WGU: Masters of Infosec, questions.

I tried searching around for a while- had no luck.

Of those of you who have completed the Masters of Infosec from WGU, what was the maximum number of CU's you were able to take per semester? Did you work full time? I currently work full time, and i'm looking at enrolling and was wondering how feasible it was to finish in two semesters or a years time. Talking to one of the reps, they said if you already have the certs going in, they waive the class requirement, but you still need to do the performance review/labs/whatever they may be.

Any insight?

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petedude

jdchilders wrote: »

Any insight?

Based on everything I've read, WGU master's degrees are designed with enough workload that you'll need 1.5 to 2 years to complete them. Occasionally you hear of those miracles with the IT master's degrees where somebody wraps in a year, but generally they've had to nearly kill themselves to do so.

veritas_libertas

petedude wrote: »

Based on everything I've read, WGU master's degrees are designed with enough workload that you'll need 1.5 to 2 years to complete them. Occasionally you hear of those miracles with the IT master's degrees where somebody wraps in a year, but generally they've had to nearly kill themselves to do so.

This is the way I see it as well. Unless you don't have a life it will take you two years.

-Foxer-

I'm about to start my second term in the program, and my first term I finished 21 credits, which was 8 classes. I should have no problem finishing in my next term.

I work full-time, but I generally have downtime during the day that I can study at work, which helps quite a bit. It will also depend on how much experience you have already.

Also, generally, the classes have a certification class, and then a second part where you write papers/power-point presentations/etc on what you learned in the first part and apply it to various scenarios. In my experience these can be done relatively quickly if you just sit down and do it.

Last thing, they are changing the program, so that may affect how quickly you can get it done. In my case I'll actually be able to finish a little quicker than I thought. Let me know if you have any other questions.

jdchilders

-Foxer- wrote: »

I'm about to start my second term in the program, and my first term I finished 21 credits, which was 8 classes. I should have no problem finishing in my next term.

I work full-time, but I generally have downtime during the day that I can study at work, which helps quite a bit. It will also depend on how much experience you have already.

Also, generally, the classes have a certification class, and then a second part where you write papers/power-point presentations/etc on what you learned in the first part and apply it to various scenarios. In my experience these can be done relatively quickly if you just sit down and do it.

Last thing, they are changing the program, so that may affect how quickly you can get it done. In my case I'll actually be able to finish a little quicker than I thought. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Changing the program how? And how is the course-load balanced? Is it, you study for cert, take cert, then do various tasks to show applicable knowledge (papers/presentations/labs)?

veritas_libertas

jdchilders wrote: »

Changing the program how? And how is the course-load balanced? Is it, you study for cert, take cert, then do various tasks to show applicable knowledge (papers/presentations/labs)?

I believe the CCNA is being thrown in to the mix.

jdchilders

Ah yes, thats already been changed. As i understand it, it used to be network+ and wireless security cert...now its ccna.

jdchilders

-Foxer-
I was going to try to PM you, but either I'm retarded, or its deactivated. Do you have some sort of contact where I can hit you with more questions?

Edit: I was retarded, will PM soon.

Turgon

jdchilders wrote: »

I tried searching around for a while- had no luck.

Of those of you who have completed the Masters of Infosec from WGU, what was the maximum number of CU's you were able to take per semester? Did you work full time? I currently work full time, and i'm looking at enrolling and was wondering how feasible it was to finish in two semesters or a years time. Talking to one of the reps, they said if you already have the certs going in, they waive the class requirement, but you still need to do the performance review/labs/whatever they may be.

Any insight?

Why would you want to complete a Masters degree in two semesters? If you can take so much credit into it starting out it hardly seems worth it. For the record I did complete a Masters degree in one year but it was a fulltime study programme. Regarding the course itself, I have no opinion but do be careful about any postgraduate course you sign up to. I remember one academic telling me back in 1993 that many Masters degrees are not worth the paper they are written on. You want a quality educational experience. It's also an expensive thing so really weigh things up carefully before you commit.

jdchilders

Turgon wrote: »

Why would you want to complete a Masters degree in two semesters? If you can take so much credit into it starting out it hardly seems worth it. For the record I did complete a Masters degree in one year but it was a fulltime study programme. Regarding the course itself, I have no opinion but do be careful about any postgraduate course you sign up to. I remember one academic telling me back in 1993 that many Masters degrees are not worth the paper they are written on. You want a quality educational experience. It's also an expensive thing so really weigh things up carefully before you commit.

Different strokes for different folks. Different people have different needs.

Turgon

jdchilders wrote: »

Different strokes for different folks. Different people have different needs.

