Business Actuarial Science

With a blend of mathematics, economics, statistics, and finance, an Actuarial Science major positions graduates to become experts in evaluating the likelihood of undesirable events and decreasing their impact. The program prepares students for jobs in the field, as well as provides the educational background to pursue an advanced degree in economics, mathematics, statistics, or business administration.

Actuarial science is a discipline in which complex data sets are used to analyze risk probabilities and their associated costs. Corporations rely on actuarial risk evaluation to frame their strategic management decisions. Actuaries are employed by the insurance industry, corporations, and the government. To become an actuary, a strong background in statistics, economics, and finance is required. Special offerings for each semester may be found in the Schedule of Classes. Students seeking the Bachelor of Science degree in Business Actuarial Science must complete a minimum of 120 credits including the following requirements:

Requirements for the Major in Business Administration, Business Actuarial Science, B.S.

Students seeking the Bachelor of Science degree in Business Actuarial Science must complete a minimum of 120 credits including the following requirements:

General Education Requirements

In order to graduate on-schedule without taking additional courses, it is highly recommended that students meet with an Undergraduate Academic Adviser concerning the selection of all of their General Education courses.

Each candidate for an Oakland University baccalaureate will need to satisfactorily complete approved courses in each of the following areas: Foundations, Explorations, and Integration. For details, refer to the General Education Requirements section of the catalog.

Business Pre-Core Required Courses

• course Financial Accounting (4)

• course Managerial and Cost Accounting I (4)

• course Public Speaking (4)
  or course Group Dynamics and Communication (4)
  or course Communication in Organizations (4)
  or course Interpersonal Conflict (4)

• course Principles of Global Macroeconomics (4)
  or course Principles of Macroeconomics (4)

• course Principles of Microeconomics (4)

• course Business Problem Solving with Information Technology (3) 

• course Calculus I (4)

• course Applied Probability and Statistics (4)

• course Statistical Methods for Business II (3)
  or course Introduction to Mathematical Statistics II (4)   

• course ACHIEVE I (0)

• course ACHIEVE II (0)

Business Core Required Courses

• course Managerial Economics (3)

• course Finance for Actuarial Science (4) 
  or (course Managerial Finance I (3) and course Managerial Finance II (3))   

• course Legal Environment of Business (3)

• course Management Strategies and Policies (3)

• course Management Information Systems (3)

• course Marketing (3)

• course Introduction to Organizational Behavior (3)

• course Introduction to the Management of Human Resources (3)

• course Operations Management (3)

• course Business Writing (4)
  or course Advanced Critical Writing (4)

Business Actuarial Science Courses

• course Calculus II (4)

• course Multivariable Calculus (4)

• course Linear Algebra (4)

• course Foundations of Probability and Calculus (1)

  • (unless the student has earned a grade of at least B+ in course Multivariable Calculus (4) or permission of the Chief Undergraduate Actuarial Adviser)

• course Intermediate Macroeconomics (3)
  or course Financial Markets and Economy (3)

• course Insurance and Risk Management (3)

• course Econometrics (3)

• course Computer Problem Solving in Engineering (4)

• course Business Database Systems (3)

• course Business Analytics (3)

• course Introduction to Differential Equations (4)
  or course Applied Numerical Methods: Matrix Methods (4)
  or course Stochastic Processes I 

• course Financial Mathematics (3)

• course Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics (4)
  or course Financial Derivatives (3)

• course ACHIEVE III Actuarial Sciences (0)

• course Introduction to Mathematical Statistics I (4)

Additional Requirements

Students must complete the core program and the requirements of 1 of the business majors in the SBA with a minimum grade of C in each of the pre-core, core, major courses, and major-dependent concentration courses. Once admitted to the business program as a pre-business or undecided business student or major, a student must complete all of the remaining business core, major and business minor coursework for the degree at Oakland University.

Students must complete at least 31 credits of courses offered by the School of Business Administration, excluding course, course or course, course, course and course and course. Of these 31 credits, at least 12 credits must be in the student’s major.

Certificates of additional majors are permitted in all areas except general management. No more than 4 credits of independent study (4996) courses may be used to meet the major elective requirement. Courses numbered 3800 and 4900 may be repeated for up to 8 credits provided the topics are different. All major courses require a 2.6 GPA or better or major standing to take these courses (excludes Economics and non-SBA major courses).

Applicable Minors

All Minors are applicable to this major with the exception of the following Minor(s): Business, Child Welfare, International Orientation for EGR/CS, and Sustainability Engineering.