Science program page.

Other requirements: Students may not include more than 96 UOC of level I courses overall.

BActSt

High achieving students may apply to undertake honours. Honours is a separate 1 year program of full-time study which provides students with advanced knowledge of their chosen field and develops research and communication skills. Students will need to complete advanced courses/seminars and a thesis.

B Science

Candidates for Honours in the Science component of the combined degree program will need to consult the relevant School in which they wish to undertake the separate 1 year program of full time studies prior to their third year of study.

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 UOC in compulsory and elective courses. These include 72 UOC of compulsory courses, and at least 18 UOC 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.

Academic rules relating to the Bachelor of Science in dual mode are as
follows:

1. Students must complete a minimum of 96 units of credit;

2. Students must complete at least one approved Bachelor of Science major, and this must be declared before enrolling in Level II courses (see the 3970 Bachelor of Science page for approved majors). Information about how to declare a major can be found on the Science Student Centre website.

3. Students may choose to complete an optional minor using their Science electives (see the 3970 Bachelor of Science page for the list of approved minors).

Students cannot complete a minor with the same name as their nominated major, and Level II and III courses cannot be double-counted between majors and minors. More than one minor may be completed subject to the limit on double-counting. Students must declare their minor(s) before their final semester.

4. In addition to the courses required for a student's chosen major, students must take 'Science' courses so that the major plus 'Science' courses total 96 UoC. ‘Science’ courses are listed in Table 1 on the 3970 Bachelor of Science page.

5. Students must complete at least 24 UoC of Level I ‘Science’ courses. ‘Science’ courses are listed in Table 1 of the 3970 Bachelor of Science page.

6. Students may not enrol into Level II courses until at least 30 UoC of Level I courses have been successfully completed.
7. Students may not enrol into Level III courses until at least 72 UoC of courses have been successfully completed.

Students who intend to complete a double major or a major combined with a minor in the Bachelor of Science when taken as part of a dual degree should be aware that it may be difficult to complete these combinations within 96 UoC. This may involve extra time and cost to complete, and may have visa implications for international students.

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  UNSW Fee Website.

For further information, please refer to the Professional Recognition of Programs in the UNSW Online Handbook.

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

UNSW Science
e-mail: sso@unsw.edu.au
tel: + 61 2 9385 6125 / 9385 7788
location: Robert Webster Building, Room 128