M.S. in Applied Financial Mathematics – Actuarial Science

Introduction

The University of Connecticut’s Professional Master’s in Applied Financial Mathematics prepares a graduate for work in an analytic capacity across a wide spectrum of the financial services industry – investment banks, private equity, hedge funds, mutual funds, consulting firms, investment firms, insurance companies, commercial banks, brokerage houses and other corporations. The program emphasizes finance, investing, and risk-management together with rigorous mathematical modeling and analytical techniques applied to problem-solving in those areas and communications skills required to be effective in a corporate environment.

A unique component of the program is that students must complete at least 6 credits of Practicum courses, including internship options with the Goldenson Center for Actuarial Research. Since its inception in 2008, the Goldenson Center has had a successful track record of working with teams of graduate students on applied research projects with industry. Such project experience has helped Actuarial MS graduates in the past to secure employment as well as H1b visa sponsorship.

Students do well in this program if they enter with a high GPA bachelor’s degree in mathematics, statistics, physics, engineering, quantitative economics, or other related fields and want a career applying their already strong mathematics skills and knowledge to the understanding and solution of problems involving finance, investing, and risk. No prior knowledge of business, finance or investing is required but the mathematics background is essential. We expect applicants to have completed undergraduate coursework in differential calculus, integral calculus, multivariable calculus, differential equations, linear algebra and mathematical probability/statistics (taught in a calculus framework). If one of these is missing it can be made up upon enrollment, but usually an applicant’s background should be missing no more than one of these.

In addition to the Graduate School requirements for admission, we require a personal statement and three recommendation letters, preferably from mathematics instructors. Undergraduate GPAs for those we admit average about 3.5/4.0 for quantitative coursework.

For the admissions process see Admission. In the online application, apply for M.S. in Applied Financial Mathematics, concentration in Actuarial Science.

See M.S. in Mathematics – concentration in Actuarial Science for the alternative of choosing an MS in Mathematics with concentration in actuarial science degree.

The M.S. in Applied Financial Mathematics concentration in Actuarial Science qualifies as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) degree with the federal government.  International students who earn the degree may be eligible for the STEM extension to the OPT (Optional Practical Training) program, if the company is an E-Verify employer.

More on our actuarial program can be found on its homepage.

Overview of Degree Requirements

To graduate with an M.S. in Applied Financial Mathematics with a concentration in Actuarial Science, a student must satisfy all of the following requirements:

  • At least 30 credits, including all of the required courses.
  • Graduate Field Study Internship.
  • An Exit Project approved by the student’s advisor or Passing grades on two professional examinations of the Society of Actuaries.

Coursework

(Number of credits, and semester, F or S, the course is usually offered in.  Check here or log into Student Admin and do a class search).

Required Courses

Students must complete each of the following Core courses:

  • Math 5600 Fundamentals of Financial Math (3 F)
  • Math 5620 Financial Math I: Theory of Interest (3 F)
  • Math 5650 Financial Math II: Theory of Corporate Finance (4 S)
  • Math 5660 Advanced Financial Math: Stochastic Finance (3 S)
  • Math 5637 Statistics for Actuarial Modeling (4 F) OR Stat 5361 Statistical Computing: Large Financial Models (3 F) — prior statistics knowledge required

Students must complete at least one of the following Advanced Actuarial courses:

  • Math 5630 Actuarial Mathematics I (4 F)
  • Math 5631 Actuarial Mathematics II (4 S)
  • Math 5637 Statistics for Actuarial Modeling (3 F)
  • Math 5640 Advanced Actuarial Mathematics I (3 check course offerings)
  • Math 5641 Advanced Actuarial Mathematics II (3 check course offerings)

Students must complete at least one of the following Finance Focus courses:

  • Acct 5327: Financial Statement Analysis (3 check course offerings) – prior accounting knowledge required
  • Fnce 5202: Investments and Securities Analysis (3 check course offerings)
  • Fnce 5504: Options, Futures and Risk Management (3 check course offerings)
  • Fnce 5512: Fixed Income Instruments (3 check course offerings)
  • Fnce 5532: Real Estate Investment and Portfolio Management (3 check course offerings)
  • Fnce 5533: Real Estate Capital Markets (3 check course offerings)
  • Fnce 6201: Introduction to Finance Theory and Evidence (3 check course offerings) – consult advisor first
  • Fnce 6203: Theory of Financial Markets and Valuation (3 check course offerings) – consult advisor first
  • MATH 5661: Yield Curve Models (3 S)

Students must complete at least 6 credits from among the following Practicum courses, including at least 1 credit for internship(s):

