Expand+How To Apply

Applications for admission to full-time undergraduate courses at Queen’s should normally be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Full information can be obtained from the UCAS website at: www.ucas.com/...

Hide-How To Apply

Applications for admission to full-time undergraduate courses at Queen’s should normally be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Full information can be obtained from the UCAS website at: www.ucas.com/apply.

When to Apply

UCAS will start processing applications for entry in Autumn 2017 from 1 September 2016.

The normal closing date for the receipt of applications is 15 January 2017.

Applicants are advised to apply as early as is consistent with having made a careful and considered choice of institutions and courses.

Earlier applicants normally receive decisions more quickly, however, UCAS accepts that some applicants, especially those from outside the UK, may find this difficult. Late applications are, in practice, accepted by UCAS throughout the remainder of the application cycle, but you should understand that they are considered by institutions at their discretion, and there can be no guarantee that they will be given the same full level of consideration as applications received by the advisory closing date.

Take care to enter the details of the institutions and courses clearly and correctly on the application. For Queen's, the institution code name is QBELF and the institution code is Q75. These should be entered in the Choices section of your UCAS application. A Campus Code is not required.

Queen’s University Belfast Terms and Conditions 2017 Entry
The terms and conditions that apply when you accept an offer of a place at the University on a taught programme of study.

http://www.qub.ac.uk/Study/TermsandConditions/

Expand+Selection Criteria

In addition to the entrance requirements below, it is essential that you read the How We Choose Our Students pdf prior to submitting your UCAS application.

Entrance Requirements

A-level: A*AA including Mathematics OR AAA +...

Hide-Selection Criteria

In addition to the entrance requirements below, it is essential that you read the How We Choose Our Students pdf prior to submitting your UCAS application.

Entrance Requirements

A-level: A*AA including Mathematics OR AAA + A (AS) including A-level Mathematics

Irish Leaving Certificate: H1H1H1H1H2H2 including Higher Level grade H1 in Mathematics

International Students

For information on international qualification equivalents, please click on Your Country in the International Students website.

If you are an international student and you do not meet the entrance requirements, you should consider a preparation course at INTO Queen's University Belfast, which will prepare you for successful study on these degree courses. INTO at Queen's is based on the University campus and offers a range of courses including the International Foundation in Business, Humanities and Social Science

For students whose first language is not English

An IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each test component or an equivalent acceptable qualification, details of which are available at: http://go.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, our partner INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability to entry to this degree. Please click the links below for more information:
•English for University Study: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level
•Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degreeprogramme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English

Expand+Overview
Studying Actuarial Science looks at how organisations make financial sense of the future, assess risk and protect themselves from loss.

The BSc Actuarial Science and Risk Management programme has been designed by qualified actuaries with...

Hide-Overview
Studying Actuarial Science looks at how organisations make financial sense of the future, assess risk and protect themselves from loss.

The BSc Actuarial Science and Risk Management programme has been designed by qualified actuaries with a large emphasis placed on the development of practical and business skills to ensure students have the very best chance of obtaining high level employment at the end of their degree. 100% of actuary students from Queen’s are in full-time employment and/or studying within six months of graduation, with 100% of those in employment in a professional or managerial position.

Expand+Course Content (including module information)

The duration of the BSc Actuarial Science and Risk Management degree is four years, with Year 3 spent in a salaried placement in an actuarial or risk management environment.

In each of Years 1, 2 an...

Hide-Course Content (including module information)

The duration of the BSc Actuarial Science and Risk Management degree is four years, with Year 3 spent in a salaried placement in an actuarial or risk management environment.

