FAQ from first-year Actuarial Science students

Questions about first-year core and general Mathematics things go to the first-year advising office. Questions about Actuarial Science courses, programs, and so on, come to the Actuarial Science advisor. See office locations and advising hours.

• Make sure you come with your questions prepared.
• Any forms you need to have signed should be brought with you and should be filled out so that the advisor can spend their time helping you and everyone else, efficiently.

You need to be in your 2A term or later. Actuarial Science is a second-year major.

Beyond that, when you come to declare the advisor will look for the following (under the Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar):

• Special Major Average (SMAV), used to be called Major Average (MAV)) of at least 70%
• If no SMAV yet, then Cumulative Average (CAV) of at least 70% on at least 10 courses and no fails, INC, WF or DNW marks.
• MTHEL 131 with a mark of at least 60%.

If you do not meet these requirements you will be told to wait a term and try again. The department is very strict about the requirements and does not make exceptions.

Visit the Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar to find a description of a course.

See the Schedule of Classes for Undergraduate Students to find a class time or see enrolment total/capacity.

You can find the required courses either in the Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar, or see the undergraduate program sheets.

The chart below shows a typical sequence for the average student. There are other versions that are fine too and will lead to Actuarial Science, at some point, but this is the most common.

The only elective you have to have finished in order to declare Actuarial Science is MTHEL 131. If you don’t have that course you will have to wait to major in Actuarial Science until you have it.

• MTHEL 131: Needed to declare Actuarial Science.
• Economics (ECON) 101 and 102: These are required as part of the program by the time you graduate and a mark of >70% in each of them gets you the Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) in Economics.
• Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) 101 and 102: AFM 101 is required for all ActSci programs. AFM 102 is only required as part of the Finance Specialization. The course(s) must be completed by the time you graduate. A mark of at least 70% in AFM 101 gets you half of the Accounting and Finance VEE.

If you try to enroll in these courses but can’t because they are full then take something else. We recommend you take something you can enjoy doing when you are getting through first year since it’s hard enough to adjust to university studies without extra stress of electives you don’t like.

The chart below shows a typical sequence for the average student. There are other versions that are fine too but look different; especially for students who started in a first-year entry program of Bridge to Academic Success in English (BASE), but this is the most common.