Ryuka, can you please explain:

According to the website (the first link you provided),

Master of Actuarial Studies
The program is designed for:
Students with an actuarial degree who seek to complete courses which are complementary to the Institute of Actuaries of Australia Part III requirements.

Does this mean that the Masters degree serves to allow a student to complete the Part II requirements and learn the material/knowledge required to fulfill the Part III requirements?

to put it in a simple way,
masters program will comprise of 3 component:
1) Gateway Units:
these are units that must be done to bring up ur knowledge on actuarial studies, cash flows,
and actuarial students mostly get this part exempted, or for those with relevant background studies. Hence cutting down the duration if possible, or would be asked to substitute with other harder electives* will be discussed below.
(e.g. stochastics, actuarial tech, life cont)

2) Actuarial Control cycle:
this is the key part of getting your Part II. it comprise of 2 modules, of which in ANU, mid-year entry is not possible, but MacQ is more flexible on that
as part A is offered in 1st sem, and part B following the next semester.
To get professional exemption, u have to score Credit and above in average for both modules.

3)Comprise of electives:
For non-actuarial students taking the masters, this will act as a path for u to further do more actuarial subjects, and clear relevant CTs
while Actuarial students, dont really get EXEMPTED off this part. Instead (not sure in macQ) in ANU, the school will recommend you to take the
'advanced" path of each equivalent unit (e.g. Advanced Investment, Advanced Insurance Contract, Advanced Contingencies) which will
highly aid ur progress towards part III actuarial examinations.

As written, it is a complementary material, how credible will it be to your part III papers, will depend on the lecturer himself. If he's from the "actuarial field", you are bloody lucky. The covered material will not lead to exemptions, but will help u in answering the Part III papers. Thats why MacQ is preferrable as they got higher concentration of actuarial staffs. lol

This post has been edited by RyukA: Feb 25 2011, 05:48 PM

Hi, im a first year student in monash sunway studying business and commerce. I wanna enquire if i can transfer to aussie in the second year to do actuarial studies in those uni offering actuarial science under their commerce degree? FYI, im taking ausmat before this and i was only taking math 3cd(higher/advance math) but not specialist math. If any one of you is kind enough to give me advice.

You are so lucky I found a new update on this thread by the search function in LYN. haha
It is a good start on budget wise, but not a very good decision putting it on long term.

As a ex-MUFY that decided to take Actuarial Studies, I consulted a few Monash Actuarial Lecturers that are teaching in Clayton campus via Email, and am still keeping in touch with them.
Having publicly known for the "complexity" of actuarial degree, it is a known fact that the drop-out rate per intake is substantially high, compared to those that prefer tro switch in Actuarial Studies.

And of course, Mathematical skills come first.
Due to my unfamiliarity with the AUSMAT sylabus, is it possible for you to outline to me the "sylabus coverage" of the MATH 3CD that u took in AUSMAT, so that from there, I may be able to
advise you what type of Monash Units you will most probably want to take, which can lead to some (hopefully) exemption upon credit transfer,

I hope you are aware of, that Monash is now a new option for student to pursue Actuarial studies, with their provisional accreditation from IAA.
The Monash Actuarial Program being substantially new ( recognised partially for Part I courses since 2010), is offered through BEcons, or BCommerce.
Which ever you pick, you need to do a Major in Econometrics to cover the relevant Actuarial sylabus.

Since the foundation of Actuarial Studies built up from a balance blend of Economics, basic Financial Reporting, Finance, and Statistics, it will be much benefitial for you to undertake Level1 Economics,
business reporting, or some finance modules during your 1st year so that you dont experience some incompatibility issue when you transfer overseas to Monash Aus or other Unis during your second year.

of course Credit Transfer is subject to recognition of each institute, it is not a 1 to 1 correspondence. saying which, maybe 2 units of what u study only contributes to exemption of one unit in the foreign university you are transferring to. hence, such transfer very often is not "financially benefitial", as may have to retake some similar modules because some may not be recognised. I hope you keep that in mind.
So arguably, doing 1st year locally may save you a sum of money, but due to these credit transfer issue, it may not necessarily be true that u end up spending less.


