PMSCISRFTT9-2024-5-O - L-Università ta' Malta

Course Title

Master of Science in Insurance and Risk Management

MQF Level

Duration and Credits

3 Semesters

90 ECTS

Mode of Study

Full-time

Information for International applicants

Applicants must be in possession of:

Refer to the list of country-specific qualifications

the degree of Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Insurance and Risk Management obtained with at least Second Class Honours or
the Advanced Diploma in Insurance awarded by the Chartered Institute of Insurance (UK.) or
the degree of Bachelor of Commerce with Insurance as one of the two main areas of study, obtained with at least Category II or
a degree with at least Second Class Honours or Category II, in any other area deemed relevant by the Board of Studies, provided that applicants in possession of a degree with at least a Third Class Honours or Category III may also be considered. Applicants in possession of the degree with Third Class Honours or Category III shall be allowed to proceed to the research component subject to the attainment of an average mark of at least 55% in the taught component or
a qualification deemed by Senate, on the recommendation of the Board of Studies, to be comparable to the qualifications listed in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c).

Students admitted under paragraphs (d) and (e) may be required to follow and pass supplementary study-unit/s, as recommended by the Board of Studies, to which a maximum of 12 ECTS credits are assigned, in addition to the programme of study.

The admission of applicants under paragraph (d) and if necessary paragraph (e), may be made conditional on the result of an interview conducted for the purpose.

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You can submit your application online. The deadlines for submission of applications vary according to the intake and courses. We encourage all international applicants to submit their applications as soon as possible. This is especially important if you require a visa to travel and eventually stay in Malta.

You can compare your national qualifications to the local requirements by visiting our qualifications comparability webpage. Access more information about our admission process and English language requirements.

The University of Malta has student accommodation on campus called Campus Hub. Campus Hub is just a 2-minute walk from the main campus. For more information, visit the accommodation website.

Our dedicated team at the student recruitment office is here to support you every step of the way. From the moment you start your application to the moment when you receive your decision letter, we're here to assist you. If you have any questions or need further information, don't hesitate to reach out to us. You can contact us at info@um.edu.mt, and our team will be more than happy to help.

After you receive an offer from us, our International Office will assist you with visas, accommodation and other related issues.

The M.Sc. in Insurance and Risk Management programme will equip you with all-round applied knowledge, experience and skills necessary to succeed in the volatile and constantly evolving fields of insurance and risk management.

The programme combines a practical approach to theory and creates a stimulating and challenging learning environment. The main aim of this postgraduate degree is for you to be ideally-positioned in order to build a successful career within the exciting and increasingly-complex business world, or utilise the tools learned in your existing career pathway.

In fact, the strength of this programme lies in its unparalleled cross-disciplinary treatment of the latest conceptual and methodological developments within Insurance and Risk Management, drawing on expertise and knowledge from various fields of study, while at the same time demonstrating how these ideas relate to diverse real-world settings through exposure to applied research and case studies.

Ultimately, this programme is designed to enable you to think and analyse critically and develop a proactive, strategic attitude to decision-making. This in turn will equip you with the necessary tools and frame of mind to excel in your chosen career path, be it as high-ranking analysts or managers within your chosen industry or as PhD students with novel, relevant research agendas, both locally and abroad.

Students are required to obtain a total of 90 ECTS credits over a period of 3 semesters of full-time study.

In addition to the compulsory study-units (taught, 30 ECTS credits) and the dissertation (30 ECTS credits), students will be required to register for 30ECTS credits from ONE of the Elective Blocks 1, 2 or 3 or as directed by the Board.

The Elective Blocks are:
Block 1 - Financial Planning
Students are required to obtain all study-units within this block which amount to 30 ECTS credits.

Block 2 – Governance, Risk Management and Compliance
Students are required to obtain all study-units within this block which amount to 30 ECTS credits.

Block 3 – Quantitative Risk Management
Students are required to obtain all study-units within this block which amount to 30 ECTS credits.

Block 4 – Behavioural Risk Management
Students are required to obtain all study-units within this block which amount to 30 ECTS credits.


