BS In Information Technology/ MS Dual Degree

[FutureMSCyberSecurity]

I'm in the Cybersecurity field without a degree currently and so this BS/MS Dual degree looks very attractive to me.

https://www.excelsior.edu/programs/techn...ual-degree

I'm trying to test out of as many credits as I can. Is there any advice people can give me for those Information Technology components? I probably can't test out of a lot of those like "Object-Oriented Programming"

Thanks in advance and forgive me of any errors, this is my first post on the forum.

[sanantone]

Straighterline offers C++. I don't know if Excelsior will take CSU Global CBEs, but they offer basic programming in Visual Basic. You just need to take a course that teaches an object-oriented programming language.

[dfrecore]

That is going to be an EXTREMELY expensive degree program - the graduate portion alone will be $19,350. Have you looked at WGU for this? The BS in Cybersecurity can be tested out of for quite a bit, and the rest done in 1-2 terms. Then, you could go straight into their MS in Cybersecurity program, and finish that in 1-2 terms as well. The 4-yr and 2-yr degrees plus testing out would cost less than the MS at Excelsior.

If you have any certs, they would also count at WGU. And if you wanted certs along the way, WGU gives them for you as part of the degree.

Also, if you don't already have the math, the EC pathway is going to take you a while to get through all of it. Calc I, II< and Discrete Math. Plus, many of the courses won't be able to be tested out of (actually at least half). WGU's is much less sofware dev and much more IT. Not sure if that makes a difference to you, since you already have a job.

Anyway, I'm not getting paid by WGU or anything, I just know about it because my husband is considering getting his degree there in Cybersecurity, and this was definitely the easiest and most cost-effective way for him to get it.

[FutureMSCyberSecurity]

That is going to be an EXTREMELY expensive degree program - the graduate portion alone will be $19,350.  Have you looked at WGU for this?  The BS in Cybersecurity can be tested out of for quite a bit, and the rest done in 1-2 terms.  Then, you could go straight into their MS in Cybersecurity program, and finish that in 1-2 terms as well.  The 4-yr and 2-yr degrees plus testing out would cost less than the MS at Excelsior.

If you have any certs, they would also count at WGU. And if you wanted certs along the way, WGU gives them for you as part of the degree.

Also, if you don't already have the math, the EC pathway is going to take you a while to get through all of it.  Calc I, II< and Discrete Math.  Plus, many of the courses won't be able to be tested out of (actually at least half).  WGU's is much less sofware dev and much more IT.  Not sure if that makes a difference to you, since you already have a job.

Anyway, I'm not getting paid by WGU or anything, I just know about it because my husband is considering getting his degree there in Cybersecurity, and this was definitely the easiest and most cost-effective way for him to get it.

Thanks much for the suggestion. How did you determine cost of the degree?  That's definitely going to be important going forward.

[dfrecore]

Thanks much for the suggestion. How did you determine cost of the degree?  That's definitely going to be important going forward.

For the MS, it's 30cr x $645/cr = $19,350.

For the BS, it's 120cr, but many of those can be taken inexpensively ~ $100/course or so (all GE's for sure).  But, I'm not sure if there are inexpensive options for a lot of the courses in the major, which then means that they will be more expensive.  If you can't find a course elsewhere, then you'll have to take it at EC, for $1530/course.  You might be able to find it at another less expensive school, in which case, why would you be going to EC at all?

If you wanted to look at somewhere other than WGU, APU has a Cybersecurity degree, and they are take ACE recommended credit as well, and their courses are $810 each.  So about half the price of EC.  And again, it's more IT focused, none of the high-level math is required.  Their MS in Cybersecurity would only be $12,600.

[sanantone]

APUS doesn't accept many ACE credits, though, so they might be more expensive for an undergraduate degree. You can always take cybersecurity courses there and transfer them to Excelsior, COSC, or TESU.

[bjcheung77]

I would add WGU is the choice to go for, if you would like very similar options for IT/CS... Brandman and Hodges offer BSIT as well, at the same price points too! These below are Competency Based, you can work on a Masters afterward...

My recommendation of WGU (or other competency based) programs is a better fit than just a regular BSBA CIS/BA CS program.
A few other programs that are IT/Software Development based as well from several providers other than WGU... You should check them out!

Brandman University MyPath Programs (See BBA IT or BS IT) - https://www.brandman.edu/mypath/degrees
Hodges University UPower Programs & Tuition - https://www.hodges.edu/academics/academi...power.aspx

Capella University FlexPath Programs - https://www.capella.edu/capella-experien...-programs/
Capella University FlexPath Tuition - https://www.capella.edu/capella-experien...h/tuition/

Northern Arizona University Personalized Learning Tuition - http://pl.nau.edu/Tuition.aspx
Newly created program BS CIT - http://pl.nau.edu/ComputerInformationTechnology.aspx

WGU IT Programs - https://www.wgu.edu/online_it_degrees/programs
Tuition - https://www.wgu.edu/tuition_financial_aid/overview#

University of Wisconsin - https://flex.wisconsin.edu/degrees-progr...echnology/
UW Flexible Tuition - https://flex.wisconsin.edu/degrees-progr...y/#tuition

Patten MBA IT - http://patten.edu/patten-online/online-d...echnology/
Patten tuition - http://patten.edu/admissions/online-tuition/

Note: I placed Patten in there as it would be a cheap/quick RA Masters degree when/if you wanted to do one after your Bachelors.
Several people finished the Master's program in 4 months and a grand total of $2 grand. You can't beat that with a rocket or a stick!