Financial Aid - M.S. in Actuarial Science
Support from the Department
A small number of M.S. students in Actuarial Science receive a 1/2 or 3/4 Teaching Assistantship (abbreviated TA).
Special university scholarships for both outstanding and multi-cultural students may be available in some cases; these are awarded as a supplement to a teaching or research assistantship.
Both half and full TAs receive a tuition waiver and the right to purchase an excellent highly subsidized
health insurance plan. For particulars, check the
Human Resources Website.
Applicants for financial aid who have not submitted GRE General Test scores will be at a severel disadvantage.
Support from the Q Center
The Q Center occasionally has (half) TA's
available. Graduate students are sometimes able to obtain half an assistantship from the department and another half from the Q Center.
Note: the number of assistantships from the Q Center is very limited.
About Teaching Assistantships
All students obtaining a Teaching Assistantship (TA) are expected to take the math department pedagogy
course. This course consists of about six workshops organised during the first fall semester of the
students enrollment into the program.
The department offers a broad range of teaching experiences to it's TA's. After an initial period of
teaching lower division and service courses, qualified students may choose to teaching an upper-division
course. The teaching assistant experience is unique in the sense that - unlike in most departments -
a grad student effectively lectures a course, rather than limiting himself or herself to grading and
monitoring discussion sections. This experience has prooven to be a very valuable asset during
jobhunting after graduation.
Technology is incorporated into many courses, either through the use of hand-held
calculators, or through the use of computer projects. Group learning experiences are also stressed.
Intersession and Summer Support
Some opportunities for teaching during the Summer Session and Winter Intersession are also available, and
provide additional financial assistance. Graduate students can also work for programs outside the department
of mathematics:
- CAP is a summer program to encourage incoming freshmen. A preliminary selectiuon of instructors and
tutors is done through the Department of Mathematics.
- To teach for the 3000 by 2000 and the CEP/PCEP programs in the summer,
contact the Aces administration.
- To teach in the Bridge Program during summer,
contact the School of Engineering.
In addition, some faculty research grants have funds to support Research Assistants during summer. Usually,
those are given to students in the Mathematics Ph.D. Program.
Almost all students in the Actuarial Science program obtain a summer internships in a insurance company
or a consulting firm active in finance. Usually, these companies are located in nearby Hartford, or in Boston
or New York. These internships tend to pay rather well; most students end up making $6000 - $8000 over
the summer.
Payscale
The exact amounts can be found on the Graduate Payroll
information sheet. As an M.S. student you are in payscale (B).
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