You may have heard of actuarial science, or you might even know an actuary, but do you know what an actuary does? During the course you’ll hear from a wide variety of actuaries about their careers. And don’t be scared that the course will be “just a whole lot of mathematics”. Together, we will go beyond the math to learn how actuaries approach problems relating to risk, using examples from: Finance Investments Banking Insurance You will learn how actuarial science applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in these industries and other professions. You’ll experience “hands-on” learning using Excel (or an equivalent spreadsheet tool) to project and investigate the financial condition of a company choosing appropriate strategies for the company through the use of simulations. The course has been carefully designed for students from a wide variety of backgrounds, with secondary/high school level being the only assumption of mathematical background. Even if you don’t have any background in, for example, calculus, the course has been designed so you can skip over these sections without affecting your understanding of the rest of the course. You also do not need to have any Excel or other spreadsheet background to take the course. For those with stronger mathematical backgrounds, extension questions are provided to test you further. You’ll learn a huge amount about actuarial science no matter what your background is! “Great introduction to this specialized field; every day there are new challenges where as a student you are put in a situation to learn and apply the lessons with practical exercises. Great structure of the course, with main concepts to review at the end of a lesson. I would recommend to anyone who would like to learn more about actuarial science.” – Previous student
An excellent online course offered by edX: how it works
edX courses consist of weekly learning sequences. Each learning sequence is composed of short videos interspersed with interactive learning exercises, where students can immediately practise the concepts from the videos. The courses often include tutorial videos that are similar to small on-campus discussion groups, an online textbook, and an online discussion forum where students can post and review questions and comments to each other and teaching assistants. Where applicable, online laboratories are incorporated into the course.
edX offers certificates of successful completion and some courses are credit-eligible. Whether or not a college or university offers credit for an online course is within the sole discretion of the school. edX offers a variety of ways to take courses, including verified courses where students have the option to audit the course (no cost) or to work toward an edX Verified Certificate (fees vary by course). edX also offers XSeries Certificates for completion of a bundled set of two to seven verified courses in a single subject (cost varies depending on the courses).
An edX learning programme under Other Experiences
