UCLA caters to student interest with actuarial mathematics major

For those with a craving for an interdisciplinary subject that marries finance with math, there is a new major that will quench that thirst.

Financial actuarial mathematics – previously a concentration in the mathemathics/applied science department — is being offered as a major for the first time this quarter.

The major weaves math with business, economics and statistics to equip students with the knowledge necessary to evaluate financial risks and their probability of occurring.

The key difference between the original actuarial plan concentration and the current major is the written recognition of proficiency in actuarial math on the student’s transcript, said Connie Jung, undergraduate adviser in the department of mathematics.

“Previously, when students graduated, their transcripts would simply (read) mathematics/applied science major; it didn’t give them recognition in actuarial math,” Jung said. Actuarial math refers to the study of financial risk evaluation.

One difference between the new major and the old actuarial concentration, which no longer exists, is the organization of the curriculum, said Kyle McJunkin, the director of curriculum coordination and operations.

Students in the financial actuarial mathematics major will have to take “Principles of Accounting,” Management 1A and 1B, which introduces students to financial accounting principles, in addition to the previous pre-major requirements.

When students were pursuing a financial actuarial mathematics concentration previously, they were required to take “Life Contingency Actuarial Models.” Now, students have the option of choosing between the former and “Casualty Loss Models,” which was in its pilot phase last year.

Jolina Lau, a third-year math/applied science student hoping to switch to financial actuarial mathematics, said she thinks the establishment of the concentration as a major is a positive change because it provides students with a more practical approach to math.

“We’re working in the business world,” Lau said. “We’ll never have to prove anything. This major is like economics but more math.”

The idea of offering actuarial math has been on the back burner for the past 10 years because of the lack of instructors who could consistently teach the subject, Jung said.

Three or four years ago the department started brainstorming about offering actuarial math to students as an official major.

Increased enrollment in actuarial courses from 2008 to 2012 motivated the mathematics department to respond to the growing student interest in the subject and establish it as a major, according to the department’s proposal.

For instance, Math 172A: Introduction to Financial Mathematics has quadrupled in enrollment number, from 38 to 168 students, over the past four years.

The number of Bruin Actuarial Society members increased from about 100 last year to 235 this year, which shows the growing student interest in the subject, said Lau, who is president of the club for students hoping to become actuaries.

“The department of mathematics is responsible for (catering to) student interest in the area,” McJunkin said. “Students had taken courses (under the actuarial plan) previously, so it made sense to structure a degree that reflects what the students are learning.”