Please note:
To view the Fall 2024 Academic Calendar, go to www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2024/fall.html.
Actuarial Mathematics Courses
ACMA 101 - Introduction to Insurance (3)
General overview of universally useful concepts in insurance, pensions and financial management. Typical life, health and property & casualty insurance products; underwriting; pricing; reserving; regulation; social insurance; retirement plans and annuities; financial planning: mortgages, loans, wealth management. Corequisite: MATH 150, 151, 154 or 157. Quantitative/Breadth-Science.
ACMA 201 - Interest Theory and Applications (3)
Measurement of interest, present value. Equations of value. Annuities. Loans and amortization schedules. Bonds and other securities. Cash flows: yield rates, duration, convexity, immunization. Yield curves: spot rates, forward rates. Interest rate swaps. Covers part of the syllabus for Exam FM of the Society of Actuaries and Exam 2 of the Casualty Actuarial Society. Prerequisite: MATH 152 with a minimum grade of C; or MATH 155 or MATH 158, with a grade of at least B. Students with credit for ACMA 210 cannot take ACMA 201 for further credit. Quantitative.
ACMA 231 - Tools for Data-Driven Decision Making (3)
Introduction to key analytical tools used to organize and process data to support decision making. Prerequisite: BC Mathematics 12 (or equivalent) or any 100-level MATH course with a minimum grade of C.
ACMA 301 - Long-Term Actuarial Mathematics I (3)
Life tables, basic survival models. Basic life insurance and annuities: present value random variables, premium calculations, reserves. Computer applications for pricing and reserving for life insurance portfolios. Covers part of the syllabus for Exam LTAM of the Society of Actuaries. Prerequisite: ACMA 201 (or 210), with a minimum grade of C. Corequisite: STAT 285. Students with credit for ACMA 320 cannot take ACMA 301 for further credit. Quantitative.
ACMA 321 - Fundamentals of Short-Term Insurance (3)
Short-term insurance and reinsurance coverages. Basic ratemaking and reserving for short-term insurance. Models for severity and frequency of claims. Coverage modifications: deductibles, policy limits, coinsurance. Estimation and selection of parametric models in the context of insurance. Prerequisite: ACMA 101 with a minimum grade of C. Corequisite: STAT 330, ACMA 231. Students with credit for ACMA 355 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.
ACMA 336 - Job Practicum I (3)
First term of work experience in a co-operative education program for actuarial students. Students should contact an advisor as early in their career as possible for counseling. Units from this course do not count towards the units required for an 間眅埶AV degree. Grading is on a pass/withdraw basis. A course fee is required. Prerequisite: Students must apply and receive permission from the co-op coordinator at least one but preferably two terms in advance. They will normally be required to have completed 45 units with a GPA of 2.50 before they may take this practicum course.
ACMA 337 - Job Practicum II (3)
Second term of work experience in a co-operative education program available to actuarial students. Units from this course do not count towards the units required for an 間眅埶AV degree. Grading is on a pass/withdraw basis. A course fee is required. Prerequisite: ACMA 336 or Job Practicum I from another department. Students must apply and receive permission from the co-op coordinator at least one term in advance.
ACMA 340 - Financial Economics for Actuaries (3)
Option pricing models and their application to insurance and financial risks. Introduction to finance and derivatives. Option strategies and risk management. Binomial models. Black-Scholes-Merton model. Market-making, hedging, and option Greeks. Introduction to exotic options. Mean-variance portfolio theory and asset pricing models. Covers part of the syllabus for Exam 3F of the Casualty Actuarial Society. Prerequisite: ACMA 201 (or 210), with a minimum grade of C. Corequisite: STAT 285. Quantitative.
ACMA 360W - Actuarial Communication (3)
Guided experiences in written and oral communication of actuarial ideas and results to both expert and lay audiences. Prerequisite: ACMA 301 (or 320), with a minimum grade of C. Students who have taken STAT 300W first may not then take this course for further credit. Writing/Quantitative.
ACMA 395 - Special Topics in Actuarial Science (3)
Topics in areas of actuarial science not covered in the regular curriculum of the department. Prerequisite: Dependent on the topics covered.
ACMA 401 - Long-Term Actuarial Mathematics II (3)
Advanced survival models. Multiple state models. Advanced premium calculations and reserves. Profit testing. Pension plans and retirement benefits. Computer applications for pricing, reserving and risk measurement of life insurance portfolios. Covers part of the syllabus for Exam LTAM of the Society of Actuaries. Prerequisite: ACMA 301 (or 320), with a minimum grade of C. Students with credit for ACMA 425 cannot take ACMA 401 for further credit. Quantitative.
