B.S. in Actuarial Science

The Statistics Department at UCSB has an exceptional Actuarial Program, the only one of its kind in California and only one of two on the entire USA West Coast. Our active Actuarial Club is a huge asset to the program and help to the students.

Who are actuaries? Actuaries have been called "risk architects". They specialize in the evaluation of risk and are a vital part of the insurance and financial industries. Some of the fields where actuaries work include pension and life insurance, casualty (property) insurance, and healthcare consulting. Using their broad knowledge of statistics, mathematics and finance, actuaries help design insurance policies, pension plans, and other financial strategies in a manner which will help ensure that the plans are maintained on a sound financial basis and risks are minimized.

According to the Wall Street Journal, an Actuary is the second best profession out of the 200 studied. Indeed, a median salary of over $80,000 a year and a steady demand for actuaries mean that plenty of excellent jobs are available even during tougher economic times. More than a dozen employers come to campus each Fall to interview our students for summer internships and permanent positions. Our graduates have been hired by most top insurance corporations, including Farmers Insurance, Pacific Mutual, Fireman's Fund Insurance, Transamerica Life Companies, Franklin Templeton, Capital One, and many others. See Alumni page for career descriptions of some of our alumni.

April 10, 2012 Wall Street Journal: Actuary is the second best job in the 2012 rankings by CareerCast.com

November 11, 2011 WSJ: Actuarial Science -- 0% Unemployment

November 9, 2011 Huffington Post: The 14 Most Employable Majors. Actuarial Science tops the list

Alumni, Joseph Feinberg talks about his experience with meeting SOA(page 13)

September 13, 2010 WSJ: A Career in Finance/Insurance

March 19, 2010 Wall Street Journal: A Hot Job for Hard Times: The Life-Insurance Agent

January 5, 2010 Wall Street Journal: actuary is the top job in the 2010 Rankings by JobsRated

Actuarial Foundation Scholarships

For more information, see Undergraduate Program Assistant.

UCSB Facebook Actuarial Club