WGU MSIA Capstone - is it a thesis?

MichaelRea

I'm considering applying for WGU's MSIA program after I finish my undergrad with Regis University next year, and am wondering what the capstone for the degree is like. Is it a thesis? What is it?

Any other feedback from the program would be great too!

instant000

I would consider it more of a project/research paper than a thesis. A thesis implies having a literary review, appendix, and a "sign off" block where the mentors 'approve' you. These aren't included in the assignment instructions for the capstone.

You do have introduction, main body, conclusion, references, images, etc. It's an APA format paper about an information security project that you undertake, trying as much as possible to tie your degree work into some problem you can work on for a business.

There is an oral defense of it that is done via teleconference (including video identification), but it really is more like proposing a project, performing a project, doing a writeup of a project, and then presenting about the project.

I would consider a thesis to require lots of additional research work beyond what the classes cover. The capstone is designed to take what you've already covered so far in your assignments, and make a "final crowning work" to say you "get it". Sure, you may have to dig deeper for a few things you want more information on, but that's not how I see it (after going through it and reflecting on it.)

I don't know if I did it correctly, but I'll tell you how I did it:

I took basically my entire last semester to do the Capstone, but maybe it could have been done quicker if I just recycled some work I had done in the past, or if I just "made something up". I decided to just "keep it real." Since I "kept it real" I ran into scheduling issues working with the company I chose. Since most of the security work I've done in the past is for the Department of Defense, I chose a capstone that didn't pull as much from what I've done in the recent past few years, so I took it from the public sector angle. I did rely some on my experience, but I had to look up regulations, standards, and tools that don't necessarily apply to my daily work, but are publicly available. This way, anyone could reuse the work I did in the future. This took more time, to research references for things I already do, but making sure to quote the public sector standards, versus the standards that are not public knowledge. I had to present to the company, had several documents to rewrite that didn't match their culture, etc.

Like I said, it could have been done quicker with a fictitious company. (As it was, the data was made anonymous and some data was purposely modified, in order to protect the innocent. The actual company got the real information.)

Hope this helps you get an idea of what the capstone entails, and gives you some ideas on how you can get out ahead of it from the beginning, and have it properly planned.