Actuarial Science major
Actuarial Science: courses, careers, and where to study
Actuarial Science applies probability, statistics, and finance to measure and price risk, suiting students who enjoy heavy math and want to work toward professional actuarial exams.
Actuarial Science is a quantitative business major, usually a four-year bachelor's degree, that uses probability, statistics, and financial mathematics to model uncertain future events such as deaths, accidents, lawsuits, and investment returns. The standard curriculum builds from calculus and linear algebra into probability theory, mathematical statistics, the theory of interest, life contingencies, loss models, and financial economics, with applied coursework in insurance and pension design. Many programs align their core courses with the early professional exams, so students often pass one or more exams before they graduate.
Graduates work in life, health, and property-casualty insurance, pension and retirement consulting, reinsurance, and enterprise risk management at banks and other firms. Day-to-day work involves cleaning and analyzing data, building pricing and reserving models, setting premiums, projecting liabilities, and communicating results to non-technical decision-makers. Full credentialing comes through the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) exam tracks, which most candidates complete on the job over several years.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median annual wage of $125,770 for actuaries and projects 21.8% employment growth for the occupation from 2024 to 2034.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Actuarial Science maps to CIP 52.1304, Actuarial Science, within the BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND RELATED SUPPORT SERVICES family. The official definition:
A program that focuses on the mathematical and statistical analysis of risk, and their applications to insurance and other business management problems. Includes instruction in forecasting theory, quantitative and non-quantitative risk measurement methodologies, development of risk tables, secondary data analysis, and computer-assisted research methods.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Actuarial Science is awarded as
Of the 1,363 Actuarial Science credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Certificate3%43
- Bachelor's79%1,082
- Graduate17%238
CampusPin does not have enough states reporting this field to say whether the mix changes from state to state. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- Probability theory and mathematical statistics
- Theory of interest and financial mathematics
- Life contingencies and survival models
- Loss models and credibility theory for insurance pricing
- Risk classification, reserving, and premium calculation
- Financial economics and investment / portfolio fundamentals
- Statistical programming and data analysis (R, Python, SQL, Excel)
- Preparation for early SOA / CAS professional exams
Typical careers
- Actuaries
- Actuarial Analyst
- Pension / Retirement Consultant
- Underwriting Analyst
- Risk Analyst
- Insurance Pricing Analyst
Typical salary range: Occupation-wide BLS median of $125,770 for actuaries (2024); early-career pay is lower and rises as you pass professional exams.Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Actuarial Science, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance Underwriters | $79,880 | 8,200 | -2.6% | Bachelor's degree |
| Business Teachers, Postsecondary | $97,270 | 8,100 | +5.7% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Financial Risk Specialists | $106,000 | 4,800 | +6.5% | Bachelor's degree |
| Actuaries | $125,770 | 2,400 | +21.8% | Bachelor's degree |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 4 of these 4 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Actuarial Science does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Before you commit to a Actuarial Science major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Actuarial Science program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Actuarial Science department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Actuarial Science program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Actuarial Science credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- University of California-Los AngelesCA · 89
- Purdue University-Main CampusIN · 71
- University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignIL · 70
- University of Wisconsin-MadisonWI · 63
- University of ConnecticutCT · 52
- Ohio State University-Main CampusOH · 51
- University of Nebraska-LincolnNE · 47
- University of California-Santa BarbaraCA · 44
- Georgia State UniversityGA · 41
- Florida State UniversityFL · 38
- Temple UniversityPA · 32
- University of GeorgiaGA · 31
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Actuarial Science credentials were awarded
8 states have a distinct enough set of Actuarial Science colleges to be worth its own page.
Search Actuarial Science schools by state
- Actuarial Science in California
- Actuarial Science in Florida
- Actuarial Science in Georgia
- Actuarial Science in Illinois
- Actuarial Science in Maryland
- Actuarial Science in Massachusetts
- Actuarial Science in New York
- Actuarial Science in North Carolina
- Actuarial Science in Pennsylvania
- Actuarial Science in Texas
Related majors
Mathematics
Mathematics develops formal proof, abstraction, and quantitative analysis, feeding into research, finance, computing, actuarial science, and graduate programs across STEM.
Statistics
Statistics covers the mathematics of collecting, modeling, and drawing conclusions from data, a quantitative major suited to students who like reasoning under uncertainty.
Finance
Finance majors learn how money moves, corporate finance, investments, financial markets, and risk management, preparing for roles in banking, investments, and corporate analysis.
Data Science
Data Science combines statistics, programming, and domain expertise to turn raw data into decisions, drawing on machine learning, visualization, and data engineering.
Economics
Economics studies how individuals, firms, and governments allocate resources, combining theory with empirical analysis and a strong mathematical foundation.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Actuarial Science degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Business & Finance careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
Explore Computing & Math careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Actuarial Science degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Actuarial Science path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.