University Park, Pa. -- The Society of Actuaries, the largest actuarial professional organization worldwide, has named the Actuarial Science Program at Penn State as a Center of Actuarial Excellence, recognizing the program for its quality, scholarship, and recruiter network.
The distinction, which has been awarded to only 20 other universities worldwide, officially recognizes actuarial science programs for their degree curriculum, graduate count and quality, faculty composition, appropriate integration of courses, connection to industry, and research and scholarship. Schools that are designated Centers of Actuarial Excellence are eligible to compete for substantial multiyear education and research grants provided by the Society of Actuaries.
Subject to their continued compliance with the criteria, schools will maintain the designation for a five-year period.
The Actuarial Science Program has been in existence since 1973 and graduates about 100 students annually. Students can enroll in the actuarial program in the Smeal College of Business or in actuarial options that exist in both the Mathematics and Statistics Departments in the Eberly College of Science. As the largest actuarial program in the United States, it is a top destination for recruiters from the country's leading insurance companies and pension consulting firms. The program, which includes faculty from both Smeal and Eberly, is led by Ron Gebhardtsbauer, clinical associate professor of actuarial science, who was formerly the senior benefits adviser to the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance and chief actuary for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
For more information on the Smeal Actuarial Science Program, visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/uge/majors/actsci online. For more on the Eberly College’s actuarial options, visit http://www.math.psu.edu/ug or http://www.stat.psu/undergrad online.
About the Society of Actuaries
The Society of Actuaries is an educational, research and professional organization dedicated to serving the public, its members and its candidates. The society's mission is to advance actuarial knowledge and to enhance the ability of actuaries to provide expert advice and relevant solutions for financial, business and societal problems. The Society of Actuaries' vision is for actuaries to be the leading professionals in the measurement and management of risk.