Dear students,
The office for Academic and Student Affairs will be closed during the lecture-free period between 24 December 2024 and 6 January 2025. We wish you a relaxing winter break and a happy New Year!
Your Academic and Student Affairs Team
Are you interested in risk management and portfolio theory? Do you find actuarial mathematics exciting? Whether you see your future in one of the finance capitals around the world like London or Frankfurt or working in auditing, tax consultancy or management accounting at an international insurance group, the master’s program Mathematical Finance and Actuarial Science is an excellent preparation for your future career. In four semesters, you will learn everything you need to know to become a financial and actuarial mathematician.
Type of Study: Full-time
Standard Duration of Studies: 4 semesters
Credits: 120 ECTS
Main Location: Garching
Start of Degree Program: summer or winter semester
Language of Instruction: English
Costs: Semester fees, tuition fees for international students
Professional Profile: Mathematics
The focus of the master’s program depends on the area of specialization you choose: mathematical finance or actuarial science. Part of your studies will include modules in the other area of concentration and courses in economics and other disciplines related to pure and applied mathematics (statistics, probability theory, numerics, optimization). Course offerings in other departments will also help students acquire and enhance their soft skills.
The flexible structure of the program facilitates studying at one of TUM’s partner universities abroad for one or two semesters. The program concludes with a master’s thesis in the fourth semester.
Graduates of the program will be able to translate questions from the finance and insurance industry into mathematical models and analyze, estimate and further develop them while taking the economic context into account and then transfer the results obtained to everyday practice.
They will have rounded off their finance and actuarial profile by attending different lectures in econometrics. Students will fine-tune their soft skills by participating in the course offerings on rhetoric or presentation skills.
Students who want to complete actuarial training at the Deutsche Aktuarvereinigung (German Association of Actuaries) can cover two of the six core subjects that are required for becoming an actuary with our lectures.
Graduates of the master’s program Mathematical Finance and Actuarial Science are ideally prepared for working in the financial market sector or insurance industry. They have excellent career prospects in areas related to financial mathematics, such as risk management or portfolio theory, and actuarial mathematics. Other options include auditing, tax consultancy or management accounting.
Application
The master’s program Mathematical Finance and Actuarial Science follows a bachelor’s degree in mathematics or a similar mathematics-based degree (this does not include business administration!).
The minimum requirements for a master’s degree at TUM are an undergraduate degree (e.g., bachelor’s degree) and successful completion of the aptitude assessment, in which you will demonstrate your personal talent and explain your motivation for enrolling in the master’s program.
Application deadline
Winter semester: 15 February to 31 May
Summer semester: 1 October to 30 November
Admission
Applicants are selected through an aptitude assessment process. It is a two-step process in which we check your official application to see whether you fulfill the specific requirements for the master’s program in Mathematical Finance and Actuarial Science.
In the first stage, we evaluate the final grade and written documents using a point system. Depending on the score, applicants are either admitted immediately, rejected, or invited to an aptitude assessment interview.
Discipline-specific requirements
To be accepted to the TUM Master’s Program "Mathematical Finance and Actuarial Science", applicants must have a qualified university degree in
- mathematics or
- a comparable mathematics-based degree program (this does not include business administration!) that does not differ significantly in terms of the competencies acquired in the aforementioned bachelor's degree programs at TUM.
The equivalency and comparability of programs that are not listed will only be decided during the application process. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make any statements on this in advance.
Additionally, proof of suitable competencies is required, as listed on the checklist to the extent indicated. If applicants fail to meet these requirements by only a narrow margin, they will receive a point deduction in the application procedure and may be required to take the module they are missing during the first year of their master’s degree. If too much is missing, this will lead to the application being rejected.
If you would like to get a feel for the level of difficulty of our mathematics courses, you can visit the website of Prof. Durrett and see his book “Probability: Theory and Examples (4th edition, Cambridge U. Press, 2010)” there. This book is a basis for our bachelor’s course Probability Theory.
Detailed information on the selection process can be found in Appendix 2 of the FPSO.
Language requirements
Another requirement is adequate proficiency in the English language. If your official language of education was not English, you will need a recognized language certificate. If you have previously written your graded thesis in English or can prove that you have completed at least 10 credits in English-language examination modules, you are considered to have demonstrated adequate proficiency in English.
The aptitude assessment interview is conducted in English and is held in person at our campus in Garching or as a web conference. It lasts for 20 to 30 minutes. The interview focuses on the applicant's knowledge of the subject from their first degree, their motivation, and their ability to work scientifically or in a fundamentally and methodologically oriented manner.
