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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/

University Bachelors
Diploma	Special Requirements	Access	Remarks
UCL Bachelors
Bachelor in Business Engineering [180.0]		Direct access
Bachelor in Engineering [180.0]		Direct access
Bachelor in Economics and Management [180.0]		Direct access
Bachelor in Mathematics [180.0]		Direct access
Bachelor in Physics [180.0]		Direct access
Belgian Bachelors of the French speaking Community
Bachelier ingénieur de gestion		Direct access
Belgian Bachelors of the Dutch speaking Community
Bachelier ingénieur de gestion		On the file: direct access or access with additional training
Foreign Bachelors
Bachelier ingénieur de gestion		On the file: direct access or access with additional training
Non university Bachelors
Diploma		Access	Remarks
> Find out more about links to the university
Holders of a 2nd cycle University degree
Diploma	Special Requirements	Access	Remarks
"Licenciés"
Toute licence des filières Ingénieur, Mathématiques, Physique, Statistique		Direct access
Masters
Tout master des filières Ingénieur, Mathématiques, Physique, Statistique		Direct access
Holders of a non-University 2nd cycle degree
Diploma		Access	Remarks
> Find out more about links to the university

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Reminder : all Masters (apart from Advanced Masters) are also accessible on file.

Entry to all Masters (with the exception of Advanced Masters) can also be gained on submission of a special personal file.

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See the general admission requirements

Procédures particulières :

Students must draw up their individual programmes with the academic coordinator who is responsible for accrediting prior learning and experience.

Par sa vocation professionnelle, ce programme propose, en complément à de solides bases méthodologiques, de nombreuses occasions de mettre les outils en pratique à l'occasion de travaux personnels d'analyse de données réelles sur ordinateur, et d'un projet intégré réalisé en collaboration avec une entreprise.

La plupart des cours comportent ainsi un projet d’application intervenant dans l’évaluation.  Cette approche permet à l’étudiant de mettre en œuvre de façon systématique les outils présentés dans les exposés méthodologiques et d’être ainsi préparé à du travail de terrain.  La réalisation de projets suscite également un esprit de collaboration stimulant et convivial parmi les étudiants du programme. 

Le programme impose de réaliser un stage en entreprise (ou dans un laboratoire de recherche), qui peut compléter les aspects méthodologiques du mémoire.

Le corps professoral est constitué d’académiques à temps plein, et de professionnels de haut niveau (la plupart porteurs d’un diplôme de doctorat). Cette mixité permet de garantir la qualité scientifique du programme, tout en lui apportant le professionnalisme requis.

Chaque cours du programme comporte un examen oral ou écrit éventuellement complété par un projet conduisant à un rapport intervenant dans l’évaluation.  Le stage et le travail de mémoire impliquent chacun la rédaction d’un document faisant l’objet d’une défense orale. Le mémoire est présenté devant un jury composé du directeur du mémoire et d'un rapporteur académique. Le rapport de stage est présenté également devant un jury composé du maître de stage, de l'enseignant promoteur et d'un rapporteur académique.

Students who have gained a higher level pass in the first year of the Master may take part in international exchange programmes organized by the Institute of Actuarial Science. Discussions are ongoing to put these exchanges on a more formal footing, particularly with the Universities of Lyon, Barcelona and Lausanne.

 

This new Master is expected to be very popular at the international level: the excellent reputation of the Institute of Actuarial Science will attract more students than in the past. The popularity of the course might well be further enhanced if some of the programme were taught in English: this option is being seriously considered by the teaching staff.

Legend
Mandatory Optional Courses not taught this academic year Periodic courses not taught this academic year Periodic courses taught this academic year Two year courses
Click on the course code to see detailed informations (objectives, methods, evaluation...)
						Year
						1	2
Mémoire et stage (20credits)
ACTU2900	Dissertation  (in French)	N.		15credits			x
ACTU2950	Internship  (in French)	N.		5credits			x
Cours de base obligatoires (45credits)
ACTU2000	BASIC TOOLS FOR ACTUARIAL SCIENCE  (in French)	Michel Denuit, Pierre Devolder, Jean-Marie Rolin (supplée Michel Denuit)	30h	5credits	1q	x
ACTU2010	NON LIFE INSURANCE 1  (in French)	Michel Denuit	30h	5credits	1q	x
ACTU2020	MATHEMATICS OF FINANCIAL MARKETS  (in French)	Pierre Devolder	30h	5credits	1q	x
ACTU2030	LIFE INSURANCE 1  (in French)	Pierre Devolder, Françoise Gilles	30h	5credits	1q	x
ACTU2040	PENSION FUNDING  (in French)	Pierre Devolder	30h	5credits	2q	x
ACTU2050	ACCOUNTING OF INSURANCE COMPANIES  (in French)	Frédéric Chandelle	30h	5credits	1q	x
ACTU2060	LIFE INSURANCE 2  (in French)	Michel Denuit	30h	5credits	2q	x
ACTU2070	STOCHASTIC FINANCE 1  (in French)	Pierre Devolder	30h	5credits	2q	x
ACTU2080	REINSURANCE  (in French)	Jean-François Walhin	30h	5credits	2q	x
Cours complémentaires (10credits) Pour les étudiants dont la formation est à orientation mathématique, 10 crédits de compléments d'économie, comptabilité et droit fixés en fonction du CV de l'étudiant parmi des cours existants Pour les étudiants dont la formation est à orientation économique, 10 crédits de compléments de statistique, fixés en fonction du CV de l'étudiant parmi des cours existants. Ces cours sont à inscrire en première année du programme de master.

						Year
						1	2
ACTU2200	NON LIFE INSURANCE 2  (in French)	Michel Denuit	30h	5credits	2q	x
ACTU2210	MARKETING OF FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE COMPANIES  (in French)	Roland Saintrond	15h	3credits	1q		x
ACTU2220	ALM OF INSURANCE COMPANIES  (in French)	Céline Azizieh	30h	5credits	2q		x
ACTU2230	LIFE RELATED INSURANCE  (in French)	Michel Denuit	30h	5credits	1q		x
ACTU2240	STOCHASTIC FINANCE 2  (in French)	Pierre Ars, Pierre Devolder	30h	5credits	2q		x
DROP2021	Property-Casualty Insurance  (in French)	Bernard Dubuisson	30h	5credits	2q		x

						Year
						1	2
15 crédits parmi :
LSMS2011	Portfolio Management  (in French)	Nihat Aktas, Christophe Dispas (supplée Nihat Aktas)	30h	5credits			x
LSMS2015	Produits dérivés  (in French)	Michel Levasseur	30h	5credits			x
LSMS2019	Bank management I  (in English)	Philippe Grégoire, Luc Henrard	30h	5credits			x
DROI2106	SOCIAL SECURITY LAW  (in French)	Steve Gilson, Jean-François Neven	30h	4credits	1q		x
STAT2110	Data Analysis  (in French)	Cédric Heuchenne	22.5h + 7.5h	5credits	1q		x
STAT3210	Resampling methods with applications  (in English)	Gery Geenens	30h	5credits	1q		x
DROP2032	Law of Financial Products  (in French)	Matthieu Duplat, Philippe Lambrecht	30h	5credits	2q		x