Best certifications for actuarial science students
Exams decide this career: pass the first two early, and internships follow.
Actuarial Science internships for college students
When actuarial science recruits
- Freshman–sophomore year — Pass Exam P, then FM, and take VEE-approved courses as part of your degree.
- Sophomore summer–junior fall — Insurers and actuarial consulting firms recruit interns; many postings ask for at least one passed exam.
- Junior spring — Remaining summer internships at insurers, consulting firms and benefits teams.
- After you are hired — Employers commonly pay exam fees and give paid study time.
Actuarial science is built around exams set by the Society of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society. The first two, Exam P and Exam FM, can be taken in college, and employers hiring actuarial interns look for them. Plan VEE-approved courses into your degree, and learn Excel plus a programming language such as R, Python or SQL.
How to choose
- Pass Exam P first, then FM; each costs $275 in the U.S. and Canada.
- Check the SOA’s list of VEE-approved courses before you choose classes in economics, accounting and finance, and statistics.
- Build Excel skills alongside the exams; actuarial interns use it every day.
- Learn R, Python or SQL for the modeling and data work in today’s actuarial roles.
Certifications for Actuarial Science majors
- Be An Actuary: college students — Society of Actuaries and Casualty Actuarial Society. Reference: Free. The two actuarial societies’ site for students: the exam pathways, sample problems, and how to find an actuarial internship.
- Exam P — Probability — Society of Actuaries. Paid: Exam ~$275; check SOA for the current fee. The first actuarial exam. Passing it before graduation is close to a requirement for actuarial internships.
- Exam FM — Financial Mathematics — Society of Actuaries. Paid: $275 exam fee in the U.S. and Canada. The second early actuarial exam: interest, loans, bonds and the valuation of cash flows. Students often pass it alongside Exam P before applying for actuarial internships.
- VEE — Validation by Educational Experience — Society of Actuaries. Reference: $92 per topic to apply for credit, once you have passed two exams. Credit toward the ASA for college courses in economics, accounting and finance, and mathematical statistics. Check the approved-course list before you choose classes, so your degree covers it.
- Excel training paths — Microsoft Learn. Free: Free. Formulas, pivot tables, and Power Query. The single most assumed skill in any business internship.
- SAS Skill Builder for Students — SAS. Free: Free training and software; certification exams discounted for students. SAS still runs a great deal of banking, insurance and pharma analytics. Free for students.
- Python for Everybody — Charles Severance · py4e.com. Free: Free: lectures, book and exercises. A beginner-friendly Python course with free lectures, a free book and auto-graded exercises.
- Intro to SQL — Kaggle Learn. Free: Free. SELECT through GROUP BY on real tables. Nobody in analytics escapes SQL.
- Exam FAM — Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics — Society of Actuaries. Paid: $408 in the U.S. and Canada; $326 for full-time students (2026). The SOA exam on short-term and long-term insurance mathematics. Most candidates take it after Exam P and Exam FM.
- Exam SRM — Statistics for Risk Modeling — Society of Actuaries. Paid: $357 in the U.S. and Canada; $286 for full-time students (2026). The SOA statistics exam: regression, time series and the basics of statistical learning, taken before the Predictive Analytics (PA) exam.
8-week study plan: Exam P — Probability
SOA's syllabus weights the three topics: general probability 23 to 30%, univariate random variables 44 to 50%, and multivariate random variables 23 to 30%.
- The syllabus, and general probability
- Conditional probability and independence
- Discrete random variables
- Continuous random variables
- Insurance applications
- Joint distributions
- Sums of random variables, order statistics and the Central Limit Theorem
- Practice exams and booking
Key terms for Actuarial Science majors
- Actuary
- Insurance premium
- Underwriting
- Reinsurance
- Time value of money
- Regression
- Correlation
- Enterprise risk management (ERM)
Questions students ask
What exams should an actuarial student take first?
Exam P (Probability) and Exam FM (Financial Mathematics). Both count toward the SOA and CAS paths and can be taken while you are in college.
Do I need VEE credit before an internship?
No. VEE credit is required for the ASA designation, and you can only apply after passing two exams, but taking approved courses now saves time later.
Who pays for actuarial exams after I am hired?
Most insurers and consulting firms pay exam fees for their actuarial staff and give paid study time. Ask about the study program when you compare offers.
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