Please note:
To view the Summer 2025 Academic Calendar, go to www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2025/summer.html.
Actuarial and Risk Sciences Courses
RISK 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. Students with credit for ACMA 101 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative/Breadth-Science.
RISK 102 - The Science of Risk: Understanding and Managing Uncertainty (3)
A practical introduction to the science of risk management, applicable in both personal and business contexts for making data-driven decisions under uncertainty. Topics include risk identification and classification, qualitative and quantitative risk assessment, risk mitigation through pooling and insurance, and emerging risks. Applications in finance, cybersecurity, healthcare.
RISK 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. Prerequisite: MATH 152 with a minimum grade of C; or MATH 155 or MATH 158, with a grade of at least B. Recommended: RISK (or ACMA) 101 or RISK 102. Students with credit for ACMA 201 or ACMA 210 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.
RISK 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. Students with credit for ACMA 231 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 311 - Fundamentals of Long-Term Actuarial Mathematics (3)
Basic survival models, life tables. Basic life insurance and annuities: present value random variables, premium calculations, policy values. Computer applications for pricing and reserving for life insurance portfolios. Prerequisite: One of RISK (or ACMA) 101 or RISK 102, and all of RISK (or ACMA) 201, RISK (or ACMA) 231 and STAT 270, all with a minimum grade of C. Students with credit for ACMA 301 or ACMA 320 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.
RISK 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: RISK (or ACMA) 101 or RISK 102, with a minimum grade of C. Corequisite: STAT 330, RISK 231. Students with credit for ACMA 321 or ACMA 355 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.
RISK 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 大象传媒 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. Students with credit for ACMA 336 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 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 大象传媒 degree. Grading is on a pass/withdraw basis. A course fee is required. Prerequisite: RISK (or 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. Students with credit for ACMA 337 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 360W - Actuarial Communication (3)
Guided experiences in written and oral communication of actuarial ideas and results to both expert and lay audiences. Prerequisite: RISK 311 (or 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. Students with credit for ACMA 360W may not take this course for further credit. Writing/Quantitative.
RISK 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.
RISK 411 - Advanced Long-Term Actuarial Mathematics (3)
Advanced survival models. Multiple state models. Advanced premium calculations and policy values. Profit testing. Pension plans and retirement benefits. Computer applications for pricing, reserving and risk measurement of life insurance portfolios. Prerequisite: RISK 311 (or ACMA 301 or 320), with a minimum grade of C. Students with credit for ACMA 401 or ACMA 425 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.
RISK 412 - Advanced Models and Methods for Long-Term Insurance (3)
A practical introduction to advanced models and methods used in the valuation and management of long-term insurance coverages. Topics include cash-flow based profit analysis of modern life insurance products (universal life insurance, equity-linked insurance, and contracts with embedded options), stochastic pricing and reserving, and stochastic longevity models. Prerequisite: RISK 311 or ACMA 301, with a minimum grade of C. Corequisite: RISK 441 or ACMA 340, with a minimum grade of C. Students with credit for RISK 802 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 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: RISK (or ACMA) 321 with a minimum grade of C. Corequisite: STAT 350. Students with credit for ACMA 421 or RISK 803 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 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: RISK (or ACMA) 321 with a minimum grade of C. Students with credit for ACMA 422 or ACMA 470 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.
RISK 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 大象传媒 degree. Grading is on a pass/withdraw basis. A course fee is required. Prerequisite: RISK (or 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. Students with credit for ACMA 436 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 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 大象传媒 degree. Grading is on a pass/withdraw basis. A course fee is required. Prerequisite: RISK (or 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. Students with credit for ACMA 437 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 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 大象传媒 degree. Grading is on a pass/withdraw basis. A course fee is required. This course may be repeated for additive credit. Prerequisite: RISK (or 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.
RISK 441 - Actuarial Finance (3)
Option pricing models and their application to insurance and financial risks. Discrete-time models. Black-Scholes-Merton model. Market-making, option Greeks, and hedging. Exotic options. Economic scenario generators. Prerequisite: BUS 315 and one of RISK (or ACMA) 231 or BUS 232, both with a minimum grade of C. Students with credit for ACMA 340 or RISK 801 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.
RISK 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.
RISK 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. Students with credit for ACMA 494 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 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. Students with credit for ACMA 495 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 801 - Actuarial Finance (3)
Option pricing models and their application to insurance and financial risks. Discrete-time models. Black-Scholes-Merton model. Market-making, option Greeks, and hedging. Exotic options. Economic scenario generators. Students with credit for ACMA 340 or RISK 441 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 802 - Advanced Models and Methods for Long-Term Insurance (3)
Advanced models and methods used in the valuation and management of long-term insurance coverages. Topics include cash-flow based profit analysis of modern life insurance products (universal life insurance, equity-linked insurance, and contracts with embedded options), stochastic pricing and reserving, and stochastic longevity models. Corequisite: RISK 801. Students with credit for RISK 412 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 803 - 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. Students with credit for RISK (or ACMA) 421 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 804 - Actuarial Risk Management (3)
Economic perspectives on risk and insurance. Multivariate risk models, copulas and dependence. Risk aggregation and capital allocation. Risk management in practice. Students with credit for ACMA 832 may not take this course for further credit.
RISK 850 - Actuarial Science: Selected Topics (4)