UFS Department of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science
Sean van der Merwe
Options
- Career options: Actuary, data scientist, statistician, economist, marketing strategist, banker, risk analyst, …
- Employers: Banks, insurance, investment companies, clinical research organisations, marketing companies, …
- UFS options: Actuarial Science, Mathematical Statistics + economics or psychology, Statistics + accounting or biology, Data Science (programming + mathematical statistics), Risk analysis (not the same as risk management), Microbiology + statistics, …
Begin with the end goal in mind and do what it takes to get there.
Be real though
- Actuarial Science is difficult, much more difficult than medicine
- It takes a minimum of 8 years to become an actuary: 4 to 6 years of studying at university and another 4 to 20 years of studying while working
- Only a tiny fraction of people make it all the way. There are 15 doctors for each actuary.
- There are great alternatives though: people starting in actuarial science or something close to it almost always end up getting a good degree, a good honours degree, and rewarding work!
- Some are actuaries, some are data scientists, some are statisticians or statistical programmers, some are in business, marketing, banking, etc.
Why the University of the Free State?
- We have many actuaries available to you in person, more than any other university in SA!
- All students who finish any honours degrees I’ve mentioned end up well employed!
- A productive study environment
- A decades long track record of success
What matters?
- Study hard
- Go the extra mile
- Read and research the careers that interest you and the others I’ve talked about!
- Apply on time, e.g. today
Maths as foundation
- In our department we do not do maths for the sake of maths
- We do maths because it is the foundation of so much more
- Actuarial Science is built on Mathematical Statistics
- Mathematical Statistics is built on Mathematics
- So you will minor in mathematics to get the foundation
- Thus, you must have good school mathematics marks
- And you must have a passion for mathematics, problem solving, logic, …
Formal prerequisites
Actuarial Science is selection based, so we choose who gets in. We typically offer places to everyone with AP Scores above 40.
- Mathematical Statistics based programmes, with majors in Climate Science, Econometrics, or Psychometrics
- requires AP32, mathematics 70%, language 50%
- Applied Statistics based programmes, with majors in Economics or Psychology
- requires AP32, mathematics 60%, language 50%
But what actually matters?
- Curiosity: When you go on social media do you engage with academic topics, or just fashion and food?
- Does the business news make sense to you? What about #Statistics?
- Problem solving and resilience: If a maths problem is difficult do you give up, or does that motivate you to learn more so that next time it is easier?
- Hard work: Do you read more and do more homework than what your teachers give you?
- Doing the minimum is not good enough. Not at school, not at UFS, and not in life.
Apply now
“I’ve forgotten what you just said.”
Just remember one of these:
UFS Act Sci