If you enjoy studying Higher Level Mathematics for the Leaving Certificate or at A-Level and you have strong analytical and problem-solving skills, the UCD BAFS (Hons) degree could be for you. It will prepare you for a professional career in the actuarial or financial professions, but it has also been designed to be broader and more diverse than most traditional courses in actuarial science. It takes a combination of strong analytical skills, business knowledge and understanding of human behaviour to design and manage programmes that control risk and guarantee sufficient funds for the insurance and pension sectors. For example, the actuary works out the risk (e.g. the likelihood of a fire happening) and calculates how much the customer should pay for insurance cover to ensure that the insurance company has sufficient funds to pay out if the incident occurs.

Most BAFS graduates take positions as actuarial trainees in the following: Life insurance Pensions Health insurance General insurance Should you achieve a sufficiently high standard in the degree, you will gain some (or all) exemptions from the Core Technical series examinations (CT1:8) as well as the Core Applications CA1 examination of the Institute of Actuaries, or the Faculty of Actuaries. Some graduates also work in banking or finance as business or financial analysts. As a graduate of the BAFS degree, you are also eligible to pursue graduate study in statistics, computer science, economics, mathematics, management science, finance and other specialist business subjects.