Application Requirements

Apply here.

You must submit all materials directly, not through an agent or third-party vendor, with the sole exception of submissions by the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Program and its three partner agencies IIE, LASPAU and AMIDEAST, and by the Danish-American Fulbright Commission (DAF), Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), and Vietnam Education Fund (VEF).

If you have any questions about this requirement, please contact the admissions office apply [at] sps [dot] columbia [dot] edu (apply[at]sps[dot]columbia[dot]edu)

Fee payment must accompany the online application.

In the Academic History section of the online application, you must list and upload unofficial transcripts for all post-secondary institutions where you obtained (or are obtaining) a degree. The transcript should include all completed and in progress coursework, summer program(s), study abroad program(s), or transfer coursework at the time that you are applying unless:

• You did not earn academic credits; 
• You completed 11 credits or less (on a traditional US credit scale) outside of your home institution. If you completed more than 11 credits outside of your home institution, then you must provide us with unofficial transcripts/ the coursework must be included on your WES evaluation.

If requested, you may be required to provide transcripts or mark sheets from any and all post-secondary institutions.

Applicants who attended a U.S. institution:

You must submit unofficial transcripts for each institution attended where you completed more of academic study. 

Applicants who attended an international institution:

You must submit an official ICAP course-by-course evaluation* by World Education Services, Inc. (WES), a third-party verification agency, if the following are true: 

• You earned (or are earning) a degree at an institution accredited outside of the United States; 

AND/OR 

• You completed 31 or more post-secondary credits (31 or more US Semester Hours) at an institution accredited outside of the United States. 

Please note that the WES fulfills the requirement for the Official Transcript.

*This is required for your application to be reviewed. 
 

* Please note that if you completed 30 credits or less abroad, instead of submitting a WES evaluation, you may submit an unofficial transcript for admissions consideration. If admitted, you must order an official transcript to be sent to SPS directly from the institution abroad. 

Please upload your résumé or CV. Please be sure to include all relevant work experience, professional organizations, or activities that would be relevant to evaluating your candidacy for admission. Note if you passed any of the SOA/CAS exams.

Two recommendations are required as part of your application. Recommendations should be submitted from academic and/or professional sources. Please note: 

• If you are in your last year of undergraduate study at the time of applying, you are required to submit at least one academic recommendation from a faculty member with whom you have completed an academic credit-bearing course. The second recommendation may be academic or professional;
• If you received a bachelor’s degree within 2 years of the date you are submitting your application, you are strongly encouraged, but not required, to submit an academic recommendation; 
• If you received a bachelor’s degree more than 2 years prior to the date you are submitting your application, you are not required to submit an academic recommendation. 

* Personal references are not appropriate. 

If you are still enrolled in your undergraduate studies, at the time of submitting your application:

1. At least one of your recommendations must be from a faculty member with whom you have completed an academic credit-bearing course who can assess your academic work, intellectual ability, and academic potential for graduate work. Research supervisors or instructors are appropriate if you took their research course for academic credit. The recommender should have instructed you directly, academic advisors are not appropriate.

AND/OR

2. You may obtain a professional recommendation from an internship supervisor if that internship was completed for credit as part of your undergraduate degree or at your degree-granting institution.

If you have already completed your undergraduate studies at the time of submitting your application:

1. Your recommendations may be from a faculty member with whom you have completed an academic credit-bearing course who can assess your academic work, intellectual ability, and academic potential for graduate work. Research supervisors or instructors are appropriate if you took their research course for academic credit. The recommender should have instructed you directly, academic advisors are not appropriate.

AND/OR

1. Your recommendations may be from a current or former supervisor (preferred) or work associate/project leader from a Full-Time or Part-Time employment experience. Research supervisors are appropriate if you were employed as a full-time or part-time employee. Recommendations from volunteer work, internships, and externships are not acceptable. If you manage your own business and are your own supervisor, you may select a client as your recommender. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  All recommendations must be submitted using a professional or academic email domain.  References submitted from personal or anonymous email domains (e.g. Gmail, Yahoo, 123.com, 163.com, qq.com etc.) may result in your application being considered ineligible for admission. If you are unable to provide a professional email address for your recommender, please email us at apply [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu (apply[at]sps[dot]columbia[dot]edu) with an explanation of why a professional email address cannot be provided. 

Your statement of academic purpose (500–750 words) should clearly and concisely address the following:

• Your purpose and interest in pursuing the M.S. in Actuarial Science, focusing on how the program relates to your immediate and long-term professional plans
• The areas you hope to explore in our curriculum
• How you will leverage them to advance your career
• How you will commit to the program requirements
• What you expect you will contribute, individually and in collaboration with the student cohort, alumni, and faculty, to establish greater success for the program, the field, and society

When submitting test scores with your application, please note that we require official test scores before your application can be reviewed.

• For complete information regarding the GRE, go to www.gre.org. School report code: 3602.
• GRE scores are considered valid for five years after your test date.
• The admissions committee pays particular attention to the quantitative reasoning score.

After you have submitted your application and fee, you will be required to submit a 1-minute video essay. You will be given time to create test videos to ensure that your system is working properly. When you are ready, you will be given a randomly selected prompt for which you will have one minute to prepare and one minute to record a response. You will not be able to re-record your video. Please note that the video essay response should be your own thoughts and should not be rehearsed or prepared beforehand.

This may be required.

If your first and native language* is not English, you must provide official scores on the TOEFL or IELTS Academic unless both of the following are true:

• the language of instruction of your undergraduate degree conferring institution is English, and
• you completed your entire undergraduate degree in English.

*Your first and native language is the language that you learned first or speak best.

Applicant total scores must meet the Columbia SPS minimum requirement of 100 (TOEFL iBT) or 7.0 (IELTS Academic) to be admissible. You will be required to enter your test scores or your anticipated testing date within the online application, and official test score reports will be required for your application to be considered complete and ready for admission review. TOEFL and IELTS Academic scores are valid for two years after your test date. Applicants receiving scores below the posted minimums may be advised to apply directly to the American Language Program. 

• To submit TOEFL iBT scores: Visit www.ets.org and send your official score to our school code 2594. Please note: we do not accept TOEFL best scores.
• To submit IELTS scores: Please include your TRF number on the English Language Requirements section of the application. Alternatively, you can also send us your official score through your testing center.

Applicants may also be asked to complete an interview using a video conferencing tool.

International students are responsible for ensuring they have read and understand the University’s student visa application eligibility and requirements. Please note that it is not permissible to enroll while in B-1/B-2 status. Since the Actuarial Science program offers a full-time study option, international students enrolled in a full-time course load—registered for at least 12 points of credit-bearing courses a term—are eligible for a student visa.

Eligible international students who wish to apply for a student visa should do so immediately after they have received their letter of admission to Columbia University. This should be done by completing the Application for Visa Certificate (AVC). Applicants should be aware that after admission into a program it may take up to four weeks to receive the documents needed from Columbia to obtain a student visa, so please plan accordingly.

International students who require a student visa to study at Columbia are required to pay an International Services fee. See Tuition and Fees for more information.

You can find the online application for visa certificate by clicking here: http://isso.columbia.edu/. While you are not permitted to submit the application until you have gained admission, we strongly encourage you to read the instructional information provided.

For questions about individual cases, please contact:
International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO)
212-854-3587
isso [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu (isso[at]columbia[dot]edu)
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/isso