In each of Years 1, 2 and 4, the following modules are studied:

Year 1
•Actuarial Mathematics 1
•Financial Reporting and Analysis
•Introduction to Statistics and Operational Research
•Price Theory
•Principles of Economics
•Intoduction to Statistics and Operational Research Methods

Year 2
•Actuarial Mathematics 2
•Actuarial Methods in General Insurance
•Behavioural Finance
•Investment Analysis
•Excel and VBA
•Principles of Actuarial Modelling

Year 3
•Placement Year*

Year 4
•Actuarial Modelling
•Capital Markets
•Financial Econometrics
•Financial Engineering
•Actuarial Applications
•Stochastic Processes for Finance

*Placement Year
Students undertake a nine-month, minimum-salaried work placement. Placement allows students to develop highly-valued practical skills, as well as gaining exemption from many of the early professional exams, and on successful completion, students are eligible for a Licentiateship award (a vocational qualification provided through the City and Guilds of London Institute). Recent placement providers have included Scor, Pramerica, Spence and Partners, Milliman and the Government Actuaries Department (GAD).

Expand+Assessment & Feedback

Assessment (general): The way in which students are assessed will vary according to the learning objectives of each module. Details of how each module is assessed are shown in the Student Handbook which is provided to all s...

Hide-Assessment & Feedback

Assessment (general): The way in which students are assessed will vary according to the learning objectives of each module. Details of how each module is assessed are shown in the Student Handbook which is provided to all students during their first year induction. Accounting modules are typically assessed by a combination of continuous assessment and a final written unseen examination. Continuous assessment consists of:

1.Student Tutorial Portfolio – this involves the completion and submission of workshop exercises on a weekly and individual student basis. These are collected in the workshops from students each week and assessed, with the mark awarded contributing to the continuous assessment element of the module mark. The mark awarded reflects timeliness, presentation, accuracy and completeness of the required work. Consistent with employer feedback, students are also required to prepare and make a small group presentation on a pre-assigned case study type or discussion-based topic. In addition students are required to submit a 100 word summary on the accounting significance of each of the presentation tutorial topics. The group tutorial presentation and summaries are assessed, with the mark awarded contributing to the continuous assessment element of the module mark.

2.Small Group Project / Presentations – this involves the completion of a small group project / Presentation (three/four students per group) which is assessed and contributes to the continuous assessment element of the module mark.

Feedback (general): As students progress through their course at Queen’s they will receive general and specific feedback about their work from a variety of sources including lecturers, module co-ordinators, placement supervisors, personal tutors, advisers of study and peers. University students are expected to engage with reflective practice and to use this approach to improve the quality of their work. Feedback may be provided in a variety of forms including:

•Feedback provided via formal written comments and marks relating to work that you, as an individual or as part of a group, have submitted.

•Face to face comment. This may include occasions when you make use of the lecturers’ advertised “office hours” to help you to address a specific query.

•Placement employer comments or references.

•Online or emailed comment.

•General comments or question and answer opportunities at the end of a lecture, seminar or tutorial.

•Pre-submission advice regarding the standards you should aim for and common pitfalls to avoid. In some instances, this may be provided in the form of model answers or exemplars which you can review in your own time.

•Feedback and outcomes from practical classes.

•Comment and guidance provided by staff from specialist support services such as, Careers, Employability and Skills or the Learning Development Service.

Once you have reviewed your feedback, you will be encouraged to identify and implement further improvements to the quality of your work.

Expand+Career Prospects

The underlying cornerstone of the Actuarial Science and Risk Management degree programme is the application of financial and statistical theories to help solve real business problems. Actuarial Science and Risk Management combines...

Hide-Career Prospects

The underlying cornerstone of the Actuarial Science and Risk Management degree programme is the application of financial and statistical theories to help solve real business problems. Actuarial Science and Risk Management combines courses/modules in actuarial modelling, financial reporting, economics, finance, insurance, pensions, mathematics and statistics to develop techniques and skills to assess, evaluate and manage future financial risk and thereby address a wide range of practical problems in long-term financial planning and management. Mathematical and statistical skills, through problem solving, constructing proofs and computer application, are at the core of all actuarial work and therefore are core elements in each year of the degree

Students pursuing a career in Actuarial Science should enjoy working with numbers, be effective communicators and work well with people as they will have to analyse and interpret financial and other information to meet the needs of different users, including managers and investors.

