Any feedback on MSc. Act. Sc. in University of Leicester?

Dear Friends,
Greetings ! I am absolutely new to this forum.

I am planning to make a career shift to Actuarial Sc. I have an engineering (graduate and postgraduate) background.

I am specifically looking for a course which would allow me to study while keeping my current job. I am not in a position to migrate to UK to do a full time MSc. Act. Sc. course. I found that the University of Leicester offers a post graduate diploma (or degree if one wants that) in Actuarial Sc. in a distance education mode. I am interested in the same. However I do not have any inputs on how good (or otherwise) the course is. Also, the course being what it is, may not offer any intership offer (for industry experience) which (as I understand) is so vital for someone like me who wants a shift in career.

Do you have any idea on how the course offered by the Univ. of Leicester is? Is it really worth doing a course by distance learning for Act. Sc. I have not been able to be in touch with anybody who has actually done the course at Leicester.

Any relevant tips from you in this regard would be gratefully appreciated.

Warm regards,
TGCHAT

P.S. I have been in touch with the university and the interaction is still continuing. however for obvious reasons, receiving suggestions from someone with an independent point of view would be so much more helpful.

 

No man, join the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries and buy your course notes from Acted ...the notes are the best distance learning material you can ever get. Almost every single actuary in the UK has walked this path ( used acted notes) at some point. Next time when you post try to do so in the top and more general area. You get better feedback then.

 

Thanks

Thanks sonnyshook. The reason I am exploring the option of doing a course from a university even if it were in a distance learning mode is that it would (as it claims) provide me some guidance on how to organize my study. And there would also be (hopefully) help at hand when I am stuck over something. I do not think I shall be able to make do with only the books and the syllabus. Haven't made up my mind yet. As you advised, shall put my case up in a wider forum and seek more opinions.

Warm regards
TGCHAT

 

It is cheaper to do the ActEd education path rather than a distance learning from a university....after all due to the distance you will receive limited help from any university professors. If you plan to work and study it is better to gor for ActEd - long distance learning at your own paste. There is so much of the study materials that there is no way you could get stuck with something and not being able to figure it out from books, notes, booklets etc.

 

Thanks Viki2010. I understand your point of view.

Regarding getting help from ActEd community which you have mentioned, in a recent development , I would be staying in England (Hampshire) for a year possibly from this November for official work. Would that be of any extra help as far as accessing help from ActED is concerned? I wish to pursue studies while in England and would need all the help that I can. Would being in England be in any way helpful than say, being in India?

Any other suggestions on how I might make use of this opportunity of being in England in acquiring actuarial skills and knowledge please?

 

ActEd do tutorials. These are regular or block. In your case block might be better dependent on your stay. But they book up early so don't leave it until the last minute. If you are coming to Hampshire, the nearest location is probably London although sometimes other venues like Southampton may be possible.

For block, they aren't intended as teaching sessions. Rather you are expected to have covered all the course and be ready to practise exam questions. Naturally if there are bits you find hard you may ask questions though.

The regular tutorials go through each bit of the course in chunks. Again you should have covereed the relevant sessions to attend. You pay for the whole lot rather than 1 at a time so it is a commitment that can keep you motivated.

 

I think it could be worth discussing your decision, before you finalise it, with someone you know at your former university (careers advisor/tutor), and also getting any information available from the actuarial profession, actuarial employers and the University of Leicester, or other universities, about careers and academic matters.

 

I am currently finishing the M.Sc with the University of Leicester and I would definitely recommend it.

Studying from Malta. there are no really good lectures to attend that prepare you adequately for Actuarial exams. Furthermore I really wanted something academic as well and this M.Sc hit two birds with one stone.

Distance learning with Leicester is different. They don't just send you the books and the notes. Actuarial science isn't an easy subject so not everything can be easily understood from online notes. Leicester provides the opportunity of answering most queries by simply sending an email.

For every module, you are given a number of assignments (usually 10) throughout the semester. Although these do not count towards the final assessment grade, I found it very helpful to obtain direct feedback on my work.

I believe that if you ask Leicester admin for contact with a current student, they might help you in that. Probably you might prefer to talk to a student located in the UK.

True but accredited courses haven't been around long so you can't really compare. Furthermore some courses, such as CA2 or CT9, are not offered as an exemption by any university so ActEd would be the only way.

 

Thank you to bystander , learner and zuglubuglu.

I am in touch with the officials from the university of Leicester regarding the prospects and the admission. The next session is not due till May 2011 which gives me time to carefully analyze the facts on ground.

Delighted to be introduced to zuglubuglu as he/she is the first one who is doing the MSc. Act. Sc. from Leicester whom I have come across. I have indeed requested the university officials to provide me with some references of current and past students so that I could discuss with them.

If you are familiar (on account of doing the course yourself) with any student yourself , who would be willing to share their views with me, shall be very grateful if you could let me know.

I have a few queries for zuglubuglu since you have directly experienced the course conducted by the university.

1. I have a full time job, so I need to plan my study time very carefully if I choose to do the course (provided am given admission of course). How much time per day/week/etc would you feel an average guy would need to spend in order to be abreast of the course given its level of difficulty?

2. If I decide to do the course at Leicester from May 2011 and wish to prepare in advance for the same, what are the topics you feel I can do well to look up in advance (I have not been in touch with probability, calculus directly for several years now, for example). Shall be very grateful if you could suggest some texts as well.

3. The most major issue: I am in IT and wish to swicth over to Actuarial Science. Doing the course through distance learning would not provide any opportunity for an internship/summer training etc right? So how do you feel a person in my position would be able top make an entry into the industry? Does the supervisors in the course provide any help on this ? I am quite prepared to put in efforts to realize my aspirations, but if there are no entries, then it would be a great loss to me.