When does it take place?
Aptitude interviews for applications for the summer semester take place between January and March, for the winter semester between June and September. Invitations are sent out at least one week in advance. The exact time of the aptitude interview depends on the time the application is being processed. The earlier an application is received in full, the earlier we can process it.
How can I prepare for my interview?
To prepare for the aptitude assessment interview, we recommend reading the book by Hans-Otto Georgii: Stochastik: Einführung in die Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie und Statistik (De Gruyter Studium)", Chapters 1-5 and 7-12.
During the degree program
The qualification profile for the master’s degree in Mathematical Finance and Actuarial Science consists of several individual modules, which can be freely combined with each other for the most part. During the degree program, you must earn a total of 120 credits from the following areas:
- Mathematics modules and area of specialization
- Modules for the minor in management
- Advanced seminar
- Internship with internship seminar
- Support electives
- Thesis
You can find a list of all modules that are relevant for the program with information about course times and rooms in the degree chart on TUMonline (FPSO 2021). You can also create your own individual schedule and save it here digitally.
Courses from the following areas are important components of the program:
- Mathematical finance
- Actuarial science
- Stochastics
- Mathematics
There are two focus areas in the master’s program: mathematical finance and actuarial science. At the beginning of their studies, students select an area of specialization. The curriculum is designed in such a way that they can also gain basic knowledge in the other focus area.
Graduates will have rounded off their finance and actuarial profile by attending different lectures in econometrics. Students who want to complete actuarial training after getting their degree can take lectures for this while in the master’s program, which will be recognized later on by the Deutschen Aktuarvereinigung (German Association of Actuaries).
In the master’s program Mathematical Finance and Actuarial Science, you have to obtain a specific number of ECTS credits in the field of management. You may choose from the modules listed in the minor catalog in TUMonline. You can find more information in the respective program-specific Academic and Examination Regulations for the mathematics program.
The Advanced Seminar is one of the required modules. When selecting your seminar, keep in mind that some academic chairs require students to take and pass their advanced seminar before being assigned their thesis topic. For this reason, students usually take a suitable advanced seminar in the third semester.
A four week professional internship is integrated into your studies. In the internship seminar, you will have the opportunity to become acquainted with suitable work activities and to share your experiences during your professional internship.
You will round off your individual personality and competence profile with modules from the area of Support Electives. You can choose from a wide range of soft skills courses or language courses depending on your interests.
Detailed information can be found under Examinations. The General Academic and Examination Regulations (APSO) of TUM and the respective program-specific Academic and Examination Regulations (FPSO) apply to all students:
Current regulations (valid for students beginning the program as of the winter semester 2023/24)
Expiring regulations (valid for students who began the program as of the winter semester 2021/22 but before the winter semester 2023/24)
Expiring regulations (valid for students who began the program before or in the summer semester 2021)
- Program-specific Academic and Examination Regulations (FPSO) from August 4, 2010
- 1st Amendment of statute from March 27, 2012
- 2nd Amendment of statute from April 25, 2013 (with Annex 2 as amended)
- 3rd Amendment of statute from September 20, 2013
- 4th Amendment of statute from April 14, 2014 (with Annex 1, 3 and 4 as amended)
- Collective Amending Statutes from May 3, 2016 (new application deadlines)
- 6th Amendment of statute from April 27, 2018 (double degree, verification of language skills)
- 7th Amendment of statute from December 17, 2018 (updated Annex 1-4)
To complete a master's degree, students have to write a scientific paper: the master's thesis. You will have six months to do so. Registration for the master's thesis is possible on the 1st and 15th of each month.
Depending on your area of specialization, your thesis will be on a topic related to financial or actuarial mathematics, numerics, optimization, statistics, probability theory or economics. It is recommended and a common practice to base the topic on the knowledge and experience gained in the courses that have been taken so far and/or the advanced seminar. Therefore, many chairs/professors may have their prerequisites for a master's thesis (e.g. taking an advanced seminar and/or specific courses from their chair). Please find more detailed information on the website of the respective chair.
Everything you need to know from planning to submission can be found under Thesis.
Degree
After you have completed the required coursework and have submitted your thesis, you will graduate with a Master of Science (M.Sc.). This will enable you to start your professional career or pursue a doctorate, like every third master's graduate. Tips and advice on graduation and your next steps can be found under Graduation.