Has there been an attempt at RANKING actuarial science programs?

[Unpredictable]

The quality and reputation vary significantly but I haven't seen rankings anywhere. Something informal should exist.

[ysr]

The quality and reputation vary significantly but I haven't seen rankings anywhere. Something informal should exist.

It appears that following schools are good in USA and I personally rank them as follows (I may be wrong) considering the job opportunities, locations, college reputation, overall university rankings(which actually does not matter much in actuarial domain):
1) U Conn
2) University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
3) Georgia State University
4) Temple University
5) University of Iowa
6) Illinois State University
7) University of Nebraska Lincoln

Above rankings are ONLY for Master's program, not for undergraduate.
But these rankings does not matter much to US residents. For eg: Student near Atlanta wont prefer UConn . Instead that student would prefer Georgia State. Student in Illinois may prefer UIUC.

If you consider only education wise, then all are almost equally good I guess!
Iowa is well known for actuarial science , but the only reason I ranked it little bit lower could be because of the location. Else, its a great school to study AS. International students should consider location if they want to pursue job in US, else would not matter much if student is graduating from any of the above schools with decent comm skills + 4 SOA/CAS exams passed.

If you consider entire North America, Waterloo can be placed above Uconn.

-ySr

[Unpredictable]

It appears that following schools are good in USA and I personally rank them as follows (I may be wrong) considering the job opportunities, locations, college reputation, overall university rankings(which actually does not matter much in actuarial domain):
1) U Conn
2) University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
3) Georgia State University
4) Temple University
5) University of Iowa
6) Illinois State University
7) University of Nebraska Lincoln

Above rankings are ONLY for Master's program, not for undergraduate.
But these rankings does not matter much to US residents. For eg: Student near Atlanta wont prefer UConn . Instead that student would prefer Georgia State. Student in Illinois may prefer UIUC.

If you consider only education wise, then all are almost equally good I guess!
Iowa is well known for actuarial science , but the only reason I ranked it little bit lower could be because of the location. Else, its a great school to study AS. International students should consider location if they want to pursue job in US, else would not matter much if student is graduating from any of the above schools with decent comm skills + 4 SOA/CAS exams passed.

If you consider entire North America, Waterloo can be placed above Uconn.

-ySr

Are you saying that there are undergrad programs in actuarial science? I didn't know that. Which schools have them?

So you think it's Waterloo as #1 and then UConn as #2 in North America? These are the two best programs? I didn't know that either. You sure?

:horse:

[ysr]

Link below may help you with the list of colleges that offer undergraduate degrees.

http://www.soa.org/education/resources/actuarial-colleges/actuarial-college-listings-details.aspx

There are no official rankings as such for Actuarial science. But many, if not all, agree that waterloo has one of the best actuarial science program. UConn is highly respected but ranking it second is my "personal opinion" . As I said, Georgia State, Temple, UIUC, Iowa are equally respected for act science, so ppl may choose the nearest university.

[Unpredictable]

UConn is highly respected but ranking it second is my "personal opinion".

UConn is good in basketball

[Noisserger]

I downloaded some public domain data for 4 year public and private, not-for-profit institutions. Below are a few tables of the number of degrees conferred by each institution over a three year period (08-10.) There are a few caveats:

1) I am filtering only on institutions that produced a graduate with the specific degree "Actuarial Science", as defined by CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) code "52.1304 - Actuarial Science." Any school that does not have a graduate with the specific degree code "Actuarial Science" is omitted.

2) Again, these figures are only for 4 year public and private, not-for-profit institutions.

3) This data is self-reported by the institution, so proceed with caution. For example, UIUC did not report a single graduate ActSci degree for 2008-2010, which I find suspect.

4) This is only showing the number of degrees granted - not a composite "rank."



I apologize in advance about the exhibits. I know they are blurry.



Bachelor Degrees: Large number of well-positioned public institutions leading the pack. More competition in the marketplace is having a large effect on UIUC's share of degrees conferred (12.5 percent in '08 to 10.4 percent in '10.)

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/mebain/act_sci_bs2.png



Advanced Degrees: Privates more prevalent here. Carnegie Mellon is the clear frontrunner.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/mebain/act_sci_ms2.png

Additionally, the number of degrees conferred in actuarial science over the past three years has increased 28% (bachelors) and 113% (masters.) It would also be interesting to look at graduation trends on the less granular CIP code "52.13: Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods."



I hope this helps.

[Johnny Deformed]

Actuarial degrees are useless, so it should just be based on attractiveness of women who can be picked up by the socially awkward.

[glassjaws]

Actuarial degrees are useless, so it should just be based on attractiveness of women who can be picked up by the socially awkward.

:iatp:

[Unpredictable]

These are good exhibits despite not having rankings. Programs in Canada have a good reputation.

[Unpredictable]

Actuarial degrees are useless, so it should just be based on attractiveness of women who can be picked up by the socially awkward.

Good luck with that. You should search for the inner beauty.

[jerrytuttle]

How about the following to help rank actuarial degree programs:

Exam pass-ratios of students.
Number of actuarial exams the university prepares students for.
Percent of faculty with actuarial credentials.
Percent of faculty publishing in peer-reviewed actuarial publications.
Percent of graduates getting actuarial employment within six months of graduation.

[actuwannabemtl]

While browsing I've sometimes come across some truly awful schools where an actuarial science program was hosted. I'm talking about the kind of "college" where the average SAT score is like 900/1600. What eventually happens to students enrolled in such programs ? Do they ever make it to fellowship or even associateship ? Can they even pass exam P ?
Are the AS students at those schools totally different from the rest of the student body there ?

[uh oh spaghettio]

How about the following to help rank actuarial degree programs:

Exam pass-ratios of students.
Number of actuarial exams the university prepares students for.
Percent of faculty with actuarial credentials.
Percent of faculty publishing in peer-reviewed actuarial publications.
Percent of graduates getting actuarial employment within six months of graduation.

Scratch the first one, and I think we're good. I think there is a big distinction between the robust education that can be provided by a good program and what is needed to pass an exam. A school that "teaches the exams" could have higher pass rates, but would, IMO, be severly lacking in other regards.

[Unpredictable]

What is UQAM?

[uh oh spaghettio]

What is UQAM?

L'Université du Québec à Montréal

[wingmaster5]

Actuarial degrees are useless, so it should just be based on attractiveness of women who can be picked up by the socially awkward.

Drake University-
Undergrad Actuarial Program: Top 5
Attractiveness of women: very high
Likelihood of awkward person picking them up: decent

[Unpredictable]

Drake University-
Undergrad Actuarial Program: Top 5
Attractiveness of women: very high
Likelihood of awkward person picking them up: decent

You win

[Unpredictable]

L'Université du Québec à Montréal

----?

[Klaymen]

Drake University-
Undergrad Actuarial Program: Top 5
Attractiveness of women: very high
Likelihood of awkward person picking them up: decent
Plus if you're not averse to an evening section, you could have me as an instructor next fall. Now how can you resist that?!?

Plus, over half of the students that took an exam in my class passed. (However, note that some did NOT take an exam, and I'm not counting them. Some people are destined to find out in college that maybe they don't have what it takes to be an actuary.)

Midwest women can be attractive AND pleasant as well.