An affordable quality education is what everyone needs. I hope what you are looking into offers you both.

colemic

I believe that I can do the MSIA program in one year, that's my goal, anyway. I also believe it can be a quality education, and think that model will redefine technology-oriented delivery systems from here on out.

I think it's possible if you have a pretty strong background in IA to begin with... I already have my CISSP, and am sitting CISA in June, and maybe by then I can actually get enrolled at WGU

I worried at first that it would be a paper cert, but I think the argument could be made, that by requiring industry certifications, you are better prepared for the working world than someone who just sits in a b&m classroom 2x week.

jdchilders

Well said! This is my goal as well, and I believe it to be possible. Just going to have to work very hard.

mcjon77

Turgon wrote: »

Why would you want to complete a Masters degree in two semesters?

One word, MONEY. Unlike other schools, WGU charges by the 6 month term, not by the credit hour, and you can take as many courses per term as you can handle. As a result, a degree completed in two years (4 terms) will cost literally twice as much as a degree completed in one year (2 terms).

jdchilders

mcjon77 wrote: »

One word, MONEY. Unlike other schools, WGU charges by the 6 month term, not by the credit hour, and you can take as many courses per term as you can handle. As a result, a degree completed in two years (4 terms) will cost literally twice as much as a degree completed in one year (2 terms).

Yep, that's also a big factor as well, a situation that pays off to work hard.

jdchilders

Anybody who is in, or completed the course have an opinion on what method works best? ie... Taking all the cert classes first? taking a cert class, then a normal class, repeat? Taking x mount of cert classes, then the rest in normal classes per semester....opinions anyone?

-Foxer-

jdchilders wrote: »

Anybody who is in, or completed the course have an opinion on what method works best? ie... Taking all the cert classes first? taking a cert class, then a normal class, repeat? Taking x mount of cert classes, then the rest in normal classes per semester....opinions anyone?

The way I've been doing it has been to take a cert class and then take the normal class that goes along with it.

For example, I did the CEH class, called Ethical Hacking, and right after that I did the Hacking Countermeasures and Techniques class where you write papers, and proposals that goes along with what you learned in the CEH class. So far that has been working pretty well for me. Then I'd throw in a class like Organizational Management in when I felt like it.

jdchilders

-Foxer- wrote: »

The way I've been doing it has been to take a cert class and then take the normal class that goes along with it.

For example, I did the CEH class, called Ethical Hacking, and right after that I did the Hacking Countermeasures and Techniques class where you write papers, and proposals that goes along with what you learned in the CEH class. So far that has been working pretty well for me. Then I'd throw in a class like Organizational Management in when I felt like it.

What certs were you able to complete first term? Did you come IN with certs already completed?

uberkenshin

Not to threadjack jdchilders because he's got some good questions that I had about the program...

But along the lines of the course, can anyone who's in the MS:ISA gauge about how much they've spend on training materials and other items?

I'm trying to ballpark the costs of classes, even with financial aid.

veritas_libertas

One method you can use to gauge the price of study material is to look at the list of books for the classes. The list of books required/recommended are freely available on the web site:

Online IT Degree | MS in Information Security and Assurance

jdchilders

uberkenshin wrote: »

Not to threadjack jdchilders because he's got some good questions that I had about the program...

But along the lines of the course, can anyone who's in the MS:ISA gauge about how much they've spend on training materials and other items?

I'm trying to ballpark the costs of classes, even with financial aid.

From talking to my rep guy at WGU, all training material NEEDED is included, including some text books, ebooks, and many online training and simulations. Everything you should NEED is included, but extra material is NOT provided.

uberkenshin

Thanks. I did take a look at that list. I know some of the training material is provided such as the ebooks and access to source material.

Was hoping someone actually had an answer based on their experiences, not what's printed on the site.

I've taken distance learning courses before and I'm in the camp of "the more material you have on hand, the better." And books were not included in tuition costs.

-Foxer-

Ok, to reply to a couple of the posts:

I was able to complete 21 credits, and got the CEH, CHFI, and EDRP certs the first term. I had network+ going into it, but that's since been replaced with CCNET/CCNA.

Most of the classes have some books/training material included, but some do not. I've also talked with others that like to purchase additional materials, although I generally have not. The class I'm taking now for the GIAC G2700 exam did not include hard copies of books, and since it is open book I have purchased two books, and may purchase another.

You also get a subscription to Books 24x7, which gives you access to many books online. So that may be all you need. For me that has generally been enough, although, like I said the G2700 is open book, so I purchased the books even though they were available to me online.

So far I've probably only spent about $200 on books and stuff, but it may vary for you.

The other thing is that sometimes the course guides list additional books that can be purchased, but aren't absolutely necessary to pass the class/exam.