← Actuarial Science (ACTSCI)

Hardest courses in Actuarial Science

Plan ahead for courses where students have earned lower grades.

Lowest historical GPA first. At least 100 letter grades over the five years through the selected term. Grades reflect past outcomes, not workload or a guaranteed result.

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4 courses

Historical grades cover up to five years through the selected term. Only courses with at least 100 letter grades are ranked.

Covers advanced mathematical theory of life contingencies, including mortality laws and the calculation of premiums and reserves for single-life insurance and annuities.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Historical reviews of Margie Rosenberg, Paul Johnson: Reviews cite heavy emphasis on proofs and detailed memory requirements, with homework and exams featuring long, story-like questions that some find annoying.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2026

Theory of Interest covers time value of money, annuities, bonds, and interest rate risk management techniques.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

The course features challenging material and difficult exams, including a final exam worth 50% of the grade. Success requires significant preparation, including completing substantial homework and utilizing external resources like coaching subscriptions to master the content.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2026

Advanced short-term actuarial modeling focusing on parameter estimation for heavy-tailed insurance data and credibility assessment for ratemaking.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Reviewers describe the material as difficult, though one notes exams are more predictable than in related courses.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Fall 2025

Covers the definition and selection of probability distributions for heavily tailed and skewed insurance data.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

The course is naturally very difficult and demanding, requiring significant time for practice problems and homework to succeed, which may stress students with outside obligations.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2026