If you are interested in the Monash Actuarial Program, you can log on to their website within the BUSECO faculty which will have details on how the Actuarial program is structured, and what are the "units' u can do locally.
(A majority will only be offered in the Clayton Campus).

As stated by you, another choice will be transferring to other Aussie uni to do your actuarial degree.
I would recommend you MacQ, ANU, UNSW.
Why did I leave out melbUni? If you are keen on how the actuarial program goes, another criterion of an actuarial student is aware of will be Professional exemptions.
melbUni's program is VERY FAMOUS for being MATHEMATICALLY Complicated, veyr theoretical-based. Yet, have a very high requirement for exemption. Which explain drop-out rates, some sylabus difference and
mainly a very distinct structure compared to other Actuarial school providers in Aus.
Exemption Requirements:
MacQuarie & ANU - 60 and Above
Monash - 70
UNSW- 70
Melb - varies from 73 to 75 ( different for each module)

Disclaimer: Above info is based on a seminar in IAA last year, 2010 September.
These figure may seem relatively close, but in 2nd and 3rd year actuarial Unit the ability to get Distinction and Credit makes a huge difference as most Aus Uni's courses are subject to aggregate scaling.


I simply cant judge how much you know about this course, the structure, requirements and what a future actuarial student needs to know. So, I hope you yourself did some background research.
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

have a nice day.

[quote=RyukA,Mar 26 2011, 01:04 PM]
Firstly, thanks for the feedback. Ok,in ausmat there are 3 levels of math,
1. math3ab - its for those who will be taking medicine (that does not require complex calculation, its like business math)
2. math 3cd - advance/higher math and it includes calculus, probability and prob distribution (Actuarial studies in curtin only requires this as prerequisite)
3. math 3cd specialist - for those who intend to take up engineering (mostly on calculus, from what i read in curtin website, it's not a must but desirable)

and i agree with you that uni melb's syllabus is quite different from commerce degree in monash sunway as it requires math subjects in the first year.
But for monash and unsw's commerce degree is it possible for me to do my transfer (do i have to spend half a year or 1 more year to take up some prerequisite subjects)?
In the first sem, i'm taking etw 1000 (bus and econometrics stats). do i need to take any econs stats subjects in the second sem?

i browsed through monash au website, it's stated that it has not been accredited for their part 2 exams at least before the year 2012. so is it recommendable to study AS in monash?

[quote=veeli_92,Mar 26 2011, 04:23 PM]
[quote=RyukA,Mar 26 2011, 01:04 PM]
Firstly, thanks for the feedback. Ok,in ausmat there are 3 levels of math,
1. math3ab - its for those who will be taking medicine (that does not require complex calculation, its like business math)
2. math 3cd - advance/higher math and it includes calculus, probability and prob distribution (Actuarial studies in curtin only requires this as prerequisite)
3. math 3cd specialist - for those who intend to take up engineering (mostly on calculus, from what i read in curtin website, it's not a must but desirable)

and i agree with you that uni melb's syllabus is quite different from commerce degree in monash sunway as it requires math subjects in the first year.
But for monash and unsw's commerce degree is it possible for me to do my transfer (do i have to spend half a year or 1 more year to take up some prerequisite subjects)?
In the first sem, i'm taking etw 1000 (bus and econometrics stats). do i need to take any econs stats subjects in the second sem?

i browsed through monash au website, it's stated that it has not been accredited for their part 2 exams at least before the year 2012. so is it recommendable to study AS in monash?

[/quote]


basically its because Actuarial Studies is a major within the BCommerce program in UniMelb, and does get very mathematical compared to other schools. the modules are called
"accelerated Mathematics" in UniMelb, and because there's quite a high number of student choosing to do actuarial studies in their first yr, their math module most prrobably help them filter out students that cant cope or
realise AS is not what they want. Monash being particularly new, will have its pros and cons. The benefit is that the sylabus coverage will be the most relevant sylabus within the actuarial field. And as Monash still pursue to
gain full accreditation and part II accreditation, they will make sure their reputation in AS is well built and courses are conducted on parr with IAA standards, to gain exemptions.

