Flexible Pathway and Courses

The flexible pathway gives you the option to choose courses most relevant to your career. You can specialize in a singular practice area or choose a combination of courses that fit your current or future career path.

If you want to stay within your current specialty, the transition rules will allow you to complete your pathway by selecting courses within your chosen specialty.

While the new pathway provides considerable flexibility, the number of combinations may be overwhelming. We have developed a set of sample pathways based on various actuarial roles. Some guided pathways will concentrate within a single practice area while others will combine related areas. Visit the interactive pathway builder to create combinations that may reflect your goals.

There are no formal prerequisites for taking courses from the catalog. However, some of the courses assume knowledge from other courses. For example, both ILA 201 (U or I) and CP 341 assume the knowledge from ILA 101. This information is included in individual course drop downs.

You do not have to commit to a set of courses when you begin the pathway. However, the four non-DMAC courses you ultimately select must conform to requirements, such as selecting one of the available two-course sequences.

No. The term "module" will be retired. With the exception of DMAC, there will be no courses delivered exclusively by e-Learning with a take-home assessment. DMAC will continue to be delivered and assessed as it is today, but it will be called a course.

In addition to passing specified courses from the ASA pathway, current candidates must pass the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) module and exam. After the FSA enhancements have been implemented, candidates will need to pass CFE 101 and pass the ERM module. The ERM module will no longer be part of the FSA pathway but will be required for the CERA. For those who want to add the CERA credential in the future, the CFE 101 exam and ERM module are also available outside the FSA pathway.

The Enrolled Actuary Exams (EA2F and EA2L) will continue being administered by the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries. These exams are not required for Fellowship, but one waiver credit is available for those who pass both exams. See the Transition Rules and Timing page for more details.

Letters are only used if the same course has more than one version or option. RET 301 Pension Regulation in Canada does not have a U.S. version and GI 302 General Insurance in the U.S. does not have a Canadian version. ​

Yes, though there are some restrictions. First, modules cannot be taken from different tracks. To earn transition credit, all three non-DMAC modules must be taken from the same track. Second, because the transitions and new fellowship requirements do not take effect until fall 2025, candidates who take this approach will not become FAC-eligible until after the spring 2025 exam grades are released. The following example may help:

After the spring 2024 sitting a candidate has passed the three modules from the ILA track plus ILA LPM, ILA LFMU, and DMAC. The only remaining exam is ILA LAM. This candidate notes that a transition credit will be earned for ILA 101, ILA 201-U, and credit for one additional course. The candidate observes that in the new system, any course other than ILA 201-C could be taken to meet the FSA requirements. The candidate would prefer to take the ERM exam rather than ILA LAM and then get transition credit for CFE 101, thus completing the FSA requirements. If the candidate passes the ERM exam in fall 2024, the candidate will have to wait until July 2025 to become FAC-eligible. Note that if the above scenario is moved forward one exam session the candidate becomes FAC eligible immediately upon passing the ERM exam in spring 2025.

Each course name begins with two or three letters. Most of them relate to a practice area, such as ILA for Individual Life and Annuities. These courses concentrate on the indicated practice area. Some of the courses are relevant for more than one practice area. These courses carry a CP label, to indicate Cross Practice. The numbering system reserves 101 and 201 for the sets of two-course sequences, one of which must be completed. All other courses (except DMAC) carry a 300-level number. Courses at the 300 level do not necessarily build on 101 or 201 courses and are not intended to be more or less difficult. The 400 level is reserved for Decision Making and Communication (DMAC).

Yes. All current requirements for the ASA, including passing the Predictive Analytics Exam, must be met to obtain the FSA designation. For the ASA transition rules, candidates had until January 1, 2024 to complete their FSA designation without requiring Exam PA. All FSA candidates moving forward must complete the Exam PA requirement as well as the FSA pathway requirements.