Actuarial Science Concentration
McCausland College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Statistics
Bulletin Year: 2026-2027

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Semester One (16-17 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	STAT 515	Statistical Methods I3 (MR)	3	C		C or higher in MATH 112, 115, 122 or 141; or both C or better in STAT 110 or higher and in MATH 111; or through placement exam
	MATH 141	Calculus 14 (CC-ARP)	4	C		C or better in MATH 112, 115, 116 or through placement exam
	ECON 221	Principles of Microeconomics (CR)	3
		Foreign language5 or other Carolina Core Req.6 (CC-GFL)	3-4
	UNIV 101	The Student in the University or Carolina Core Requirement6 (PR/CC)	3

Semester Two (16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
!	ENGL 101	Critical Reading and Composition (CC-CMW)	3	C
	STAT 516	Stat. Methods II (MR)	3	C		C or better in STAT 515, 509, 512 or equivalent
	MATH 142	Calculus II7 (CC-ARP)	4	C		C or better in MATH 141
	ECON 222	Principles of Macroeconomics8 (PR)	3	C
		Foreign language5 or other Carolina Core Req.6 (CC-GFL)	3

Semester Three (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	STAT 540	Computing in Statistics (offered fall only) or STAT Major Elective9 (500-level or above) (MR)	3	C		C or better in STAT 301, 515, 509, 512, or equivalent (STAT 540 only)
	MATH 241	Vector Calculus (CR)	3	C		C or better in MATH 142
	STAT 511	Probability (cross-listed MATH 511) (MR)	3	C		Prereq or Coreq: MATH 241
	ACCT 225	Introduction to Financial Accounting8 (PR)	3	C
		Foreign language5 or Carolina Core Requirement6 (CR/CC)	3

Semester Four (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
!	ENGL 102	Rhetoric and Composition (CC-CMW, CC-INF)	3	C		C or better in ENGL 101
	STAT 512	Mathematical Stat. (offered spring & summer only) (MR)	3	C		C or better in STAT/MATH 511
		STAT Major Elective9 (500-level or above) (or STAT 542 Computing for Data Science—offered spring only—if STAT 540 not taken in sem. 3) (MR)	3	C		C or better in STAT 301, 509, 515, or equiv. (STAT 542 only)
	FINA 363	Introduction to Finance8 (PR)	3	C		C or better in ECON 221 or 224; C or better in ACCT 225 or RETL 261; C or better in STAT 201, 205, 206, 509, 511, 515, or MATH 511
		History10 (CR)	3

Semester Five (15-16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	STAT 513	Theory of Statistical Inference (offered fall only) (MR/CC-INT)	3	C		C or better in STAT 512
	FINA 469	Investment Analysis & Portfolio Mgmt.8 (PR)	3	C		C or better in FINA 363 & MGSC 291
		Carolina Core Requirement6 (CC)	3-4
		Carolina Core Requirement6 (CC)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement6 (CC)	3

Semester Six (12-14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	STAT 521	Applied Stochastic Processes (offered spring of odd years only)	3	C		C or better in STAT 511
	FINA 471	Derivative Securities8 (PR)	3	C		FINA 469
	CSCE 145 or CSCE 106	Algorithmic Design I or Scientific Applications Programming (CR)	3-4	C		Prereq or Coreq: MATH 111 or 115 (CSCE 145 only); C or better in MATH 111 or higher or placement score into MATH 115 or higher (CSCE 106 only)
		Carolina Core Requirement6 (CC)	3-4

Semester Seven (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	STAT 520	Forecasting & Time Series –cross-listed: MGSC 520 (offered fall of odd years only) (MR)	3	C		C or better in STAT 516 or MGSC 391
	MATH 344	Applied Linear Algebra11 (PR)	3	C		C or better in MATH 142
	ENGL 363 or ENGL 462 or ENGL 463	Introduction to Professional Writing or Technical Writing or Business Writing (CR)	3	C		ENGL 101 & 102
		Carolina Core Requirement6 or Elective12 (CC/PR)	3
		Elective12 (PR)	3