The Cons, is of course, the lack of experience. they may not have that many Actuarial lecturers compared to any other of the 4 actuarial schools.some critical units might still be conducted by finance lecturers and their actuarial
department will still be fairly new, in negotiating of accreditation there might still be slight problem. Not only this will be a "white-rat" experience for students that wanna enrol in the actuarial program in Monash, it will be a
challenge for the Lecturers with no actuarial background to teach certain stat modelling courses. but with updates and improvement, Monash is still holding high hopes to fully establish its actuarial program up to Part II.

the reason why it says 2012 is because, the first batch of this actuarial program will only be graduating this year end Dec 2011, as the program first started feb2009.
To allow accreditation, the institute will have to evaluate the attempt made by Monash to conduct teh Part II relevant courses, which will be held in 2012.
With Monash's position in Go8 and reputation worldwide, the school shouldn't have any problem moving on to that.

given math 3cd cover enough material regarding calculus, basic statistics and probability. It will most probably be sufficient to let you cope up with first year courses in any actuarial degree ( maybe except melbUni)
Of course, apart form calculus, another thing essential to the actuarial framework will be preliminary knowledge on Linear algebra, and matrices. Moreover, as long as u have a Math knowledge equivalent to
year 12 mathematics (calculus, some algebra, matrices), the university wont care much because most of the advanced math modules will require you to sit for a simple diagnostic test to determine your mathematical ability whether such courses is too heavy for your background knowledge. It depends from school to school, in ANU these diagnostic act as a self-review, they will recommend, but the choice is up to u.

As I mentioned earlier, IAA is quite picky and strict in granting CT exemptions. As an actuarial student, we very often prefer more exemptions than less. you can do some level 1 economics unit (Micro, macro), finance, stats.
It shouldnt be a problem for u to get credit exemption in UNSW or Monash AUS. this gets complicated, follow carefully.
suppose CT1 comprise of ECON1001 , and ECON2001 from UNSW
these 2 units have to be done in UNSW as part of the actuarial program and contributes to CT1 exemption

lets say u did, ECW1101 and ECW2730
u get exempted for ECON1001 and ECOn2001 in UNSW, so ur credit get transferred.
But, U MIGHT not be able to get exemption from CT1 of the actuarial part I paper form those credit transferred units.

hence, u might be able to finish an actuarial degree, but might not be able to get full exemption of all papers (ASSUME even u are a distinction average student), saying which u have to
take the external actuarial part I papers for the remaining CTs to complete ur part 1.
I hope you are aware of such constraints. And make decisions accordingly. yes, it depends on credit transfer, unsuccessfully recognised units might result in u having to do an additional semester or overload current semesters during 2nd,3rd year. to clear all ur units. its too hard to tell.

What units are u taking for this year? (both sem)


cheers.

Semester 1 2011
AFW1000: Principles of accounting and finance*
ECW1101: Introductory microeconomics*
ETW1000: Business and economic statistics*
MGW1010: Introduction to management*

Semester 2 2011
AFW1002: Introduction to financial accounting
AFW1300: Money and capital markets
BTW1200: Business law*
MKW1120: Marketing theory and practice*

* Compulsory Subjects

How about those unis that offer bachelor of actuarial studies (ANU, Macq, Curtin), do they accept commerce student's transfering?
And your opinion, is actuary a good profession to pursue (job prospect: salary, working hrs, stress)? I'm still thinking which to major in, accounting or actuarial science.

subjects that will most probably be relevant to an actuarial degree ( for credit transfer or prereq knowledge) that you are doing this year will be:
ECW1101: Introductory microeconomics* --- basic economics
ETW1000: Business and economic statistics* --- preliminary statistics & econometrics
AFW1000: Principles of accounting and finance* --- Fundamental finance & Business reporting
AFW1300: Money and capital markets -- Fundamental finance

basically, for the remaining 4 subs, u may get to transfer this credits as Electives ,or just take it as extra credit, as it wont be highly relevant to any actuarial degree.

