Skip to main content
Students in class taking notes in their gadgets.
Undergraduate
UCAS code:N322
Department of Statistics

BSc Actuarial Science (with a Placement Year)

Gain expert knowledge and real-world industry experience. Prepare for diverse actuarial/statistical careers with opportunities for professional exam exemptions.
Discover the BSc Actuarial Science (with a Placement Year) at LSE

Overview

Introduction

The BSc Actuarial Science (with a Placement Year) at LSE is a highly analytical programme of study that blends rigorous academic study with applied professional experience. Delivered by the internationally recognised Department of Statistics, the programme draws on LSE’s strengths as a leading social science institution. Students benefit from exposure to cutting-edge research and interdisciplinary teaching, with insights drawn from statistics, mathematics, economics and finance. This broad perspective prepares students to analyse and manage risk and uncertainty in financial and insurance markets, while also understanding the wider social, regulatory, and ethical contexts in which decisions are made.

A distinctive feature of the programme is the integrated industry placement year, undertaken between the second and final years of study. The placement allows students to apply their learning in a professional setting, build practical skills, and gain direct insight into actuarial or statistical work. Students secure placements with major insurance, consultancy, and financial firms, supported by the department and LSE Careers. This professional experience enhances students’ readiness for the workplace, helping them refine career goals and often leading to graduate job offers. Graduates typically progress into high-earning roles across insurance (life and general), pensions, investment, banking, and consultancy.

The programme also offers the opportunity to earn exemptions from professional examinations with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), supporting a faster route to qualification. Graduates leave not only with deep technical knowledge and real-world experience, but also with the ability to apply actuarial and statistical thinking to some of the most pressing global issues, including climate risk, financial resilience, and sustainable investment. Whether entering the private or public sector, students are equipped to contribute to data-driven, responsible decision-making in a complex and rapidly changing world.

This programme is also available as a three-year programme without a placement year: BSc Actuarial Science.

Entry requirements

Here, you can check our entry requirements for GCSEs, A-levels (please read them alongside our information about subject combinations) and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. We also consider applications from students with a range of other UK qualifications and from overseas. Please select the overseas button below and choose your country from the dropdown list to find the equivalency to A-levels of your qualification.

Home

We welcome students from all walks of life at LSE. We want to recruit students with the very best academic merit, potential and motivation. So, whatever your background, please do apply. Get all the details on our general entry requirements.

Competition for places at LSE is high. We cannot guarantee you an offer of a place even if you’re predicted or achieve our standard entry requirements.

Our standard offer requirements are intended only as a guide and, in some cases, you’ll be asked for different grades.

Programme content

You'll study 12 units over four years, including LSE100 and an integrated industry placement in your third year. The academic structure in Years 1, 2, and 4 follows that of the three-year BSc Actuarial Science programme.

The compulsory courses for this programme are outlined below. Alongside these, you'll have the opportunity to select from a broad range of optional courses in fields such as statistics, mathematics, finance, economics, and accounting offered at LSE, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the programme. As optional course availability may vary, full details can be found in the programme regulations.

Year 1

You’ll take two compulsory courses in mathematics and statistics, alongside microeconomics and macroeconomics. Additionally, you’ll take LSE100.

EC1A3
Half unit
EC1B3
Half unit
LSE100
Half unit

Options to the value of one unit

Check the School Calendar

Why study with us

Discover more about our students and department.

Meet the department

The Department of Statistics at LSE is one of the oldest and most distinguished in the UK.

The department has an international reputation for the development of statistical methodology and a long history of pioneering contributions to research and teaching. Many of the world’s most famous and innovative statisticians have been associated with LSE.

Our research spans four main areas – data science, probability in finance and insurance, social statistics, and time series and statistical learning. The department has close links with the Data Science Institute at LSE – an interdisciplinary institute that fosters the study of data science, with a particular emphasis on the social, economic and political contexts.

All aspects of our research were ranked world-leading or internationally excellent in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (2021), submitted jointly with the Department of Mathematics.

The department’s research strengths are reflected in our teaching curriculum. We have a comprehensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and doctoral research opportunities – hosted in a vibrant department with a supportive and friendly community of staff and students.

Our alumni enjoy successful careers in diverse areas, such as banking, accounting, finance, statistics, government and business consulting while others pursue postgraduate study or research. Our alumni frequently return to LSE to share their career experiences with current students.

Learn more about our programmes and research.

Your application

Overview

We consider each application carefully, taking into account all the details you’ve included on your UCAS form, such as:

You may also have to provide evidence of your English proficiency, although this is not needed at the application stage. See our English language requirements page.

Please note: the applications, intake and ratio values below are for both the BSc Actuarial Science and the the BSc Actuarial Science (with a Placement Year) programmes.

615
Applications
68
Intake
9:1
2024 Ratio

Fees and funding

The table of fees shows the latest tuition fees for all programmes.

You're charged a fee for each year of your programme. Your tuition fee covers registration and examination fees payable to the School, lectures, classes and individual supervision, lectures given at other colleges under intercollegiate arrangements and, under current arrangements, membership of the Students' Union. It doesn't cover living costs or travel or fieldwork.

Home

The 2026/27 tuition fee for home students hasn't yet been set. As a guide, the 2025/26 fee for home students is £9,535 per year. The home student undergraduate fee may rise in line with inflation in subsequent years.

Placement year

The Home Undergraduate fee for a placement year is set by the UK Office for Students - currently a maximum of 20 per cent of the full-time fee in the year the student starts their programme. As a guide, for home students starting the BSc Actuarial Science (with a Placement Year) in 2025/26, the fee for the placement year is £1,905.

Learning and assessment

How you learn

Graduate destinations

Overview

Graduates from the programme will be able to work on a range of financial services organisations from companies which operate in the life and general insurance sector through to accounting firms, specialist actuarial consultancies, investment banks , data analytics, statistics, civil service and graduate studies.

Further information on graduate destinations for this programme

Median salary of our undergraduate students 15 months after graduating:

£36,500

Top 5 sectors our students work in:

Financial and Professional Services
Insurance
Information, Digital Technology and Data
Accounting and Auditing
Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities
This data is drawn from the 2021/22 Graduate Outcomes Survey, run by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Median salaries are calculated for respondents who are paid in UK pounds sterling and in full-time employment.

Discover Uni

Every undergraduate programme of more than one year duration will have Discover Uni data. The data allows you to compare information about individual programmes at different higher education institutions.

Programmes offered by different institutions with similar names can vary quite significantly. We recommend researching the programmes you're interested in and taking into account the programme structure, teaching and assessment methods, and support services available.

Find out more

Explore LSE

Student life

Discover our campus and student services
Welcome at LSE

Student support

Find out more about our academic guidance, advice and pastoral care
A group of students sitting with an advisor at a LSE LIFE session

Accommodation

Explore the accommodation services we offer to our students
Two students taking part in Action for Happiness held in LSE Residences during London Wellbeing Week 2020.

Meet, visit and discover LSE

Attend our in-person events or explore LSE from home
Campus tour guide during a campus tour for prospective students.