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Center of Actuarial Excellence Actuarial Science at Illinois State University
Our faculty are engaged in cutting edge research, funded by various external agencies, and published in books and top-level journals.
What do you need to do to get an actuarial internship? First and foremost, you need to pass at least one professional actuarial examination. Dr. Ostaszewski's advice on how to pass actuarial exams is here. Then you should follow this: information about looking for a job.

Internship Information

If you are an ISU student looking for an actuarial internship, please review this: information about looking for a job. After you secure an internship position, you can follow the instructions below in order to receive college credit for your internship experience.

  • Undergraduate students need to register for: Mathematics 298: Professional Practice: Internship in Mathematics (typically 2-4 credit hours, and typically half-time work for three months can be approved for 4 credit hours),
  • Graduate students should register for: Mathematics 498 Professional Practice in Mathematics (typically 2-4 credit hours, and typically half-time work for three months can be approved for 4 credit hours).
  • International students with a student F-1 visa who want to do an internship in the United States can only do this by meeting the conditions for approval of F-1 Curricular Practical Training, which must be processed by the Office of International Studies. Employment in other countries may also be subject to the laws of those countries.

Furthermore, if MAT 498 is to serve as your culminating experience for a Master degree, it must be approved as a culminating experience by the Graduate Director, Professor Maochao Xu,

However, you will not be allowed to register in it until your internship class is approved by your Professional Practice Faculty Coordinator. Your Faculty Coordinator for Professional Practice in the Actuarial Program is Dr. Krzysztof Ostaszewski. In order for your internship class to be approved, you must send a copy of your job offer to Dr. Krzysztof Ostaszewski. and then follow the following procedure:

  • Send a copy of your job offer to: actuary@IllinoisState.edu.
  • Go to http://careercenter.illinoisstate.edu.
  • Click on Hire-A-Redbird tab on the upper left hand side of the screen.
  • Click on Student login.
  • Access your account through ISU’s Central Login.
  • For first –time users:  From your Homepage, click on “Profile” on the upper left hand side and complete your Personal and Academic profile. Click “Save”.
  • To add an internship record, go to My Account– Internships.
  • Click on “Add New Experience”.
  • Fill out all internship information. 
  • You may only enter an internship record one work term at a time. If your internship period lasts longer than a semester, submit the first work term.  Then click on “Edit” and go to the bottom of the page and click on “Copy to a new Work Term. “  Enter the relevant time period for that term.
  • Click “Submit.”
  • The internship record will be “Pending” until it completes the system verification process.  Upon completion, the record will be shown as “Approved.”
  • You may review and edit internship records any time.

You can purchase liability insurance (some employers require this) -- contact Career Center about details of this.
To receive a grade for your internship class, you will have to submit a written report about your internship experience, before the date when grades are due, to your Professional Practice Faculty Coordinator. If you do not submit such a report, you may receive an F for the class, even if your employer was happy with you.

Some additional information about internships:

  • Career Center office is located in the Student Services Building, room 185, tel. 309-438-2200.
  • Internet-based job board is located at Career Center's Hire a Redbird site.
  • Interns are generally eligible for Workers' Compensation coverage.
  • Interns are generally not eligible for unemployment compensation coverage.
  • Equal employment opportunity laws generally apply to interns.
  • As an intern, you are covered by your company's guidelines regarding appropriate workplace behavior, its harassment policy and complaint procedures.
  • You can intern abroad, for example in Bermuda. You can contact the Study Abroad Adviser at the e-mail address: studyabroad@ilstu.edu.