UMUC MS in Cybersecurity Policy: The Final Frontier (AKA CSEC 670)

WolfMan69

Powerfool-

Sorry for the late post to this thread...

As someone who is about to start the simulation rounds in 2 weeks I don't suppose you could guide me some on the format you came up with for the simulation reports? As you know, this course buries you in work so every little tip helps.


Regards-
Wolfman69

deaso

Hello,

I need advice please! I am graduating this December (2013) with my undergrad degree in History. I was a 4.0 student but I realized that the future looks pretty bleak for history majors so I started to change direction to my second love...IT. I worked my way through college working for a small company taking care of their computers and networks. I also volunteered at my local high school's IT department for a couple of summers. I have a couple of basic Comptia certs. I was accepted atUMUC in the IT field. It was easy at UMUC to be accepted with my undergrad degree in a non tech field. My questions to you experts out there is for some directional advise for a 22 year old male who truly wants to pursue IT or Cybersecurity management some day. From all of the research I have done regarding cyber security, it looks like it is avery hot field and is not going anywhere anytime soon. I have never taken much math and the basic code classes I had, I was not crazy about them. Am I going to need to be good in Math and coding to make it in the cyber security world? Any info will be much appreciated as I am as green as it gets as far as starting out in grad shool. thanks

Pekingese Cobra Rose

Math and coding, not necessarily. Critical thinking and the ability to analyze data, absolutely. One of the best ways, in my opinion, to get involved in cybersecurity is to take an entry level position as an analyst within a security operations center. You will learn many of the hands on skills and concepts, and will build credibility and experience. Be aware that cyber and information security can take many different forms; there's traditional Information Assurance as the government understands it (mostly compliance/policy/etc and not very hands on), which is very closely related and perhaps interchangeable with cyber policy jobs. There are also many technical disciplines, ranging from SOC / network analysis (may include firewall / IDS analysis, which is what I recommended as an entry point), digital forensics, security engineering, and security R&D / analytics fields. The more you get into research, penetration testing, and so on the closer the job gets to requiring software engineering and development experience, but this is only a small subset of the technical side, which is a subset of the broader set of cyber careers. If you want to be a manager, however, be aware that no one's going to let you just walk in the door and manage a team - you'll have to build up to it. It would help getting general Project Management experience in addition to specific cyber security experience to create a combined body of knowledge/experience that would lend itself to managing cyber projects and teams.

You do not need any math or coding background for the UMUC cybersecurity programs. The labs may be challenging to less technical students but they are pretty basic.

Radar_Love

I'm in the Cyber Security track, about to start the capstone CSEC 670 and find it depressing that 55% of the grade is group project related.

I currently have a 4.0 and managed to obtain that through sacrificing pretty much everything else and doing what was needed to get every project done well and on time.

As schools go, some can slam UMUC but it's regionally accredited, it does not get any better than that as far as university accreditations go. The program is blessed by the NSA and Homeland Security, from the time I started my next to last class I've received emails on my LinkedIn, Facebook and university accounts as well as been invited to several Intelligence Community career fairs. Any position that requires a masters, this degree fills that check box amply.

I've been exposed to a good percentage of the day to day assignments in my day job so the discussions were a bit easier for me than some, the one thing I can say that I've taken away from this is the large volume of writing required has greatly improved my writing skills, I'd guesstimate my abilities have tripled.

If given a choice to do 20 pages in a group assignment or 50 as an individual assignment, I'd take the latter and more than likely walk away with less effort. The one thing group assignments have taught me is there are some people willing to do as much work as necessary to ensure the team has a quality project and there are some more than willing to let them.

I'll sit for the CISSP after the capstone if I'm still sane by then.

Khaos1911

Radar_Love wrote: »

I'm in the Cyber Security track, about to start the capstone CSEC 670 and find it depressing that 55% of the grade is group project related.

I currently have a 4.0 and managed to obtain that through sacrificing pretty much everything else and doing what was needed to get every project done well and on time.

As schools go, some can slam UMUC but it's regionally accredited, it does not get any better than that as far as university accreditations go. The program is blessed by the NSA and Homeland Security, from the time I started my next to last class I've received emails on my LinkedIn, Facebook and university accounts as well as been invited to several Intelligence Community career fairs. Any position that requires a masters, this degree fills that check box amply.

I've been exposed to a good percentage of the day to day assignments in my day job so the discussions were a bit easier for me than some, the one thing I can say that I've taken away from this is the large volume of writing required has greatly improved my writing skills, I'd guesstimate my abilities have tripled.