  • Math 5600: Fundamentals of Financial Math (3 F) – this is a required course that must be taken in the student’s first Fall semester
  • Math 5850 Graduate Field Study Internship (1-3 F S Summer) – described further below; may be repeated for credit up to 6 credits; internship credit also can be earned through participation in School of Business Experiential Learning Collaborative projects, which will be recorded under a BADM or OPIM course number assigned to the project.
  • MCB 5900: Professional Writing and Communication (1 F S)
  • Math 5661: Yield Curve Models (3 S)
  • Math 5670: Financial Programming and Modeling (3 check course offerings)
  • Math 5671: Financial Data Mining with Big Data (3 check course offerings)
  • Math 5800-043: General Insurance: Pricing and Reserving (3 check course offerings) – connection to CAS Exam 5

Elective Courses

Additional courses may be selected from the list of finance courses above, and/or from the following list (no more than 6 credits of undergraduate courses 3000+ can be credited towards the MS degree):

  • Acct 5121: Financial Accounting and Reporting (3 check course offerings) – strongly encouraged
  • Math 3160: Probability (3 F S)
  • Math 3170: Elementary Stochastic Processes (3 S)
  • Math 5637: Statistics for Actuarial Modeling (3 F)
  • Math 5110: Introduction to Modern Analysis (3 F)
  • Math 5111: Measure and Integration (3 S) – consult advisor first
  • Math 5160: Probability and Stochastic Processes I (3 F) – consult advisor first
  • Math 5161: Probability and Stochastic Processes II (3 S) – with permission, can replace Math 5660
  • Math 5661: Yield Curve Models (3 S)
  • Math 5670: Financial Programming and Modeling (3 check course offerings)
  • Math 5671: Financial Data Mining with Big Data (3 check course offerings)
  • Stat 3965: Elementary Stochastic Processes (3 F) – equivalent to Math 3170
  • Stat 5585: Mathematical Statistics I (3 check course offerings)
  • Stat 5685: Mathematical Statistics II (3 check course offerings)
  • Stat 5505: Applied Statistics I (3 F)
  • Stat 5605: Applied Statistics II (3 S)
  • Stat 5315: Analysis of Experiments (3 check course offerings)
  • Stat 5725: Linear Statistical Models (3 check course offerings)
  • Stat 5825: Applied Time Series (3 check course offerings)
  • Econ 5201: Microeconomics (3 F S)
  • Econ 5202: Macroeconomics (3 F S)
  • Econ 5301: Mathematical Economics (3 check course offerings)
  • Econ 5311: Applied Econometrics I (3 check course offerings)
  • Fnce 5151: Introduction to Economic Markets (3 check course offerings)

Please also consult the Hartford Campus offerings for many of the above courses. Enrollment in the Hartford Campus can be made by requesting a permission number or by arrangement with the Graduate Coordinator.

Internship Requirement

A practical internship, usually during the summer between the 2nd the 3rd semester of a student’s program, helps to assure a pragmatic dimension to the student’s development. One to three credits are earned, registering in Math 5850 (see above), and more than one internship may be used (along with other options, as above) to meet the 6-credit Practicum requirement. With a wide range of financial firms in Connecticut (the leading U.S. insurance center and unofficial headquarters of the U.S. hedge fund industry) and in nearby New York and Boston, many students find attractive, well-paid internships, especially when the business is in a favorable point of its cycle. While we help students where possible to secure a paid internship, we cannot guarantee one because the business can be cyclical. Securing such an internship is the student’s own responsibility. When necessary we enable students to meet the internship requirement by offering an unpaid internship assisting the research projects of faculty members who have extensive working experience in financial institutions. Another option to meet the internship requirement is to apply and be selected for one of the School of Business Experiential Learning Collaborative projects.

Exit Project

The final requirement for the M.S. degree is passing performance on an innovative exit project that will require an independent, scholarly, yet pragmatic piece of work that may take many forms. A comprehensive literature review on an appropriate topic could be performed. Alternatively, the student could formulate a solution to a problem encountered during an internship or in advance coursework. It might be appropriate for the student to write a mock journal article or technical report on such work. Some students create complex financial simulation models and evaluate their results. Some students may already have positions secured prior to completion of the exit project. In these cases the prospective employer could help to determine the type of exercise that would be most beneficial to the student’s preparation for employment. The student and the advisor will agree upon the nature and time frame for completion of the exit project. The Advisory Committee will evaluate the project under University guidelines. It is the intent of this innovative exit project to reinforce the discipline-specific competency and to provide an evaluation tool for relevant problem-solving abilities and writing skills.

Passing grades on two professional examinations of the Society of Actuaries will be accepted in lieu of an exit project.