CFA exam requirements: who can enrol, with or without a degree
You do not need a finance degree to sit the CFA exam, and you do not need a degree at all if you have enough work experience. What you do need is to meet one of three criteria, set by CFA Institute, and to have a valid passport. This guide sets out each criterion, the timing rules for undergraduates, and what happens if you cannot show you meet them.
The three ways to qualify
You must meet one of the following.
- Have a bachelor's degree. This means completing a bachelor's program or an equivalent program and receiving the degree from the college or university. If you are not sure that your program is comparable, speak to your college or university.
- Be an undergraduate student. You can enrol while you are still studying, within the timing limits below.
- Have professional work experience. This is the route for people without a degree, and it has its own rules below.
If you are an undergraduate
Enrolling as an undergraduate comes with limits on timing. The Level I exam window you select must be 23 months or less before your graduation month, the month in which you earn your bachelor's degree or equivalent. To sit Level II, you must be within 11 months of graduation. For Level III you must have completed your bachelor's degree or accrued 4,000 hours of professional work experience.
In practice, this lets a student in the last two years of a degree start Level I early, but not run too far ahead of graduating. Count back from your graduation month before you pick a window. The windows are on the exam dates page.
If you are relying on work experience
You need a combination of 4,000 hours of work experience and/or higher education, acquired over a minimum of three sequential years and achieved by the date you register for the Level I exam. Several rules apply:
- The dates cannot overlap. Time spent in education and time spent working are counted separately, and the periods cannot overlap.
- Education counts as hours. If you have a combination of work and education, factor in 1,000 hours for each year of higher education.
- The work does not need to be investment related. Paid internships and articleships are accepted.
- Your own business only counts if you were paid. Work in your own business or your family business qualifies only if it is professional experience for which you are paid.
- It must be skilled work. Qualifying experience needs specialised knowledge, education or advanced skills, with the application of higher-level judgement and business skills. CFA Institute lists leadership and teamwork, business communications, critical thinking and problem solving, time management, professional judgement, analytical skills and adaptability.
Candidates who apply without a bachelor's degree are asked to reflect honestly on whether their professional experience has equipped them for the volume and depth of study the curriculum and exams demand. That is a sensible question to ask yourself in any case, and the free diagnostic is a low-cost way to answer it.
You also need a passport
A valid passport is required.
You may be asked for proof
CFA Institute may request proof of your education or work experience to show you meet the entrance requirements. If you cannot provide it, it may cancel a current exam registration, withhold exam results, void past exam results, and refer the matter for investigation and disciplinary action by the CFA Institute Professional Conduct Program. Keep your degree certificate, your transcripts, and records of your employers, dates and roles, and do not enrol on a basis you cannot document.
Only people who meet all admission requirements, including professional conduct standards, and who are not currently suspended or prohibited from participating in CFA Institute exam programs, are eligible to register.
These are not the charter requirements
The entry rules above decide whether you can sit the exam. The charter has its own, separate requirements, including 4,000 hours of qualifying work experience gained over at least 36 months, which must be directly related to the investment decision-making process. See how to become a CFA charterholder. This is why you can sit the exams with no work experience at all if you meet the degree or undergraduate criteria.
Common questions
Do you need a finance degree to take the CFA exam?
No. A bachelor's degree in any subject qualifies, and work experience does not need to be investment related. Candidates come from many backgrounds, though those without finance often need extra time on quantitative methods, financial statement analysis and economics.
Can I take the CFA exam without a degree?
Yes, if you have 4,000 hours of work experience and/or higher education acquired over at least three sequential years by the date you register for Level I. Each year of higher education counts as 1,000 hours, and the dates cannot overlap.
Can I take the CFA exam as an undergraduate?
Yes. Your Level I window must be 23 months or less before your graduation month, and you must be within 11 months of graduation to sit Level II.
Do I need work experience to sit the exams?
Not if you have a degree or qualify as an undergraduate. The 4,000 hours of qualifying work is a requirement for the charter, not for sitting the exams.
Sources
- CFA Institute, The CFA Program: the enrolment requirements, the undergraduate timing rules and the work experience route.
Requirements change. Check the current rules on the CFA Institute website before you enrol.