Actuaries are highly skilled quantitative professionals who are primarily concerned with the identification, quantification, analysis, and management of various types of risk, particularly those with long-term financial consequences. Their expertise is essential to the proper management of life, general, and health insurance companies, pension funds, and investment firms, their skills are very highly regarded and valued throughout the financial services industry, and their opportunities to practise worldwide are strong and growing.
On satisfactory completion of the PgDip, students may elect to continue to the award of Master of Science (MSc) by undertaking an appropriate supervised programme of actuarial science research over a period of three months and submitting a corresponding Dissertation.
The University of Southampton is one of only three universities in England to offer such a professionally approved full-time postgraduate actuarial science programme, and is one of only two such within the Russell Group of elite UK universities.