Minors and Certificates

The Department offers a minor in mathematical sciences. To be awarded a minor, a student must meet both the department’s and the University’s requirements for the minor:

Many students only need to take 6 credits beyond what their major program requires.

The department offers a Minor in Statistics that provides students the opportunity to develop a working knowledge of modern statistical techniques. Such knowledge will materially help scientists, engineers, and other professionals in their careers and will make graduating students more attractive on the job market.

Statistical analysis has long been essential in many areas of applied science and engineering—for example, in clinical trials of pharmaceuticals and quality control.

Unprecedented amounts of data are being recorded in many areas, from traditional to new applications, and the ability to understand statistical analyses is now beneficial in a broad range of careers.

The minor requires introductory courses in statistics and probability, training in statistical computing, and three courses (to be chosen from a defined list) on advanced statistical techniques.

Consult the departmental and University requirements for earning a minor:

A certificate is a program of courses that provides a student with knowledge of a disciplinary or interdisciplinary subfield. Departments may offer certificates to both degree-seeking and non-degree-seeking students.

The Department of Mathematical Sciences offers a Certificate in Actuarial Science, which can be earned by a student in any major. This certificate prepares students for the first actuarial exams offered by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), which are required for professional certification as an actuary.

The Certificate in Actuarial Science requires 24 credits of course work that will prepare students for the first two SOA exams (P and FM) and give them a good start in preparing for exams MLC, MFE, and C. Students hoping to enter the actuarial profession upon graduation should take and pass the P and FM exams during their undergraduate study.

The Department of Mathematical Sciences offers a Certificate in Business Analytics, which can be earned by a student in any major. This certificate provides a foundation in the emerging field of analytics, the use of statistics and mathematical modeling to optimize business performance.

The Certificate in Business Analytics requires 24 credits of course work.

Actuarial Courses

Hope College offers a sequence of courses designed for pre-actuary preparation.

Actuarial science is a field of study that uses mathematical models to put a present dollar value on future risky events. Historically, most actuaries have worked in the insurance and pensions industries. Today, actuaries are also involved in financial decision making for both individuals and companies.

The Jobs Rated Almanac has annually rated actuary as one of the top professions based on work environment, income, outlook, job security, stress and other factors. In particular, the actuarial profession is often called the “zero-unemployment” profession because the demand for actuaries has typically outpaced supply. Visit beanactuary.org for more information about the actuarial profession.

Actuaries are people who have very strong quantitative abilities, enjoy working in the business world, and who want to start their careers immediately after they attain their undergraduate degree (no post-graduate degree required). Again, visit beanactuary.org for more information.

The Hope College Department of Mathematics and Statistics offers:

Students must have passed the first of a series of certification exams before graduating in order to be competitive for jobs after graduation. Additionally, students who have completed Society of Actuaries certified Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) college courses, have had an internship in the actuarial field, and/or have completed subsequent actuarial certification exams are even more competitive for actuarial positions upon graduation.

The following courses are strongly recommended for students intending to become actuaries:

The last three courses listed above also satisfy the Society of Actuaries "Validation by Educational Experiences" certification.

The following courses are also recommended:

Download a brochure about Pre-Actuary Preparation at Hope College. For more details on the actuarial profession (a profession consistently rated as one of the best), visit www.beanactuary.org.

Actuarial Mathematics for Life Contingent Risks

The substantially updated third edition of the popular Actuarial Mathematics for Life Contingent Risks is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of actuarial science, for trainee actuaries preparing for professional actuarial examinations, and for life insurance practitioners who wish to increase or update their technical knowledge. The authors provide intuitive explanations alongside mathematical theory, equipping readers to understand the material in sufficient depth to apply it in real-world situations and to adapt their results in a changing insurance environment. courses include modern actuarial paradigms, such as multiple state models, cash-flow projection methods and option theory, all of which are required for managing the increasingly complex range of contemporary long-term insurance products. Numerous exam-style questions allow readers to prepare for traditional professional actuarial exams, and extensive use of Excel ensures that readers are ready for modern, Excel-based exams and for the actuarial work environment. The Solutions Manual (ISBN 9781108747615), available for separate purchase, provides detailed solutions to the text's exercises.

'Some decades ago, Life Contingencies were viewed as the boring part of actuarial mathematics. The third (substantially enlarged) edition of this classic is proof of how wrong that view was. Some of the most exciting developments of their field are taking place here. The authors are to be congratulated on having made the latter abundantly clear. This surely is my desert island book on the topic!' Paul Embrechts, Emeritus Professor of Insurance Mathematics, ETH Zurich

Review of the second edition: 'This book is an excellent textbook for undergraduate, master's level graduate students, and practitioners. It is easy to read, clearly written, and mathematically rigorous. The authors clearly emphasize important concepts and equations, helping readers to the see the forest from the trees. For example they box important formulas and present in bold type assumptions, formulas, statements, examples, and solutions. Many graphs, figures and tables compete a useful summary for the reader's convenience.' Kissop Lee, The American Statistician

Review of the second edition: 'The book is well written and the content is generally quite accessible … The content focuses on examples of practical actuarial work through use of spreadsheets … Overall, the book provides a good framework in life insurance contingencies so as to cover mortality, longevity interest rate modeling, pricing and guarantees. The strength of the book lies in the fact that this is the 2nd edition and reflects modern actuarial methods that have become popular since the last edition was published.' Gautam Kakar, Annals of Actuarial Science

Review of the first edition: 'The book is well written, well organized, and easy to read. It may be an excellent textbook for both undergraduate and graduate programs in actuarial science. It is also a rich source of useful information for practitioners of the actuarial profession and financial risk managers who seek a practical and inspiring guide to liability cash flow modeling and valuation.' Scandinavian Actuarial Journal