Actuarial Science (with Professional Placement)

The BSc (Hons) Actuarial Science degree is delivered by Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), one of Europe’s leading business schools. Part of City St George's, University of London, Bayes is ranked amongst the top 6 business schools in the UK*.

As England’s longest established Actuarial Science degree, this course offers students a sound education in actuarial and financial studies, mathematics and statistics. You will develop your ability to make reasoned judgements, frame appropriate questions and draw independent conclusions and gain highly prized financial risk management skills.

Actuarial science involves the application of quantitative skills to problems in finance that normally involve risk or uncertainty, such as insurance. If you enjoy mathematics, statistics, probability and economics you will find this course ideal. For the duration of your degree, you’ll delve deeper into these course subjects, as well as stochastic models, finance and financial reporting, business and, naturally, actuarial science itself. You’ll also produce a self-researched final-year project on an area that interests and reflects your ambitions.

The degree provides students with the skills to start their actuarial career, with the added flexibility of allowing students to alternatively use these skills to enter risk management, investment management or financial analysis upon graduation. This degree can provide exemptions from subjects CM1, CM2, CS1, CS2, CB1 and CB2 of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ examinations.

In each year of your degree, you will study a core set of modules that will allow you to focus on actuarial science, alongside modules that will broaden your studies into other areas of economics and business. In fact, the Actuarial Science degree at Bayes contains more credits than the majority of all other actuarial science degrees in the UK. By studying for 450 credits rather than the standard 360 credits during your degree, you are able to obtain in depth understanding in specialisms such as business management, real estate finance, financial derivatives and extreme value theory.

Many of our lecturers are qualified actuaries and have worked in industry and continue to consult for corporate organisations, so you will benefit from their first-hand knowledge and business experience. As we place a high value on teaching both theory and application, you will emerge from your degree with a good understanding of how to use your newly acquired knowledge in the workplace, whether this concerns a career as an actuary or an alternative direction (such as, for example, risk manager).

Ethics are an essential and unavoidable aspect of an actuary’s career and the ethical aspects of risk management are considered throughout the course. We are committed to developing responsible and socially aware actuaries, as many of the decisions that you will make in your career will affect numerous stakeholders all of whose views and situations must be taken into account.

A key part of this degree is the opportunity to gain professional work experience or a period of study abroad. Students are eligible to apply for a one-year paid work placement during the third year of a four-year sandwich degree course. Students enjoy a wide range of opportunities in business areas such as insurance and risk management, actuarial investment pricing and capital management. Recent placements include: the Association of British Insurers, Aviva/Friends Life, Prudential and Legal & General.

Students can alternatively apply to spend one year studying abroad during the third year of a four-year sandwich degree course. Students can apply to study at a business school at one of our prestigious partner universities, including the University of Waterloo, Canada; and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

*Financial Times European Business School Ranking 2022

Studying at City St George’s means starting your career from one of the best student cities in the world - London ranked 3rd globally in the QS Best Student Cities 2026. Graduates benefit too: they rank 7th in London for career prospects (Guardian University Guide 2025), meaning the connections and experience you build here translate directly into work.

Across 200+ undergraduate courses - spanning health, business, law, communications, policy, global affairs, and science & technology - you'll choose exciting modules, complete industry placements, and summer internships, and have the option to study abroad for a semester.

City St George's is home to more than 20,000 students from over 170 countries. Wherever you're coming from, you'll find your people here - and joining through Clearing is no different. Every student community starts somewhere, and thousands of students each year begin exactly this way.

Three campuses in Clerkenwell, Moorgate, and Tooting put you right in the heart of London. Think afternoons at the British Museum, study sessions in the British Library, vintage shopping on Brick Lane, and some of the best food in the world on your doorstep.