Abstract:

The actuarial profession is not new, it is internationally recognised and has a long history, both nationally and internationally. Moreover, within the European Union (EU) it is characterised by the fact that it is a regulated profession; there are countries in which their regulations establish different activity reserves.

The professional qualification of an actuary in the EU is mainly obtained by a university degree, which may or may not be specific. It may also be acquired by taking specific examinations, which may be conducted by an actuarial association or a government, agency, authority or state department.

In Spain, to became an Actuary an advanced university degree specialising in actuarial and financial sciences is necessary. This university degree called Master's Degree in Actuarial and Financial Sciences (MScAFS) must follow certain guidelines related with the subjects that compose it and the degree of achievement of the competences to be obtained.

The international actuarial associations worldwide, International Actuarial Association (IAA), and in Europe, the Actuarial Association of Europe (AAE), are composed of the national actuarial associations. These international associations have drawn up and approved their respective syllabuses detailing the subjects, knowledge, competencies and skills required to practise the actuarial profession in these geographical areas and establish their level of development in accordance with Bloom's taxonomy. Syllabuses are regularly updated by international actuarial associations and checked for compliance by national actuarial associations to guarantee that these competencies and skills can be obtained, thus ensuring quality in the practice of the profession. Both Syllabuses have been adopted by the Instituto de Actuarios Españoles (IAE), which is the Spanish actuarial association, the latter being taken as a reference because it is the most detailed.

The aim of this paper is to determine the characteristics of the MScAFS in terms of how the Syllabus of the AAE sets out the subjects, organised into sub-areas, and the degree of development of the competences required to obtain the professional qualification of actuary in the EU.

For this purpose, they are classified and quantified according to the type of conceptual development and the degree of in-depth study. This makes it possible to obtain the Master's degree graduate profile, which must coincide with the professional qualification agreed in the AAE. This profile is different from other master's degrees, whether complementary academic or with a research profile, and from other professions, which may or may not have one or more of the characteristics of the actuarial profession.

Keywords:

Actuarial, profession, Bloom's taxonomy, Master Degree in Actuarial Science.