Employer Links

Consultations

We regularly consult and develop links with a large number of employers including all the major actuarial employers in Northern Ireland and Ireland and a selection of employers from mainland GB. We host annual employer liaison meetings for the course as well as annual actuarial careers fairs at which students can engage with actuarial employers on a one-one basis.

The establishment of SoNIA (Society of Northern Ireland Actuaries) by staff in QUMS has facilitated a continuous and seamless engagement between academics, actuarial employers and Queens’ students whereby students can gain access to the profession. They have an opportunity to discuss issues that are concerning the industry and that are of importance to qualified actuaries. Students can also develop excellent networking, communication, and business awareness skills from the start to end of their academic progression ensuring that they can fully compete in the competitive graduate employment market.

Placement Employers

Recent placement providers have included Allstate (both in Northern Ireland and Chicago), Kerr Henderson, Mercer and Xafinity Claybrook.

Graduate Careers and Achievements

Studying for an Actuarial degree at Queen’s will assist you in developing the core skills and employment-related experiences that are valued by employers, professional organisations and academic institutions. The degree has professional accreditation with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, the professional body, such that students succeeding on the degree can also achieve exemptions from subjects CT1 – CT8 of the professional exams, subject to certain conditions being met.

Graduates from this degree at Queen’s are well regarded by many employers (local, national and international) with approximately 90-95% of graduates finding high level actuarial employment within several months of graduation. Further, several students are offered full-time positions with their placement provider.

The traditional areas in which actuaries are employed include:
•Actuarial Consultancies - clients are provided with advice on mergers, corporate recovery and the management of occupational pension schemes;
•Insurance Industry - actuaries in insurance design new insurance policies and calculate premium rates and reserving requirements;
•Pensions Industry - here actuaries are involved in the management and valuation of pension scheme liabilities (for regulatory and expensing purposes). They are also involved in new design and restructuring of pension schemes, deficit management and any requirements of regulatory change on pension scheme.
•Investment Industry - in this instance actuaries are involved in a wide variety of work such as pricing financial derivatives, working in fund management or working in quantitative investment research.

The Prospects website provides further information regarding the types of jobs that attract BSc Actuarial Science and Risk Management graduates.

Further study is also an option open to BSc Actuarial Science and Risk Management graduates. Students can choose from a wide range of Masters programmes as well as a comprehensive list of research topics, as shown on the Queen’s University Management School website.

Other Career-related information: Queen’s is a member of the Russell Group and, therefore, one of the 20 universities most-targeted by leading graduate employers. Queen’s students will be advised and guided about career choice and, through the Degree Plus initiative, will have an opportunity to seek accreditation for skills development and experience gained through the wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer. See Queen’s University Belfast fullEmployability Statementfor further information.

Degree Plus and other related initiatives: Recognising student diversity, as well as promoting employability enhancements and other interests, is part of the developmental experience at Queen’s. Students are encouraged to plan and build their own, personal skill and experiential profile through a range of activities including; recognised Queen’s Certificates, placements and other work experiences (at home or overseas), Erasmus study options elsewhere in Europe, learning development opportunities and involvement in wider university life through activities, such as clubs, societies, and sports.

Queen’s actively encourages this type of activity by offering students an additional qualification, the Degree Plus Award (and the related Researcher Plus Award for PhD and MPhil students). Degree Plus accredits wider experiential and skill development gained through extra-curricular activities that promote the enhancement of academic, career management, personal and employability skills in a variety of contexts. As part of the Award, students are also trained on how to reflect on the experience(s) and make the link between academic achievement, extracurricular activities, transferable skills and graduate employment. Participating students will also be trained in how to reflect on their skills and experiences and can gain an understanding of how to articulate the significance of these to others, e.g. employers.

Overall, these initiatives, and Degree Plusin particular, reward the energy, drive, determination and enthusiasm shown by students engaging in activities over-and-above the requirements of their academic studies. These qualities are amongst those valued highly by graduate employers.