Year and Summer Semester

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

EMA5922	Dissertation	30 ECTS


Year (This/these unit/s start/s in Semester 1 and continue/s in Semester 2)

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

INS5011	Advanced Insurance Practices	10 ECTS

Compulsory Units Block 1 - Financial Planning ONLY

INS5017	Advanced Commercial Lines	5 ECTS
INS5018	Advanced Personal Lines	5 ECTS

Compulsory Units Block 4 - Behavioural Risk Management ONLY

INS5002	Risk Management Performance Coaching	10 ECTS
INS5018	Advanced Personal Lines	5 ECTS


Semester 1

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

INS5009	Risk Management Theory and Practice	5 ECTS
INS5014	Applied IRM Research Techniques	5 ECTS
INS5022	Advanced Enterprise Risk Management	5 ECTS

Compulsory Units Block 1 - Financial Planning ONLY

ISR5035	Portfolio Management	5 ECTS

Compulsory Units Block 2 - Governance, Risk Management and Compliance ONLY

INS5004	Geopolitical and Environmental Risk	5 ECTS
INS5007	Risk Management in Emerging Technologies	5 ECTS

Compulsory Units Block 3 – Quantitative Risk Management ONLY

INS5006	Risk Transfer Accounting	5 ECTS
INS5019	Applied Corporate Finance	5 ECTS

Compulsory Units Block 4 - Behavioural Risk Management ONLY

INS5004	Geopolitical and Environmental Risk	5 ECTS


Semester 2

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

INS5028	EU Risk Governance Regulation	5 ECTS

Compulsory Units Block 1 - Financial Planning ONLY

INS5008	Applied Alternative Risk Transfer	5 ECTS
INS5025	EU Pension Funds and Products	5 ECTS
INS5027	Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG)	5 ECTS

Compulsory Units Block 2 – Governance, Risk Management and Compliance ONLY

INS5000	Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC)	5 ECTS
INS5010	Governance, Regulations and Compliance Management	5 ECTS
INS5020	Applied Ethical Behaviour	5 ECTS
INS5027	Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG)	5 ECTS

Compulsory Units Block 3 – Quantitative Risk Management ONLY

INS5008	Applied Alternative Risk Transfer	5 ECTS
INS5029	Advanced Econometrics for Risk Management	5 ECTS
INS5030	Derivatives	5 ECTS
INS5031	Practical Stochastic Asset Liability Modelling	5 ECTS

Compulsory Units Block 4 – Behavioural Risk Management ONLY

INS5000	Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC)	5 ECTS
MGT5919	Psychology of Risk	5 ECTS

This programme of study is governed by the General Regulations for University Postgraduate Awards, 2021 and by the Bye-Laws for the award of Master of Science in Insurance and Risk Management - M.Sc. - under the auspices of the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy.

Extra study-units cannot substitute compulsory, elective or optional study-units that form part of the official Senate-approved programme of studies, and do not count towards the Year Average Mark or towards the Final Weighted Average Mark.

Year 1
INS5021 University and Technical Experiences – 5 ECTS

Conditions and criteria for Extra study-units.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

Describe the system of underwriting and how this is used to analyse risks and decide on whether to insure them.
Develop and describe practical, coherent actions or policies that can be undertaken in order to deal with each environmental risk, and the pros and cons of each initiative.
Evaluate the impact of regulation on the compliance requirements of an insurance entity.
Relate how theory can in effect be relevant to practice.
Identify and conduct core qualitative and quantitative methods that are used within the Insurance and risk management, including thematic analysis, parametric and non-parametric statistical tests and regression analysis.
Demonstrate a deep and specialised understanding of the studied problem and its applicable solution that is either unique or is shared by only a restricted number of scholars or specialists.

As a holder of the PG Certificate, you will acquire:

Subject Knowledge and Understanding: By the end of these 30 ECTSs, you will have a good grasp of some of the tools and classes of risk transfer available and, given a variety of real-world cases, demonstrate the ability to apply methods learned within some various industrial settings and organisational structures.
Intellectual Development: You will be able to demonstrate your skills and ability to identify Risks and manage them efficiently and effectively.
Key Transferable Skills: You shall demonstrate an ability to identify Risks and communicate them effectively both verbally and in a formal Report.
Other skills relevant to employability and personal development: You shall be able to demonstrate your ability to identify and manage risks effectively.

