WGU MSISA degree in 3 terms, possible?

Nyblizzard

Is this a feasible goal if you have no real world security experience and transfer in a CCNA?

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IA-Daigakusei

Definitely possible.. It all depends on how you dedicate yourself to your studies. I work a full time job and I'm hoping to complete my MSISA degree in three terms. I have to take my CHFI test (waiting on the voucher) then three more classes. Definitely possible, if you apply yourself.. I could've completed more, but I slacked a little.

You can do it! Good luck!

demonfurbie

i would try to get some more certs before i started like the ceh or at least study for it and have wgu cover the voucher cost

but over all yes i think its doable

da_vato

I surely hope so cause I start on Sept 1st and I am going to push as hard as I can to get all but the capstone done in two terms.

amcnow

The current version of MSISA requires 30 CPUs for graduation. You are required to schedule a minimum of 8 CPUs per term. It looks as if your CCNA will result in only 2 transfer CPUs (for "Fundamentals of Interconnecting Network Devices"), leaving you to complete the remaining 28 CPUs for your master's degree. Honestly, I don't know why this objective assessment isn't worth 3 CPUs...

My mentor recently told me the certification requirement (CCENT) for this particular course will be replaced with an in-house version of the exam. With that said, your CCNA should still count. Be sure to confirm all of this with WGU!

http://www.wgu.edu/wgu/prog_guide/MS_ISA.pdf

Having your CCNA beforehand will still save you a great deal of time. If you work diligently, you can knock out most performance assessments fairly quickly. With that said, I would still advise putting in enough time with the learning materials to actually learn from them.

The objective assessments will require more of your time, especially since you aren't already well-versed in information security. The EC-Council exams shouldn't be too difficult if you put in the study time. My version of MSISA has me earning the GIAC Certified ISO-27000 (G2700) certification from SANS. I have the option to switch to the in-house exam for "Security Policy and Standards - Compliance and certification", but will probably stick with SANS. Either way, this objective assessment will be moderately more difficult than the EC-Council exams but still feasible.

In summary, I think it's very feasible to complete MSISA in 3 terms. Just be prepared to have next to no social life for those 3 terms...

IA-Daigakusei

amcnow wrote: »

Just be prepared to have next to no social life for those 3 terms...

How very true indeed... but it's all worth it in the long run!