uwloo

ACTSC 231Introductory Financial Mathematics

Units
0.50
Faculty
Mathematics
Subject
Actuarial Science

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 7 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 3 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

The theory of rates of interest and discount including the theoretical continuous case of forces of interest and discount. Annuities and sinking funds, including the continuous case. Practical and theoretical applications primarily to mortgages and bonds. Yield rates.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • MATH137 - Calculus 1 for Honours Mathematics (0.50)
      • MATH147 - Calculus 1 (Advanced Level) (0.50)
    • Complete 1 of the following
      • Earned a minimum grade of 70% in each of the following:
        • STAT220 - Probability (Non-Specialist Level) (0.50)
      • Corequisite (see below)
    • Students must be in level 2A or higher

Corequisites

  • Completed or concurrently enrolled in at least 1 of the following:
    • STAT230 - Probability (0.50)
    • STAT240 - Probability (Advanced Level) (0.50)

Antirequisites

  • Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
    • ACTSC221 - Introductory Financial Mathematics (Non-Specialist Level) (0.50)
    • ACTSC232 - Life Contingencies 1 (0.50)

Leads to

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 0016139105 / 150MWF 13:30–14:20
LEC 002627891 / 150MWF 11:30–12:20
TUT 1016318196 / 300Sep 11 15:30–16:20
Sep 25 15:30–16:20
Oct 9 15:30–16:20
Oct 23 15:30–16:20
Nov 6 15:30–16:20
Nov 20 15:30–16:20
Dec 4 15:30–16:20
TST 2016497196 / 300Oct 9 16:30–18:00
Nov 6 16:30–18:00

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 00155680 / 96MWF 13:30–14:20
LEC 00259160 / 96MWF 14:30–15:20
LEC 701221158 / 9999Online or by arrangement
TUT 10155690 / 192Th 14:30–15:20
TST 20159310 / 192Feb 12 16:30–18:00
Mar 19 16:30–18:00

Reviewed on UW Flow

68% liked it54% easy89% useful

From 199 ratings and 42 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • ACTSC 231 – Mirabelle Huynh
    This is one of those courses where the prof can either make or break it—and Mirabelle was 100% a make. She honestly killed it. Super chill, super approachable, and actually cared that people understood what was going on. She’d take her time explaining concepts and would always double check if we were following along, which really helped.
    She also kept inviting us to office hours and was totally down to re-explain full topics if needed—no judgment. Like, she wanted you to show up and ask questions. She even personally followed up with students who didn’t do well on the midterm to check in and see if they were doing okay. That level of effort? So rare. And get…

    May 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course can be summarized as "various applications of the geometric series". However you need to know all the terms and the many formulas regardless.

    Apr 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • A useful course for all financial majors. The concept is easy to understand. However, a large amount of calculation is required in the exams. Be sure to finish all the practice problems in the textbook and remember all the formulas since there is no formula sheet in the exam. You will enjoy this course after making lots of calculations and getting the right answer. One more thing, many symbols in the textbook are different from the lecture. Remember to understand the course version.

    Apr 2023 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • One of the best courses I had in the 2A term. If you are into finance, do this course early on, coz this course lays the basis of all the material covered in CFA, FRM, and PRM exam. The course is very well designed. Exams are tough, so if you wanna score good, do all (or most of) the book questions and examples.

    Dec 2022 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course sucked. I am going to un-declare actsci major because of how awful this course is. It's just boring and weird and straight up not math. It's, like, fair grading, though, and not too hard if that's what you're into. Maybe it's a prof diff.

    Jul 2022 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

466 posts and comments in 328 threads mention ACTSC 231, November 2011 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

Question about Corequisite (If you complete a course, does that count toward the coreq?) 1 point, 8 comments

u/Relative_Ad2065: “… A lot of people recomended it to me, but it looks like for ACTSC 231, you need Stat 230 as corequisite? So here's my question: if I finish stat 230 in 1b, does that count toward my coreq in ACTSC 231 in 2A? in other words, do completed courses count toward corequsites? …”

u/CSplays: “Coreq just means you need to be taking it concurrently. If you've already completed a coreq to a course, you're good to take it.”

u/Relative_Ad2065: “So that means 1B STAT230 -> 2A ACTSC 231 (which has stat230 coreq) is good right? Thanks for answering!”

View on RedditRemove this

Will I survive if I take these courses in a term 1 point, 4 comments

u/Delicious_Deal_962: “I’m considering taking stat231, actsc231, co370, cs330 in the winter term. How difficult are these courses?”

u/Breadfruit-Turbulent: “… Actsc 231 isn’t hard per se. But if you’ve never seen stuff like that, might need some time to understand the large amount of concept in the beginning. (Which you’ll reuse in the future) There’s work when I took them a while back tho. …”

View on RedditRemove this

STAT 333 for 2B 5 points, 2 comments

u/serenelmuss314: “… Having completed Math 235/237/239, STAT 230 and another CS course in 2A, I am currently thinking of taking STAT 231, STAT 333, ACTSCI 231, PSYCH 101 for 2B (I have a few credit transfer so taking less than 5 courses for a few term is okay). …”

View on RedditRemove this

Course advice 2 points, 5 comments

“Very confused about 3A stat courses. Stat330 Stat331 Stat332 Stat333 Stat340 Stat341 How many stat courses a term is doable. Also i hated stat230 but loved stat231. …”

u/tried-n-tired: “Definitely 2-3 depending on which courses you take 330 and 333 I would not recommend in the same term but 331 and 332 are very manageable. …”

u/tried-n-tired: “Just from my experience of those I’ve taken I took 331, 332 and 333 together and that was fine so I’d recommend them (I also took actsci 231 and a bird course at that time too would not recommend 4 math courses in one term) i can’t speak for the other stat courses you listed but …”

View on RedditRemove this

STAT 330, STAT 331, STAT 332 2 points, 5 comments

“how feasible is it to do these courses in the same term? will the workload be too heavy or alright with other 2 courses being light electives?”

u/tried-n-tired: “I did STAT 331, STAT 332, and STAT 333 in one term (along with actsci 231 and a bird course) and I’m really not the strongest in math but passed them all, STAT 331/332 were not bad at all, so I think this is feasible especially with 2 light electives”

View on RedditRemove this

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar