MAS-I vs Exam SRM: The Shared Statistics Core
CAS Exam MAS-I (Modern Actuarial Statistics I) and SOA Exam SRM (Statistics for Risk Modeling) test a large block of the same material. Both center on generalized linear models (GLMs) and statistical learning, the applied-statistics toolkit modern actuaries use for pricing and prediction. A candidate who has studied one will recognize most of the other. The differences are at the edges and in the format, not in the core.
This overlap is not an accident. Both societies modernized their preliminary syllabi around the same statistics and data-science content. If you are still choosing between the tracks, the SOA vs CAS path guide covers the industry difference, and the free SOA vs CAS quiz puts an SRM-style question next to a MAS-I-style question so you can feel it.
What Overlaps
| Topic | Exam SRM (SOA) | Exam MAS-I (CAS) |
|---|---|---|
| Generalized linear models | Core, large weight | Core, large weight (Extended Linear Models) |
| Linear and multiple regression | Yes | Yes |
| Statistical learning (trees, model selection) | Yes | Yes |
| Residual and model diagnostics | Yes | Yes |
| Probability models (Poisson process, Markov chains) | No | Yes, a full section |
| Time series | Yes | No (moved to MAS-II) |
| Credibility, mixed models | No | No (those are on MAS-II) |
The GLM block is where the two exams are closest. An offset, a link function, a Pearson residual, or a deviance calculation means the same thing on both exams. If you can price a Poisson GLM with a log link on one, you can do it on the other.
What Is Different
Three real differences:
- MAS-I is broader. It carries a full probability-models section (Poisson processes, compound distributions, Markov chains) that SRM does not test. That content sits closer to Exam P and to the CAS pricing tradition.
- SRM leans harder on time series and decision trees. MAS-I dropped time series (that content moved to MAS-II on the CAS side), so a time-series question is an SRM signal, not a MAS-I one.
- Format. CAS multiple choice usually gives answer ranges (for example, "at least 2.5, but less than 3.5") rather than a single value, which changes how you check your work under time pressure. SRM gives conventional single-value choices.
What It Means for Your Track Choice
The size of the overlap is the point. Because MAS-I and SRM share so much, being good at one predicts being good at the other, so a statistics strength does not push you toward the SOA or the CAS. It transfers. The real decision is the industry you want: life, health, and pensions on the SOA side, property and casualty on the CAS side. The SOA vs CAS quiz is built around exactly this observation, and its result copy says as much.
One practical consequence: if you sit SRM on the SOA path and later consider switching to the CAS, the MAS-I statistics will feel familiar, though you will need to add the probability-models section and adjust to the answer-range format. The reverse is also true.
Practice Both for Free
FreeFellow has free banks for both exams with worked solutions and no signup. The Exam SRM study guide and the CAS MAS-I study guide each point at their bank, and the MAS-II study guide covers the credibility and mixed-models content that neither MAS-I nor SRM includes. Start with the free MAS-I hub or the SRM hub to see the question style.