The programme for this Master offers students specialised courses in actuarial science which prepares them for a professional career as an actuary in the field of banking, insurance, pension funds, brokerage, auditing and so on. The second year includes a work placement and writing a dissertation.
Although actuarial science is a separate discipline with its own area of knowledge, modern actuarial training needs to develop multidisciplinary skills: calculating probability, statistics. law, taxation, accounting, economics and finance. The Master programme reflects this by combining specific courses on actuarial science with related disciplines. This multidisciplinary approach, which brings together exact sciences and human sciences, is a key feature of the programme. Courses are held both in the Business School and the Institute of Statistics: this is both an additional advantage and a practical expression of the interdisciplinary nature of the programme.
Holders of this Master’s degree may join the Royal Association of Belgian Actuaries (l’Association Royale des Actuaires Belges – ARAB) and may use the title of ‘actuary’. This Master’s degree is also required by the Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission (la Commission Bancaire, Financière et des Assurances - CBFA) for the post of ‘appointed actuary’ (actuaire désigné).
Louvain has been training actuaries since 1939. The programme, which holds the leading position in the French-speaking region in Belgium, is the only one of its kind at the level of the Louvain Academy.
Students must follow a programme of 120 credits comprising compulsory core subjects (75 credits), a research focus (30 credits) and options (15 credits). The core subjects (75 credits) includes compulsory subjects (45 credits), additional subjects (10 credits), a work placement in a company (5 credits) and a dissertation (15 credits). The research focus covers advanced level actuarial science and related disciplines.
A maximum of 50 credits may be accredited to students who already have a second cycle degree or who are working professionally and who have a good foundation and/or professional experience in actuarial science.
Subject to the agreement of the programme management committee, courses given at UCL which are judged to be equivalent in terms of training may replace foundation courses.
Whatever focuses and options are chosen, the programme for this Master must total a minimum of 120 credits, spread over two years of study. This corresponds to 60 credits per year.
Advanced Masters
The Master in Actuarial Science is not a requirement for any particular Advanced Masters.
Doctoral programme
Students who have gained a Master in Actuarial Science may enrol for the doctoral programme in Actuarial Science, subject to the following conditions :
- higher level pass
- certain additional subjects may be necessary
- the availability of a supervisor or co-supervisor from the Institute of Actuarial Science to support the student in his/her thesis work
- the relevant doctoral Commission (Commission doctorale du domaine - CDD) agreeing the project
University certificates in actuarial techniques have existed for some years in conjunction with the University Institute for Continuing Education (l’Institut universitaire de formation continue - IUFC). The Introduction to the Actuarial Profession Certificate is intended for people who are not actuaries but are nonetheless interested in understanding the techniques and tools of the profession. The Certificate in Stochastic Finance enables professional actuaries and those working in finance to update their knowledge. The Institute of Actuarial Science also allows atraning course to be put together in stages: in this way, the Introduction to the Actuarial Profession Certificate could be the first stage towards a Master in Actuarial Science.
Depending on what students choose, the certificate programme contains between 90 and 120 hours of courses, representing between 11 and 16 credits. It is made up of subjects from the study programme of the Master in Actuarial Science. The subjects are specially selected to respond to the needs of professionals and are taught by lecturers who know how to get the best from a ‘mixed’ student body including both students beginning studies in the domain and mature students. The Institute of Actuarial Science is also developing training programmes designed for professionals.
Detailed information can be found at http://www.actu.ucl.ac.be/