Subjects like MKW1120 and MGW1010 are basic requirements of a Commerce degree for Monash. But i believe, as long as u have no intention nor plan to do a major in
Marketting or Management, these 2 units can be taken in later years, but whether Monash Sunway allows that, then I am not sure.
As per my advise, since u have an interest in Actuarial studies, it will be better to spend your first covering relevant foundations at the same time maintain a "escape route"
by preserving a majority units in your original course plan. saying which, u can perhaps defer MKW1120 and MGW1010 to later years, as it will not be needed
in Actuarial Studies, and if you do find Commerce a more suitable path, you can take these units at later year (2nd, 3rd) as it wont affect your progression, UNLESS u may be
planning to do a major in Marketting or Management studies.

Since Monash Sunway is lack of Mathematical statistics unit, it will be best to spend one of your unit to brush up some math so that even with granted credit exemptions, u can follow up with the pace in 2nd year Actuarial Studies.
I recommend ENG1091 - Mathematics for engineers that cover a sylabus of Taylor Polynomials, Linear Algebra, matrix operations, Calculus, Maxima/Minima, Multivariate Calculus, Partial Differentiation.
The approach is perhaps more for engineering based studies, but the math component is basically the same.
If you cant meet the prereq to enrol, then perhaps u can try ENG1090 - Foundation Mathematics, which covers similar component but with less detail and less complexity.

Forget about Curtin, reputation-wise. having monash just set up its own Actuarial program, it would be more preferrable to undertake their program compared to Curtin.
the math requirement for Monash's Actuarial program might be less demanding at surface compared to other schools, because once u transfer to Clayton, u will se ethe difference of how their "business statistics" modules are conducted which is more mathematical than Sunway. having a good mathematical foundation is not neccessary on enrolment, but is highly recommended in order to survive throughout later units. where u will start to see
divergence of Calculus and matrices into finance and statistics, from which things start to get challenging.

ANU and MacQ,will be the only 2 schools in Aus that conduct their Actuarial program in a distinct Bachelor of Actuarial Studies degree. to transfer to these 2schools's Actuarial degree will be slightly different than transferring to Monash Aus, UNSW or Curtin. for the other schools, to transfer to their actuarial program its still a BComm => BComm transition, just changing your major. But for MacQ or ANU, it will be BCOmm=> B.AS, so of course they may incurr some further requirement liek how they enrol school leavers into their program.
I am not sure bout monash, but for the BComm students to enter B.AS (which is quite rare), it requires head of school approval, that very often grants permission with a HD average. But I believe most of the time, its a case by case basis. Just email them and voice ur intention, they will tell you what criteria have to be met etc.
My advise is, maximise ur chance. just send an email to enquire about transferring to their school for actuarial studies (for macQ, ANU) or to their BComm(Actuarial Studies) for other schools, and see what each school tells you to do/prepare. It will be quite busy preparing these sort of thing, but will be worth the chance.

---

Added on March 28, 2011, 9:28 am

Accounting and actuarial?

actually this is also a question for me all along.
As a double degree student in B Commerce(Accounting & Finance)/B.ActuarialStudies , both of these professions are equally stressful, having very common working hours and working environment.
Salary wise, an actuarial-grads entry point in salary will be much higher compared to accountant.upon fully qualifying as an actuary, the pay will greatly overwhelm the pay of a
fully qualified accountant (assuming both doesnt hold any managerial positions). but practically, the difference is not that big, another factor is what role you are playing in the company and the welfare of the company.

although both of these professions may seem to have much in common within the commercial industry, the approach and things you study can be said to be "nothing in common". Its basically dealing with different part of the story on the same subject. An Actuary uses stats and info to calculate risk, an accountant uses the underlying risk factor to make other financial decisions. they deal with the same thing, but are concerned with different parts of the matter.
I think even difficulty, is very subjective. most people may presume actuarial science is much harder than accountancy. It really depends on the depth of study and what you like.
sometimes, my actuarial coursemates see me doing 30pgs of reports on a particular accounting standard, they think thats insane. when accounting buddies see the proof of a probability theorem in one of my assignment, they think it will take forever for them to understand that.
Both are very interesting field to study.

