Presentation
Presentation
The Master in Actuarial and Financial Sciences (MCAF) is a full time official master’s program offered by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. The Master in Actuarial and Financial Sciences consists of 120 ECTS credits distributed over two academic year, each with two terms. 90 of this total number of credits are compulsory subjects, 18 cover external work placements and 12 are allocated to the master thesis dissertation. The program covers range of subjects, providing students with a solid conceptual basis in finance and insurance, supported by an eminently practical component.
The Master in Actuarial and Financial Sciences is a pioneering program in Spain. It is the first University Master in this subject to be approved by ANECA (National Assessments and Quality Agency).
The program is able to take advantage of the excellent research facilities at Universidad Carlos III and the international reputation of its teachers who work full time on the course and who regularly publish their work in leading academic journals. Our staff also includes acknowledged experts in the field of insurance due to our institution’s ongoing contact and collaboration with the insurance market.
The main aim of the Master in Actuarial and Financial Sciences is to train Insurance Actuaries who will also act as professionals with a solid knowledge basis in the field of finance. This differential factor of the master’s studies is that it provides students with the proper skills to understand the financial sector. These skills can also be applied to the area of insurance, creating professionals with a sound and comprehensive education in their field of interest.
As a general rule these studies could be said to qualify graduates for access to any middle or senior management post in the field of insurance, business or finance.
Margarita Samartín
Directora Master en Ciencias Actuariales y Financieras UC3M
The profession
In Spain, the actuarial profession dates back to 1908, although it was in 1917 when the first degrees in Actuarial Studies were issued in Spain.
The Royal Spanish Academy of Language defines the Actuary as: “A person versed in mathematical calculations and in the statistical, legal and financial knowledge concerning insurance and its regime, who advises insurance entities and serves as an expert in their operations.”
The Institute of Spanish Actuaries considers the Actuary as a regulated professional, with a higher degree, legally qualified to quantify economic risks of all kinds, with in-depth statistical and financial knowledge, and with exclusive powers granted by Law.
Its functions include: the quantification of insurance premiums, of the amounts that Insurers or Banks have available to solvently face their risks, of the risks of Pension Funds or those risks assumed by the Social Security system.
Professional opportunities
SUCCESS GUARANTEE
The prestige achieved by the Master’s Degree in Actuarial and Financial Sciences at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid has led the insurance market to uniquely recognize the level of training attained by actuaries who graduate from this University, resulting in a very high rate of entry into the job market. Soon, a list of former graduates, alumni, and their first job will be available.
In addition, the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid Foundation offers a Career Guidance and Professional Planning Service (SOPP), which provides guidance and information and helps graduates access the job market.
Each year, an employment outcomes study is conducted for graduates from the previous academic year, which we will post here shortly.
Functions
The Actuary, to fulfill its functions, must have extensive knowledge in:
- Mathematics, Economics, Finance, Demography, Probability and Statistics.
- Programming and software development for the implementation of systems related to the actuarial field. Risk modeling and simulation.
- Optimization of industrial and financial models.
- To understand in greater detail the scope of the exercise of the actuarial profession, international regulations in the field of insurance contemplate the following functions:
- Coordinate the calculation of technical provisions.
- Ensure the adequacy of the underlying methodologies and models used, as well as the assumptions used in the calculation of technical provisions.
Future perspectives
The actuarial profession is considered one of the most in-demand in the coming years. Its specialization in statistical models applied to risk is being highly valued by sectors outside the traditional ones of insurance, banking, pensions, consulting and the government itself.
In a recent article from September 2013 in The Week magazine, the six most profitable professions in the future have been identified. Its author, Thomas Frey, has included the professional practice of actuary as one of the six with the highest demand and best future benefits.
The article, referring to actuaries, says “they earn an average salary in the United States of $87,650, the Department of Labor predicts will improve 27% job growth in the next seven years. An actuary’s skills “can go in many different directions,” says Frey. Although insurance companies typically use actuaries, Frey predicts these professionals are making their way into the medical industry.