About the Program

The Actuarial Science Program is a part of the Finance Department in the College of Business Administration. However, all undergraduate courses are offered to majors/minors in both the College of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Mission and Vision

Mission Statement

The Mission of the Actuarial Science Program at the University of Nebraska Lincoln is

• to produce well-educated graduates who can make significant contributions to the financial security of individuals, corporate organizations and society through the ability to identify, quantify, assess and manage risk and uncertainty; and
• to produce theoretically sound and practical research that contributes to the advancement of actuarial science and actuarial practice.

Vision Statement

The Actuarial Science Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln is regarded as an academic and distinctive pre-professional actuarial science program of the highest quality.

Goals for Student Learning Outcomes

In support of this mission, the Actuarial Science Program has the following goals for student learning outcomes:

1. Understand the content of the UNL courses covering the learning objectives described in the Education Section of the Society of Actuaries (SOA) website (www.soa.org) for the professional Actuarial Examinations covering Probability (P), Financial Mathematics (FM), Actuarial Models – Financial Economics (MFE), Actuarial Models – Life Contingencies (MLC), and Construction and Evaluation of Actuarial Models (C).
2. Understand the content of the UNL courses that have been approved for the actuarial profession’s Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) program for the topics of Economics, Corporate Finance and Applied Statistics.
3. Demonstrate the ability to apply the concepts of actuarial science in solving problems related to financial security.
4. Understand the additional considerations in practical applications of actuarial theory, such as assumption setting, Actuarial Standards of Practice, the professional code of conduct, and effective communication.
5. Understand that being a professional requires that actuarial tasks be completed with the highest regard for personal and professional ethics.
6. Demonstrate the ability to transition from actuarial theory to actuarial practice, and the ability to apply tools that actuaries use in practice to complete actuarial tasks, such as a modern procedural computer programming language, EXCEL or similar spreadsheet program, and commercially available actuarial software.
7. Demonstrate the ability to communicate the results of quantitative analysis effectively, both in writing and orally.
8. Demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively with others.
9. Understand what is involved in being a member of the actuarial profession, including the types of employment available in an actuarial career, and the requirements to become, and remain, a member of the actuarial profession.
10. Demonstrate the ability to be productive in one or more actuarial roles including:
    a. current or developing areas of actuarial practice;
    b. research designed to deepen or broaden actuarial knowledge; or
    c. education of aspiring or practicing actuaries.

General Information

The Actuarial Science Program offers courses covering the material described in the Society of Actuaries Basic Education Catalog for the Preliminary Education Requirements. Students majoring or minoring in actuarial science are encouraged to take advantage of the potential benefits of being in the program, including summer internships, career guidance, job placement, and participation in the Actuarial Science Club.

Students interested in Actuarial Science usually select one of the following:

• A major in actuarial science in the College of Business Administration
  • College of Business Adminstration Majors
• A major in actuarial science in the College of Arts & Science
• A minor in actuarial science and a major in a highly quantitative field such as mathematics, statistics, computer science, engineering, finance, etc.
• Master Degree in actuarial science

Additional Information

• Worth A Million!
• The 1920s: Otto Gross and Friends, and Floyd Harper: Pioneers of Actuarial Science at Nebraska
• The Nebraska Actuaries Club and Actuarial Science at UNL

Organizations & Affiliations

• Actuarial Science Club
• American Academy of Actuaries
• Be An Actuary
• Casualty Actuarial Society
• Society of Actuaries
• Nebraska Actuaries Club

Advisory Board for Actuarial Science Program

Current Members

Former Members