Actuarial science major provides bridge between math and business
The Science and Math Complex. Photo by Jada Camille.
Actuarial science, an accredited major combining math and business, is a lesser-known major offered by Lee. Those within the program are learning how to work in the insurance business upon graduation.
“[An actuarial science major is] someone that will use statistical data to predict risks for insurance companies. It’s basically math in the business world,” said Jimmy Clevenger, a senior actuarial science major.
While Clevenger believes a decent amount of schools offer this major, he does not believe enough students or adults have relevant information about it.
“Most people I come in contact with ask me my major and when I tell them they look at me like, ‘what?’ I normally just tell people it’s a math major,” Clevenger said.
An actuarial science major is rare to come across at Lee. Currently, there are only about 14 students enrolled in the major, but the program is still growing.
“I don’t suspect that [this program] is dying out. You’ve got insurance companies and people selling insurance all over the place for everything,” said Dr. Caroline Maher-Boulis, professor of mathematics.
In 2015, Lee was listed as a university that met the “introductory curriculum, advanced curriculum, and centers of actuarial excellence,” categories, according to the Society of Actuaries. This accreditation confirms Lee provides the preparation for students to pass a series of exams after graduation that are required by an employer to become certified.
“Our program prepares students to pass the first two exams and get what is called the Validation by Educational Experience (VEE),” said Maher-Boulis. “The SOA just approved our third VEE, and that is a great addition to the program. Our students can graduate, pass two exams and get three VEE’s.”
For more information about the actuarial science program, click here.
