<p>gogogo opinions in terms of prestige and rigor</p>
<p>Unless someone here has taken classes at both UCLA and UC Berkeley, any measure if “rigor” would just be a guess. UCLA does have a lower division and upper division honors track, and there is a program for undergrads getting a MA in math. I’m not sure what Berkeley’s analogous programs are. UCLA also has an Actuarial track; I’m pretty sure Berkeley doesn’t.</p>
<p>In terms of prestige, Berkeley’s generally considered to be among the top 3 in the country, iirc. UCLA is usually around 10th, maybe a little better.</p>
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They do, and they employ more actuaries than UCLA does.</p>
<p>[Course</a> Requirements: Applied Mathematics - UC Berkeley Department of Mathematics](<a href=“http://math.berkeley.edu/undergraduate_major_require_applied.html]Course”>http://math.berkeley.edu/undergraduate_major_require_applied.html)
[Cal</a> Actuarial League](<a href=“http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~caleague/]Cal”>http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~caleague/)</p>
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I haven’t taken a course at UC Berkeley but I’ve taken the equivalent at UCLA. Like Math 115A (UCLA) == Math 110 (Cal). We use the same texts, and of the exams I’ve viewed at Berkeley from prior semesters I can make the following conclusion: it really depends on the professor. Take an honors upper division course at either (or audit/take a grad course) and you won’t be disappointed if you are seeking rigor. </p>
<p>All in all, both Math departments are solid.</p>
<p>The suggested cluster for Actuarial Science is just Numerical Analysis, Probability Theory and Statistics (equivalent to 151B, and Stat 100AB). I don’t see anything analogous to 172ABC.</p>