Master in Financial and Actuarial Mathematics

Master in Financial and Actuarial Mathematics is one of 10 English-taught Mathematics programmes at master’s level in the register, offered by 6 institutions. 10 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland; this programme lists EUR 1,453 a year. 10 are at a public university, where EU, EEA and Swiss students pay no tuition within the standard duration plus two semesters.

The Master's in Financial and Actuarial Mathematics at TU Wien is a two-year, 120 ECTS programme taught in English. It trains you to analyse, model and assess risk. The programme is the only one in Austria that offers complete theoretical actuarial education.

What you study

The compulsory part is small and theory-based. You take Fundamentals worth at least 17 ECTS, then choose at least one of two specialisations. Financial Mathematics covers Interest Rate Structure Models and Derivatives, Credit Risk Models and Derivatives, and Stochastic Analysis. Actuarial Mathematics covers Advanced Life Insurance Mathematics, Statistical Methods in Insurance, Advanced Methods for Regression and Classification, and Actuarial Modeling. You also take 25 ECTS from both areas: Mathematical Finance 2, Risk Management in Finance and Insurance, Stochastic Control Theory, and Risk and Ruin Theory. On top of that, you pick subject-specific electives worth 27 to 35.5 ECTS, plus 9 ECTS of free electives and transferable skills.

How the programme is organised

There are no semester recommendations because you have a lot of freedom in choosing courses. In the first three semesters, students usually complete compulsory courses worth 54.5 to 63 ECTS, the specialisation, the 25 ECTS from both areas, and the electives. The fourth semester is entirely for your master's thesis. The teacher-student ratio is good, and you can work on current research topics.

Who it suits

This programme suits you if you have a strong mathematical background and want to apply it to finance and insurance. It is for people who like probability, stochastic analysis and modelling risk. You should be comfortable with theory, because the compulsory core is theory-based. If you want to become an actuary, this is the direct route: TU Wien is the only university in Austria that provides complete theoretical actuarial education.

Admission, language and next steps

You need an eligible bachelor's degree from an accredited national or international post-secondary institution. If your previous education differs from what TU Wien expects, you may have to take supplementary examinations worth up to 30 ECTS. Bachelor's programmes at TU Wien that are eligible without supplementary examinations include Technical Mathematics, Statistics and Mathematics in Economy, Finance and Actuarial Mathematics, and Technical Physics. The admission review can take some time. General admission deadlines are July 7 to October 31 for the winter semester and January 7 to March 31 for the summer semester. The teaching language is English. Applications go directly to the institution, not through a central portal. Check the programme's own page for the application period. At a public university like TU Wien, EU/EEA and Swiss students pay no tuition within the standard duration plus two semesters. Other students pay a fee per semester.

The programme imparts important knowledge of selected central mathematical areas and methods in the fields of advanced analysis and discrete mathematics. The financial and actuarial education includes both the theoretical mathematical foundations and their application in practice.

There is no central application portal in Austria: you apply to the institution, here TU Wien. A public university sets the admission requirements and dates for this level, so read them on the programme page. Entrance examination, as the register states it: No. Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, the student residence permit and housing.