Students on the BSc Actuarial Science with placement year can spend a year in industry as part of their degree course, enabling future actuarial professionals to gain respected workplace experience.
Employer Information
We are looking for employers who can support our students with a nine-month paid industrial placement. See below for more details. If you are interested in finding out more please contact us with the subject title ‘Department of Statistics Placement Year’.
Our BSc Actuarial Science students will provide your organisation with:
- Fresh perspectives and ideas including up-to-date academic knowledge to support your innovation.
- Talent to assist with your projects providing additional capacity
- Development of potential staff for your future graduate workforce.
- Support for existing teams allowing you to undertake additional work
- Mutual learning opportunities including line management and mentoring opportunities for current staff.
The BSc Actuarial Science students will have successfully completed two years of their degree. In addition to the core modules providing students the application of quantitative skills such as risk analysis and management; business and investment analysis, they will have also completed LSE100, a flagship interdisciplinary course that focuses on a key theme affecting social scientists, culminating in a written assignment, a group research project and presentation.
Students are also given placement specific support to prepare for their year in industry including soft-skills development to aid their success in the workplace.
- Nine months (minimum) – 39 weeks to start at the end of the student’s second year
- Full time - minimum of 35 hours a week
- Must be paid
- Must be UK based
We are looking for organisations that allow the student to develop the following skills:
- Apply knowledge and skills gained from the programme/study at LSE in a real-life work setting.
- Acquisition and development of personal and professional transferable skills.
- Ability to reflect critically on the professional practice undertaken.
- The acquisition and development of skills in, as well as actively practising, searching, and applying for work and dealing with other recruitment processes.
- An understanding of a working environment and what professional practice looks like.
- An opportunity to consider and refine development and career plans through an exploration of career options and the fostering of valuable professional contacts
- Actuary, pensions, insurance, reinsurance, investment, risk consultancy, data analytics or anything with quantitative data skills or data modelling are suitable placements.
If you wish to check if your placement is a good fit for our students, please contact us.
Students are from the UK and overseas. As the placement is part of the student’s degree programme, all students will have the right to work on a student visa.
- Advertise placement opportunities directly to our degree students and provide support with their application
- Work closely with students on developing employability and application skills
- Provide pre-placement support for students to prepare them for their placement year in a professional working environment to maximise their effectiveness in your organisation.
- Support throughout the placement year for your organisation through our dedicated placement coordinator and additional services that students can access as a member of LSE
- Access to additional services and engagement offered by LSE careers and the Department of Statistics including employer engagement events, recruitment events and employer services
Student Information
The BSc Actuarial Science is the first and (currently) the only undergraduate degree at LSE that has a placement year as part of its degree. This gives you an exceptional opportunity to gain a experience in a highly competitive industry before graduation. Students who complete a work placement year often are more likely to gain a better classification of degree and earn more on average than students who do not take part in a placement year.
- An insight into the ‘World of Work’, allowing you to get a feel for what you do and don’t like
- Professional Development and the opportunity to apply elements of academic learning in the workplace and develop soft skills including communication, teamwork, problem solving and networking.
- Practical Experience whch develops your skills further in many areas including; time management, email/business communication, project work, working in a team
- Experience of applying for work including applications, assessment centres and interviews, and the potential to secure a job before returning to your final year of studies
- Understanding of roles that exist with a degree in actuarial science and mentoring by professionals on how to achieve that role
- Industry experience to apply to your studies such as practical experience in the world of work that you can utilise to enhance your learning on return to your degree.
- Nine months (minimum) – 39 weeks.
- Full time - minimum of 35 hours a week.
- Must be paid.
- Employed through an organisation (you cannot be self-employed)
- Must be UK based
- Placement type, location of placement and role must all be approved and registered with LSE before starting
- Placement workshops and one-on-ones to develop your skills throughout the first two years of your degree to guide and support you throughout the entire placement application process from discovering organisations, enhancing your CV and application, interview skills and preparing you for work.
- Additional support and insight sessions from the Department of Statistics and LSE Careers often led by industry experts and department alumni to inform and guide you.
- A dedicated placements moodle and placements coordinator to support you before and during your placement year to enhance placement success.
- Support and guidance during your placement year including regular check-in’s to ensure you are well supported.
- You remain a student of LSE throughout your placement so you continue to have full access to all support services as if you were a regular on-campus student.