Financial and insurance mathematics

Financial and insurance mathematics is taught jointly by the School of Mathematical Sciences and the Faculty of Business and Economics, to ensure students develop high-level technical and analytical skills that are applicable in the workplace. Experts in this area use mathematical and statistical techniques to understand and assess risk in insurance and financial markets. Like actuaries, they determine the likelihood of specific outcomes and develop strategies that allow businesses and governments to either pursue new business opportunities or insure against risks.

The extended major in Financial and insurance mathematics was introduced at Monash University in response to the national and international shortage of skilled workers in the finance and insurance industries, most notably workers with a rigorous mathematical training.

Financial and insurance mathematics is tailored to prepare students for working in the banking industry, investment firms, insurance companies, and in risk-management roles. However, like other mathematics graduates, they may also work for the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Commonwealth Scientific, Industrial and Research Organisation (CSIRO), or in business analyst roles, universities, or management consultancy.

Availability

Financial and insurance mathematics is listed in S2000 Bachelor of Science, S3001 Bachelor of Science Advanced - Global Challenges (Honours) and S3002 Bachelor of Science Advanced - Research (Honours) at Clayton as an extended major.

Outcomes

In addition to achieving the broad outcomes of their course, students successfully completing this extended major will be able to:

• display basic knowledge and key technical skills in advanced calculus and linear algebra as well as high-level knowledge of and skills in the important techniques, terminology and processes of probability, statistics and stochastic processes as appropriate to financial and insurance mathematics;
• develop, apply, integrate and generate knowledge through abstraction and insight, and use high-level critical thinking skills to analyse, use and interpret the mathematics that arises across a range of problems in financial and insurance mathematics, including financial and risk models;
• demonstrate skills in the written presentation of a mathematical argument that enable mathematical, financial and insurance concepts, processes and results to be communicated effectively to diverse audiences.