CAS Exam MAS-I (Modern Actuarial Statistics I) and SOA Exam SRM (Statistics for Risk Modeling) overlap heavily. Both center on generalized linear models (GLMs) and statistical learning, the applied statistics actuaries use for pricing and prediction, so if you've studied for one, you'll recognize most of the other. The differences are at the edges and in the answer format.
Both societies modernized their preliminary syllabi around the same statistics and data-science content. If you're 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 one.
What overlaps
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| 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, and if you can price a Poisson GLM with a log link on one, you can do it on the other.
Where they differ
There are three differences that matter:
- MAS-I is broader. It has a full probability-models section (Poisson processes, compound distributions, Markov chains) that SRM doesn't test. That material sits closer to Exam P and the CAS pricing tradition.
- SRM goes further into time series and decision trees. Time series moved off MAS-I to MAS-II on the CAS side, so a time-series question points to SRM, not MAS-I.
- CAS multiple choice usually gives answer ranges (for example, "at least 2.5, but less than 3.5") instead of a single value, which changes how you check your work under time pressure. SRM gives ordinary single-value choices.
What it means for choosing SOA or CAS
Because MAS-I and SRM share so much, being good at one predicts being good at the other, so a strength in statistics doesn't push you toward either society. The choice comes down to 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 this, and its results say so.
If you sit SRM on the SOA path and later think about switching to the CAS, the MAS-I statistics will feel familiar, though you'll need to learn the probability-models section and get used to the answer ranges. Going from MAS-I to SRM works the same way.
FreeFellow's banks for both exams, with worked solutions, are free with an account, and anyone can try the sample questions without signing up. The Exam SRM study guide and the CAS MAS-I study guide each point to their bank, and the MAS-II study guide covers the credibility and mixed-models material that neither MAS-I nor SRM includes. The free MAS-I hub and SRM hub show the question style.