Ultimately, it just depends on which cup of tea suits you.

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Added on March 28, 2011, 4:54 pm[quote=veeli_92,Mar 26 2011, 04:23 PM]


Oh, and

feel free to ask if in doubt.

thanks.

This post has been edited by RyukA: Mar 28 2011, 04:54 PM

can u make more details about actuaral science??
how to become an actuary , not just finish exam and 5 to 6 papers of professional cert exam ??

hi, im ryan.

im just graduated from my a level course with physics, chemistry and mathematics. im confusing about did i qualified to further study in field of actuarial science since im not taking further mathematics. and is there any university in ausie for undergraduate degree course of actuarial science can be offer with only these 3 subjects without futhermaths.

thx for ur information and advise.

For Australia, it is hard to come up with explicit guides/references for A Level subject requirements for each of the 5 main schools that teach fully accredited Act Sci in whatever form (ANU, Melbourne, Macquarie, UNSW, Curtin), because many don't publish this information. Apparently Monash was provisional in 2011 and I don't know about its current or future status.

Did you even look up the requirements for them before asking here? It's the least you could do if you wanted to study abroad. If you have, then I don't blame you because the vast majority of universities have poorly designed websites for future students, but if you haven't, your not doing yourself any favours.

It is a fact that you are eligible for undergraduate Act Sci at some of these universities, if not all, without Further Maths. However you need to check whether any of them require 4 subjects. ANU, for example, previously required 4 subjects but has changed it for 2012 entry (for 3 subjects it is an AAA minimum, no mention of any 4 subject requirement).

Just apply 1st.
decide later.
No point hesitating too long, and miss out deadlines.

ANU...its the only school thats good anyway..

ehmm~ thx for your information. i have look up some of the university in ausie. some of the university, their requirement of entry i might achieve. but some how, the tuition fee or the living cost still might be a bit of trouble for me. is there any ausie sholarship is avalaible for student like me? opps, forgot to introduce myself. im an asian, from Malaysia.

thx lot~

Yes, go search the websites. We have already listed everywhere you can study Act Sci.

Hi Ryuka, I have read the entire thread and find out that we could study AS in Monash Sunway (partly perhaps?) Mind if you could elaborate it? For my case, I had completed my foundation in business in Taylor's and I met the requirement to enter the business degree in Monash Sunway. I asked the staff in Monash Sunway but they didn't come up with a useful response. haiz.
1. May I know what should I do in order to save my budget? As I have some financial constraints and could not complete the three years degree in Clayton and hopefully I could complete as many credit as I could in Monash Sunway. I hope I can complete at least 2 years in Monash Sunway (if possible) and then only transfer to Aus during my 3rd year.
2. I would also like to know that is there any scholarship/loan for us? or while we are pursuing our degree?
3. How much is the cost of living and the tuition fee?
4. Apart from that, may I know that am I able to transfer to other University in Aus during my second or if possible, 3rd year? Such as ANU, UNSW, MacQ etc?

I would really appreciate if you can clear my doubt as it will affect my decision.

Thanks in advance

Hello Ryuka, i have got an ATAR of 88.3 which do not meet the requirement for bachelor of commerce in monash. Is it advisable to do diploma in business in monash college first and transfer to year 2 bachelor of commerce and major in actuarial studies ? And total how many professional papers are there for Australia board ? If i graduate with bachelor of commerce with major actuarial studies with the result of 70% and more.. how many papers do i get exempt for ?