Thanking in advance for your responses.

 

Queries

HI TGCHAT,

Glad to be of help.

This is hard to answer. I used to dedicate on average 20 hours a week but I know students who dedicated much more. But there were some subjects for which I could afford less (Accounts and Economics as I had studied them before) or needed more (Financial Engineering and Risk).

The trick is to actually enjoy studying it. Every semester is about 5 months so I usually spent 2-3 months reading about the application of subject and reading elsewhere. Then I spent the last two months on 'exam preparation',

You must make sure not to fall behind on assignments as it might be much harder to catch up. Although you may miss handing in a few (they don't count for assessment), I'd still recommend to try hard to do them all as the feedback from lecturers is key to doing well.

I'd focus on a refresher on probability and statistics in general. If I'd were you I'd also read a bit about financial mathematics, maybe get used to the notation used for annuity certains.

Have you ever studied accounts before? If you are a member of the actuarial profession, you might want to do Ct9 via distance learning as it has a brief introduction to the balance sheets and profit and loss statements.

I think this depends on the different market, whether India, UK or elsewhere. Currently Leicester administration are advertising a job seminar on actuarial but I am not aware of any student fairs. I did see a job advertised now and then by administration but as they were located in the UK, I never followed it up.

As I said earlier, this depends on the area. By January, I will be the highest qualified Maltese in Actuarial Science but will not be working in the insurance industry as I will be applying actuarial techniques to betting and academia. However to start an actuarial path here, a statistics undergraduate degree would suffice (however wages are not high).

In the UK, you might need a couple of examinations under your belt to start getting interviews (someone located there would help more). I do not know about India.

Whether you have eight exams from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries or the University of Leicester (which mean exemptions from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries if the average is >65) will probably not make a big difference with respect to job prospects if its within this industry (its another issue if you want to go for academia or other sectors that would appreciate more an M.Sc). But the University of Leicester would help you to get there probably faster and with greater help.

In the end of the day the key advantages of the University of Leicester course are:
-> direct contact with lecturers,
-> continuous feedback from lecturers (if you hand in assignments),
-> the possibility of an academic accreditation,
-> a busier forum, and
-> flexibility (for example I quit my job in June and worked full time on my dissertation over the past few months. The work ethic with the University was great - I had the opportunity to visit the university to meet my tutor but many couldn't so they made weekly/fortnightly email contacts during the dissertation process. Do note that the M.Sc does not offer any further exemptions.)

There is the issue of cost when compared to ActEd but I'd definitely recommend the M.Sc/Pg.Dip.

 

A few more queries

Hi zuglubuglu,
Thanks for your generous advice.

It's interesting to know how you approach the course in terms of preparation.

I have a disadvantage in that I do not have a grounding in accounts and economics. For me they are new areas altogether. I only have interest to show for that, but I know from my previous academic experiences that in the real world, it's perseverence much more than interest , that comes in handy. I have some superficial experience in working with accounts and annuities, but that is only from an IT specialist's point of view and not mathematical. So obviously that's pretty much useless in this context.

And over and above that I also have my full time job to attend to. So I think I need to take it the slow and steady way. I also intend to do only the Pg.Dip portion of the course. Do you feel that would make too much of a difference in terms of my aim of joining the profession?


I have also read that the course at Leicester could be done over a longer period of time depending on the comfort level of the student. Would you be able to comment on this please (though obviously I understand that you have not taken this option). This option would , I feel suit me more since I would take more time to assimilate the concepts than others who have some groundig in the concepts and more time at their disposal.


Regarding your advice on the preparation in probability and statistics, thanks, I shall start them at the earliest.

Overall , the impression which I got from you about the course at Leicester was a pretty positive one.

I have a query on a different area: the fees for the course. I have read in the brochure that there are options of availing instalments while paying from the course. Would you have any information on the same please ? I probably would prefer to take that option if available.

Finally, your chosen area of work (betting, academia) sounds interesting, although I was not able to understand the connection between the two

Looking forward to your comments on my queries.

Warm regards

 

Do excuse me for my late reply but I have been injured (nothing really serious).

With respect to your queries:
-> Most of the students I know tended to stop after the PG.Dip if they already had an M.Sc as the MSc does not give you any further exemptions with the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries.
-> I paid for my course in a small number of installments (and actually paid earlier when the GBP was weak when compared to the Euro). I suggest you ask this directly to admin as they would be able to direct you better.

If you would like the point of view of another student, you could ask the course administrators whether they direct you to a student for just a few q&a's.

 

Offer for MSc Actuarial Science at University of Leicester

Hi...

I have an offer for the same to start in May 2012 and have seen here that a thread is going on. I have some doubts regarding the way the course is conducted as it is distance learning. It would be great if I am able to clear some of them so that I could make a better decision whether to start the course or not.

(i) They have said that there will be podcasts in the Virtual Learning Environment explaining the concepts. Are they comprehensive? Are these available for all modules? Do you really get a good idea of the subject matter through these? Are they like recorded lectures?

(ii) What is the level of Calculus required for this course? Do you need to be proficient in Differential Equations as well? I am asking this because I would like to brush up any required areas before the start of the course so that I can be better prepared for the course.

Any help and insight would be highly appreciated!

 

ActEd offer an Online Classroom now in CT1, CT5, CT6 and CT8. I've not used it (as passed those) but hear from other students it's excellent if you can't get to face-to-face tutorials. They also include Assignments in their CMP, which you can have markled (for a fee). And Mock Exams.

You can also send ActEd emails, but it's usually better to post on this forum and then a tutor will answer if a student doesn't.

So may be not that different after all!!