Actuarial and Financial Mathеmatiсs

The two-year Master's programme in Actuarial and Financial Mathematics is a scientific-research-oriented programme that provides the theoretical foundations and skills necessary for a comprehensive understanding of large areas of the increasingly complex financial and actuarial markets. It also provides a link between mathematics and financial economics.

In terms of content, the programme builds on the knowledge acquired in the Bachelor's degree programme in Business Mathematics (or the Bachelor's degree programme in Mathematics with Economics as minor subject) at TU Kaiserslautern. In addition to a well-founded basic mathematical education, the student is expected to have already acquired basic knowledge in theoretical and practical aspects of stochastics as well as an in-depth knowledge in probability theory.

On the one hand, the programme enables students to assess the possibilities (but also limitations) of mathematical modelling for problems in the financial industry and/or actuarial industry, to develop powerful mathematical models and to put them into practice. On the other hand, students will be introduced to current application-oriented mathematical research in their major field of study. After completing their studies, graduates will be qualified to undertake scientific work and will be able to creatively adapt to new conditions in professional life and demonstrate skills such as classifying scientific findings and being able to apply them in a focused manner.

In the first three semesters of study, the curriculum includes the provision of well-founded knowledge in the areas of “Actuarial and Financial Mathematics”, “Statistics and Computational Methods” and “Financial Economics”. The second and third semesters of study also allow the students to delve into the subject matter and prepare them for their master’s thesis. In addition to the lectures (or lectures with exercises), the curriculum provides a coordinated sequence of seminars, reading courses and project seminars, which help deepen the knowledge in financial and actuarial mathematics. Instead of the project seminar, a relevant internship can also be done. The fourth semester is reserved for the working on the master’s thesis (6 months).

All mathematics courses are held in English. Semesters abroad are organised by the Graduate School "Mathematics as a Key Technology".

Graduates will typically find employment in banks, insurance companies or management consultancies. Other attractive fields of employment include research and teaching in applied mathematics or economics.