Actuarial science in the Philippines is not a degree you finish and then practise. It is a maths or statistics degree plus a long professional examination ladder run by the Actuarial Society of the Philippines, and the Insurance Commission sits at the end deciding who may sign for a regulated company. Understanding that shape before you enrol saves a lot of disappointment.
There is no PSG for a standalone actuarial degree
CHED sets national curricula through policies, standards and guidelines issued as memorandum orders. Its published index, running from the early 2000s through 2025, carries no PSG for a bachelor's programme in actuarial science.
What it does carry is permission. CMO No. 48, s. 2017, the PSG for BS Mathematics and BS Applied Mathematics, says:
"A BS Mathematics/ BS Applied Mathematics program offering a minor or specialization must include at least 15 units of relevant courses and electives for the specific area of specialization. Minors or specializations may include actuarial science, computing, operations research or statistics, among others. HEIs offering minors or specializations must possess the necessary faculty resources and facilities."
That is the legal basis for most actuarial programmes here. The parallel route runs through statistics, governed by CMO No. 42, s. 2017.
The underlying degree is substantial in its own right. CMO No. 48 sets both BS Mathematics and BS Applied Mathematics at 135 units:
| Component | Units |
|---|---|
| General education curriculum | 36 |
| Core courses | 51 |
| Non-maths foundational courses | 10 |
| Maths electives | 9 |
| Qualified electives / cognates | 6 |
| Free electives | 6 |
| Thesis or special problem | 3 |
| Physical education | 8 |
| NSTP | 6 |
| Total | 135 |
The actuarial specialisation lives mostly in that elective space, which is why the 15-unit floor in the order matters. A programme calling itself actuarial with three token subjects is not meeting the standard.
There is a second reason applied mathematics is the usual base. Its 51-unit core, as listed in CMO No. 48, already contains most of the mathematics an actuary uses: Calculus I to III, Advanced Calculus I, Differential Equations I, Linear Algebra, Discrete Mathematics, Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics, Fundamentals of Computing I and II, Mathematical Modeling, Numerical Analysis, Operations Research, Probability, Statistical Theory - and Theory of Interest, which is a straightforwardly actuarial course sitting in the national core. The BS Mathematics core is a purer maths list by comparison, with abstract algebra, complex analysis, topology and modern geometry in place of operations research and interest theory.
What the specialisation contains
Two well-documented examples show the shape.
De La Salle University runs BS Statistics major in Actuarial Science, on the reasoning that "actuarial science courses have become statistics-based." Its actuarial courses include Theory of Interest, Life Contingencies 1 and 2, Risk Theory and Selected Topics in Actuarial Science covering stochastic processes and Markov chains, supported by accounting, corporate finance and economics.
University of Santo Tomas runs BS Applied Mathematics major in Actuarial Science, a four-year programme its College of Science describes as "an excellent training ground for students who intend to pursue the actuarial profession," combining core mathematics with specialised actuarial courses and exposure to business and finance.
Notice what both contain: interest theory, life contingencies, risk, plus finance and accounting. That combination is not decorative - it maps onto the professional examination syllabus you will be sitting afterwards.
If you are weighing the base degrees themselves, our guides to BS Mathematics and BS Statistics cover what each is like without the actuarial overlay.
The exams are the qualification
There is no PRC licensure examination for actuaries. The PRC's 46 professional regulatory boards do not include one. What the profession has instead is the Actuarial Society of the Philippines, whose page sets out three membership classes: Affiliate, Associate and Fellow.
Affiliate. ASP states a candidate "must pass at least one preliminary exam from internationally organized actuarial organizations or complete at least one year of relevant actuarial work experience."
Associate (AASP). A candidate must pass the SOA Preliminary Exams, "successfully complete the three VEE Requirements and attend the Associateship Admission Course (AAC) administered by the ASP." ASP notes the exams and VEE requirements may be completed in any order, and that the AAC may be taken after passing any three of the SOA preliminary exams.
Fellow (FASP). An Associate must "pass the two ASP Fellowship Exams and attend the Fellowship Admission Session (FAS) administered by the ASP," and additionally complete the SOA Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice, FSA Module 1 and Module 2, and at least one of the core SOA or FCAS fellowship examinations. The Fellowship Admission Session may only be taken once everything else is done.
Two honest cautions. First, the number of preliminary examinations has changed over time and the professional bodies revise their syllabi and credit rules periodically - ASP's own page carries transition notes about this. Do not lock a plan onto a count you read anywhere, including here; check ASP and the SOA directly in the year you are starting. Second, examination fees, sitting windows and study-material costs are set by those bodies and change. Ask ASP; do not budget from a blog.
What is not in dispute is the shape: this is a multi-year, exam-by-exam climb usually done alongside full-time work, and most people who become Fellows do so years after graduating.
Who accredits practising actuaries
For regulated insurance work, the gatekeeper is the Insurance Commission. Its application form for registration as an Accredited Actuary has separate categories for life actuary, non-life actuary and pre-need actuary, and asks the applicant directly whether he or she is "an Associate or Fellow of good standing of the Actuarial Society of the Philippines," including the date of acceptance, along with the companies the applicant serves and previous employment.
In plain terms: ASP membership is the professional credential, and Insurance Commission accreditation is what lets you sign the actuarial certifications a regulated company must file. A fresh graduate holds neither. A graduate with a good maths or statistics degree and one or two examinations passed is an employable actuarial analyst, which is where the career actually begins.
Careers, realistically
The employers are life and non-life insurers, reinsurers, health maintenance organisations, pre-need companies, actuarial and employee-benefits consultancies, and the retirement and pension practices of the large professional services firms. Banks and other financial institutions hire the same skill set into pricing, risk and analytics teams, and some graduates move into data science work, where the statistical foundation transfers cleanly.
Entry titles are actuarial analyst, actuarial associate, pricing analyst and valuation analyst. Progression is usually tied explicitly to examination progress, which is the unusual feature of this career: your next promotion may depend on a paper you sit on a weekend.
Compensation in this field is frequently quoted online with confident numbers and no source. We are not going to add to that. What is verifiable is the structure: pay steps in actuarial employment are commonly tied to examination milestones, and employers often support study leave and examination fees. Ask about both in the interview - the answer tells you how seriously the employer takes the ladder.
Is it for you?
It fits people who genuinely like probability and calculus, who can study for professional examinations for years while working, and who are comfortable in a small profession where everyone eventually knows everyone.
It fits badly if you want a licence at graduation, or if the maths in the degree is something you plan to endure rather than enjoy. The examinations are harder than the coursework, and there is no way around them. If a professional licence at the end of four years is what you actually want, our list of courses with board exams is the better starting point. If earnings are the driver, read highest-paying courses in the Philippines with the same scepticism about unsourced figures we have applied here.
Sources
- CHED Memorandum Order No. 48, s. 2017 — Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the BS Mathematics and BS Applied Mathematics Programs
- Commission on Higher Education — 2017 CHED Memorandum Orders, including CMO No. 42, s. 2017 on BS Statistics
- Actuarial Society of the Philippines — ASP Membership Information
- Insurance Commission — Application for Registration as Accredited Actuary
- Professional Regulation Commission — Professional Regulatory Boards
- De La Salle University — BS Statistics major in Actuarial Science
- University of Santo Tomas — BS Applied Mathematics, major in Actuarial Science