As a holder of the PG Diploma, you will acquire:

Subject Knowledge and Understanding : By the end of these 60 ECTSs, you will have a good grasp of the tools and classes of risk transfer available and, given a variety of real-world cases, demonstrate the ability to apply methods learned within various industrial settings and organisational structures. You will also be able to identify the objectives and develop ways of ensuring that they are met with the least problems.
Intellectual Development: You shall be able to demonstrate your skills and ability to identify Risks and manage them in the most effective way. Moreover, you will be able to demonstrate your ability to determine the appetite, tolerance and objectives of the organisations and provide them with solutions to ensure objectives are met with the least hiccups.
Key Transferable Skills:You will be able to determine and identify Risks, use the appropriate tools to manage them and communicate them effectively both verbally and in a formal Report.
Other skills relevant to employability and personal development
You shall be able to work within and organisation environment and demonstrate your ability to identify and manage risks effectively.

In addition to the above learning outcomes, at the end of the M.Sc. in Insurance and Risk Management, following the writing of the postgraduate dissertation, you should be able to:

Subject Knowledge and Understanding: Critically analyse the latest concepts and techniques within Insurance and Risk Management and, given a variety of real-world problems, demonstrate your ability to apply these ideas within various industrial settings and organisational structures. The advance nature of the course content will challenge the preconceptions of myths surrounding issues in insurance and risk management, enabling students to develop a more realistic perspective of identified problems.
Intellectual Development: Demonstrate your analytical skills and your ability to think like Insurers and Risk Managers by developing novel and significant research ideas through your coursework and, particularly, your dissertations. This will include relevant upcoming topics such as InsurTech, RoboAdvice,Distributed Ledger Technology, Smart Contracts, Catastrophic Risks, etc.
Key Transferable Skills: Demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively, both via written assignments and classroom presentations. In particular, the focus will be on ensuring that you can explain and set out complex research ideas in a clear and concise manner. This will prove particularly important on the job when dealing with the daily challenges faced by insurance and risk managers, such as underwriting, reinsurance, risk transfer, risk measurement and risk monitoring.
Other skills relevant to employability and personal development: Gather data pertaining to specific research goals and analyse them effectively using a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods as required, using software tools such as IBM's SPSS and Microsoft Excel. Furthermore, you will also demonstrate your ability to work under pressure to meet tight deadlines throughout the course of the degree, through various written assignments, while expanding the breadth of their knowledge within the field of insurance and risk management.

Non EU Applicants:

Total Tuition Fees: Eur 10,800

You are viewing the fees for non EU nationals. Switch to EU nationals if you are a national of any country from within the EU/EEA.

Insurance and Risk Management present opportunities to work almost anywhere in the world, with numerous opportunities in Malta and in major countries and cities. The global economic environment is characterised by growing uncertainties and challenges, meaning that there has never been a better time to venture into the world of insurance and risk management, with growing demand for these skills and knowledge across several industries and business sectors.

Some risk and insurance positions require the professional to be өn the fieldԠmeeting clients or examining facilities; some are more quantitative in nature; while others require leadership skills as part of complex, international projects. Whatever your preferences, you are sure to find a stimulating and interesting career to suit your needs, with often generous remuneration packages.

Career pathways include but are not limited to :

Claims Investigator, Loss Prevention Field Representative, Risk Manager/Analyst, Sales Agent/Broker, Underwriter (Risk Selection), Marketing Representative, Customer Service Representative, Information Technology, Health, Product Development, Finance/Accounting, Management Executive, Investment Advisors, Portfolio Advisors, Portfolio Managers, Actuary professionals.

Professional Organisations

There are numerous professional organizations associated with specific disciplines within the industry. In fact this course is endorsed by the Malta Institute of Insurance (MIA), The Malta Association of Risk Management (MARM), The Malta Association of Compliance Officers (MACO), The Public Risk Management Organisation (PRIMO) and The Federation of European Risk Managers (FERMA) amongst others.

Moreover, students are able to ask for exemptions from the Advanced Chartered Diploma in Insurance (ACII) and are allowed to sit for the professional RIMAP exam organised by The Federation of European Risk Managers (FERMA).