Semester Eight (14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	FINA 475	Fixed Income Securities8 (PR)	3	C		FINA 469
		Carolina Core Requirement6 or Elective12 (CC/PR)	3
		Elective12 (PR)	3
		Elective12 (PR)	3
		Elective12 (PR)	2

Graduation Requirements Summary

Minimum Total Hours	Minimum Major Requirements Hours	College and Program Requirements Hours	Carolina Core Hours	Minimum Institutional GPA
120	27	47-59	34-46	2.000

1. Regardless of individual course grades, students must maintain a minimum 2.000 cumulative GPA.
2. Some colleges require a minimum GPA for major courses. Courses indicated in this column are included in the major GPA for this program of study.
3. Students who placed into MATH 141 and have no previous STAT course will take STAT 515 in the second semester.
4. Students who place into MATH 115 will be required to take it before proceeding to MATH 141 and should also register for STAT 201 in the first semester and STAT 515 in the second semester. Students who have previously completed STAT 509 will not be required to take STAT 515.
5. Students in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences are required to demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language equivalent to the 122 course through course credit or the corresponding foreign language placement score.
6. The Carolina Core provides the common core of knowledge, skill and academic experience for all Carolina undergraduate students.
7. If MATH 142 is not taken by the second semester, then students are encouraged to take it over the summer.
8. The minor in Risk Management and Insurance is required for the concentration in Actuarial Science.
9. Statistics Major Elective
   1. A student with an additional major in Mathematics may use STAT 511 [=MATH 511] to satisfy a major requirement in both programs.
   2. Major credit will be given for only one of STAT 509 or STAT 515. Neither STAT 509 nor STAT 515 may be taken concurrently with, or after, STAT 513. A student who has started the Statistics major after taking STAT 512 may replace the STAT 509/STAT 515 requirement with an additional 3-hour Major Elective course chosen from STAT 500 or above.
   3. A student with an additional major in Economics (in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences) may use the combination of both ECON 436 and STAT 506 in place of the combination of both STAT 516 and one of the STAT 500 or above Major Elective courses for the Statistics major. In this case ECON 436 may satisfy a major requirement in both programs. ECON 436 and STAT 516 may not both be used to satisfy major requirements in Statistics.
   4. Whichever of STAT 540 or STAT 542 was not used as a Major Course may be used as a Major Elective.
10. The McCausland College of Arts and Sciences requires one U.S. History and one non-U.S. History course, both of which must be chosen from the approved Carolina Core GHS courses. Whichever is not fulfilled through the Carolina Core GHS requirement must be fulfilled through this college requirement.
11. Students who have previously completed MATH 544 will not be required to take MATH 344.
12. No courses of a remedial, developmental, skill-acquiring, or vocational nature may apply as credit toward degrees in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences. The McCausland College of Arts and Sciences allows the use of the Pass-Fail option on elective courses. Further clarification on inapplicable courses can be obtained from the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences.

Program Notes

• Courses identified as “critical” must be completed in the student’s first 60 semester hours of work in order for these courses to be credited toward graduation.
• All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade that covers the founding documents. This course may fulfill any requirement in the program of study. Courses that meet this requirement are listed in the academic bulletin.
• To be retained in the program, a student must obtain a grade of C or higher in at most two attempts in all mathematics, computer science, and statistics courses required for graduation.
• The last 30 credit hours toward your degree must be earned in residence at the University of South Carolina-Columbia.

Code Definitions

University Requirements: Bachelor’s degree-seeking students must meet Carolina Core (general education) requirements.

Code	Definition
CC	Carolina Core
CC-AIU	Carolina Core – Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding
CC-ARP	Carolina Core – Analytical Reasoning and Problem-Solving
CC-CMS	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Spoken Component
CC-CMW	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written Component
CC-GFL	Carolina Core – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Foreign Language
CC-GHS	Carolina Core – Historical Thinking
CC-GSS	Carolina Core – Social Sciences
CC-INF	Carolina Core – Information Literacy
CC-INT	Carolina Core – Integrative Course
CC-SCI	Carolina Core – Scientific Literacy
CC-VSR	Carolina Core – Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
CR	College Requirement
MR	Major Requirement
PR	Program Requirement