MSc/Diploma in Actuarial Science

Department of Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics

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Frequently Asked Questions

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What sources of funding are available?

• The Smith Scholarship is available to Scottish applicants who can demonstrate a strong academic ability, commercial awareness and financial need. One £10,000 scholarship is available and the closing date for applications is 30th June 2011. You can access the application form here and completed applications should be submitted before 30th June.
• Postgrad Solutions Ltd are offering a small number of UK Postgraduate Study Bursaries to the value of £500.  The closing date for submission of applications is 18th August 2011.  Please see their website for further details.
• Scotland's Saltire Scholarships are being offered by the British Council to Canadian, Chinese, Indian and US nationals studying in Scotland.  Scholarships are for the sum of £2000 and the application process will open at the end of December 2010.  Please see their website for further details and updates. 
• The Spanish Government may be able to provide interest-free loans to Spanish nationals studying a Masters course in a European country.  Please see their website for further details.  For further queries please contact the Spanish Ministry directly.
• In the past, some insurance companies were willing to sponsor students on the course. UK companies normally only sponsored UK students and expected them to work for them for at least two years after completing the diploma.  Such sponsorship is not widely available at present, and applicants seeking sponsorship are advised to contact local actuarial employers directly.
• Students from Northern Ireland can sometimes apply for partial grants from the Education and Library boards.
• Some students take out Career Development loans from a bank.
• Some foreign students have an employer or a university sponsoring them.
• The British Council can often give advice to foreign students about alternative sources of funding.
• UK students from Scotland, England or Wales do not qualify for grants or studentships from their local education authorities or from the government research councils.

Please also refer to the University's website at: http://www.scholarships.hw.ac.uk/postgraduate.jsp for details of other scholarships generally available for postgraduate studies at Heriot-Watt, together with a key contact if you would like additional information.  Some of these will have specific eligibility criteria which may not be applicable to every applicant.

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