If given a choice to do 20 pages in a group assignment or 50 as an individual assignment, I'd take the latter and more than likely walk away with less effort. The one thing group assignments have taught me is there are some people willing to do as much work as necessary to ensure the team has a quality project and there are some more than willing to let them.

I'll sit for the CISSP after the capstone if I'm still sane by then.

I'm usually not one to post in threads from three years ago, but what the heck Good stuff, Radar! Can you provide some more feedback on the UMUC Master of Cyber Security program? I'm looking for a Master program in Cyber Security/Information Assurance and Penn State and Univ of Detroit Mercy are my 1 and 2 choices, with UMUC being in 3rd place at the moment. Mostly because I can't find any reviews from actual students in the Cyber Security program. My only criteria being 1. regionally accredited, 2. NSA Center of Excellence (can re-up my GSEC and GCIA, two birds one stone , 3. Brick and Mortar that can be completed 100% online. 4. Waive GRE/GMAT for experience (Not a deal breaker, but a huge plus)

Radar_Love

As far as content goes, the information here is still relevant.

I read an article about the shortage of Cybersecurity master level graduates, Penn was graduating 31 this year or last, and only 5 were US born. Not sure how many UMUC puts out there, but there are about 25 in this Capstone class.

I've noticed schools tend to pigeon hole graduates towards specific fields and industries, I've attended Harvard's Masters in IT program and just having that on a resume does attract very specific offers, mainly public speakers, corporate mouth pieces, neither of which interests me.

I'd poll the schools and find out where their graduates get jobs, they compile that data... I know UMUC tends to be government / military oriented, which is fine with me.

A masters degree opens doors, just like a CISSP does, it's what you're capable of once inside that really matters. What I can say UMUC will do for you is endow you with the tools necessary to articulate your skill sets at a level someone would expect of a cybersecurity masters level candidate.

philz1982

Khaos1911 wrote: »

I'm usually not one to post in threads from three years ago, but what the heck Good stuff, Radar! Can you provide some more feedback on the UMUC Master of Cyber Security program? I'm looking for a Master program in Cyber Security/Information Assurance and Penn State and Univ of Detroit Mercy are my 1 and 2 choices, with UMUC being in 3rd place at the moment. Mostly because I can't find any reviews from actual students in the Cyber Security program. My only criteria being 1. regionally accredited, 2. NSA Center of Excellence (can re-up my GSEC and GCIA, two birds one stone , 3. Brick and Mortar that can be completed 100% online. 4. Waive GRE/GMAT for experience (Not a deal breaker, but a huge plus)

Dakota State,

I graduate in the fall. I just applied for and am one of 3 finalists for a Director Role for creating the entire cyber security program for a fortune 60 company. I directly accredited this to DSU's courses. Plus at 10k for a Masters that is an NSA CoE, Regional Accredited, B&M State School, 100% online or in-person, has a CS DSc in Cyber Security, GRE/GMAT Waived for Experience, and did I mention 10k for a Masters...

Plus, I went there, so DSU gets instant awesomeness points for my mere presence..

Khaos1911

philz1982 wrote: »

Dakota State,

I graduate in the fall. I just applied for and am one of 3 finalists for a Director Role for creating the entire cyber security program for a fortune 60 company. I directly accredited this to DSU's courses. Plus at 10k for a Masters that is an NSA CoE, Regional Accredited, B&M State School, 100% online or in-person, has a CS DSc in Cyber Security, GRE/GMAT Waived for Experience, and did I mention 10k for a Masters...

Plus, I went there, so DSU gets instant awesomeness points for my mere presence..

Wait, wait , wait a minute, Phil. DSU waves the GRE/Gmat requirement for work experience!?!?!?!?

philz1982

Yep I didn't have to provide a GRE or GMAT as I had a 3.0 gpa bachelors and 5+ years work

philz1982

Its all spelled out on page 3 of the application I believe..

Radar_Love

Correct me if I'm wrong, but GMAT is Graduate (Management) Admissions Test, generally required if you're going for an MBA. I know Harvard does not require one for their Masters IT programs, but you do have to make the grades on the first 3 courses to actually "get in," UMUC did not require one either but I had a decent undergrad GPA. (Had it been lower, I may have, not sure.)

If you're looking for the cheapest, then UMUC may not be for you, you'd be looking at 25K minimum.