ACMA 421 - Advanced Models for Short-Term Insurance (3)
Risk measures. Extreme value theory: models and applications. Aggregate models for claims. Regression-based approaches to claims modeling: generalized linear models, linear mixed models. Prerequisite: ACMA 321 with a minimum grade of C. Corequisite: STAT 350.
ACMA 422 - Short-Term Insurance Practice (3)
Advanced ratemaking: trend analysis, ultimate losses, expense provisions, profit and contingencies, overall rate indications, classification rates. Experience rating: credibility theory and applications, bonus-malus systems. Loss reserving: estimating unpaid losses and IBNR, statistical models and assumptions for outstanding claim reserves. Prerequisite: ACMA 321 with a minimum grade of C. Students with credit for ACMA 470 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.
ACMA 436 - Job Practicum III (3)
Third term of work experience in a co-operative education program available to actuarial students. Units from this course do not count towards the units required for an 間眅埶AV degree. Grading is on a pass/withdraw basis. A course fee is required. Prerequisite: ACMA 337 or Job Practicum II from another department. Students must apply and receive permission from the co-op coordinator at least one term in advance.
ACMA 437 - Job Practicum IV (3)
Fourth term of work experience in a co-operative education program available to actuarial students. Units from this course do not count towards the units required for an 間眅埶AV degree. Grading is on a pass/withdraw basis. A course fee is required. Prerequisite: ACMA 436 or Job Practicum III from another department. Students must apply and receive permission from the co-op coordinator at least one term in advance.
ACMA 438 - Job Practicum V (3)
Optional fifth term of work experience in a co-operative education program available to actuarial students. Units from this course do not count towards the units required for an 間眅埶AV degree. Grading is on a pass/withdraw basis. A course fee is required. This course may be repeated for additive credit. Prerequisite: ACMA 437 or Job Practicum IV from another department. Students must apply and receive permission from the co-op coordinator at least one term in advance.
ACMA 455 - Loss Models II (3)
Aggregate loss models. Credibility: models and estimation. Insurance and reinsurance coverages. Pricing and reserving for short-term insurance coverages. Covers part of the syllabus for Exam STAM of the Society of Actuaries. Prerequisite: ACMA 355 with a minimum grade of C. Quantitative.
ACMA 465 - Demography and Mortality Models (3)
Measures of mortality and fertility: Crude rates, age-specific mortality rates, adjusted measures of mortality. Construction of life tables from census data. Stationary population theory: survivorship group, Lexis diagram. Stable population theory: Sharpe-Lotka theorem, growth rate, quasi-stable populations. Mortality models. Longevity risk. Prerequisite: ACMA 301 (or 320), with a minimum grade of C. Quantitative.
ACMA 475 - Theory of Pension (3)
Overview of pension plans: design, funding, regulation, accounting standards. Pension funding methods: actuarial cost methods, terminal funding method. Individual actuarial cost methods: accrual benefit cost method, entry-age actuarial cost method, unit-credit method, individual-level-premium method, attainted-age-normal method. Group actuarial cost methods. Prerequisite: ACMA 301 (or 320), with a minimum grade of C. Corequisite: ACMA 401. Quantitative.
ACMA 490 - Selected Topics in Actuarial Science (3)
The topics included in this course will vary from term to term depending on faculty availability and student interest. Prerequisite: Dependent on the topic covered.
ACMA 494 - Directed Studies in Actuarial Science (2)
Independent study and/or research in topics chosen in consultation with the supervising instructor. Prerequisite: Written permission from the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science undergraduate curriculum committee.
ACMA 495 - Directed Studies in Actuarial Science (3)
Independent study and/or research in topics chosen in consultation with the supervising instructor. Prerequisite: Written permission from the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science undergraduate curriculum committee.
ACMA 830 - Stochastic Processes for Insurance and Finance (4)
General probability theory and stochastic processes. Information and conditioning. Stochastic differential equations. Financial econometrics models. Economic scenario generators. Advanced option pricing.
ACMA 831 - Advanced Actuarial Models (4)
Aggregate claims models. Models for incurred but not reported claims. Bonus-malus systems in automobile insurance. Mortality models. Students with credit for ACMA 821 may not take this course for further credit.
ACMA 832 - Actuarial Risk Management (4)
Economic perspectives on risk and insurance. Risk measures. Extreme value theory. Multivariate risk models, copulas and dependence. Risk management in practice.
ACMA 850 - Actuarial Science: Selected Topics (4)