Graduate program for ITT tech graduate

[Phdhopeful]

Hi all, I am a graduate of the itt-tech bachelors of science cybersecurity program earlier in my career. I have 18+ years of consulting experience with Fortune 500 companies and have held a number of senior leadership roles. I am looking for guidance on paths to ultimately earn a phd. Are there any schools that accept itt tech degrees for graduate programs? Thank you in advance for your help.

[rachel83az]

ITT Tech was Nationally Accredited. That means that the chances of finding a grad program are kind of slim. That said, I think WGU might do just that. You might be able to get a WGU Master's degree and then go on to a PhD somewhere else. What degree(s) are you wanting?

[allvia]

WGU is a good choice for you to pursue a master. Which type of master are you looking to get?  Do you have a PdD in mind?

If you have goals of another school that would require an RA degree then you could get credit for your ITT degree credits at COSC (one of the Big3) towards one of their RA degrees - https://www.charteroak.edu/transfer-from-itt-tech/

[freeloader]

It is also common for many universities in the United Kingdom to admit “mature” students for graduate (or postgraduate as they call it) study without an undergraduate degree. This exists in continental European universities as well, though I don’t know how common it is.

As a for instance, the admissions info for the online MSc in Cybersecurity from the University of Liverpool notes that potential admission based on:

“Professional work experience in IT or a related field and/or other prior qualifications, which will be considered on a case-by-case basis.”

I have seen this type of statement quite a lot in reviewing accounting/business/economics degrees (the things that interest me).

So, while your NA BA from ITT Tech may not be sufficient qualification for a British university to admit you, your experience might well get you in. Might be a way to get a little bit better “name brand” for your masters that you could then parlay into your doctoral program.

One other quirk of the UK educational system that might be useful for you: there are private companies that offer Level 7 diplomas in a number of subjects. These are basically postgraduate certificates that include the coursework necessary to earn a masters degree. Once completed, you can attend a university to “top-up” to a master’s degree, which typically involves writing a master’s thesis. The info here is a bit out of date because of an academic partnership ending, but this site gives a list of the most common Level 7 diplomas/top-up masters degrees: https://lgs.ac.uk/programmes.html  The entry requirements for these diplomas and many of the top-up masters programs seem to typically have the “or relevant experience” option instead of a bachelor’s.

[freeloader]

Also would be valuable, OP, to tell us why you want a doctorate. How important is the issuing school? If you want to teach at a regionally accredited, brick and mortar university versus wanting it for promotion within your organization versus wanting it for personal reasons/as something nice on your business card could certainly change your best course of action.

If it’s solely to look good on your business card/for personal reasons, you could consider staying with NA schools and working toward a professional doctorate.

William Howard Taft, an NA school, offers a distance Doctor of Business Administration: https://www.taft.edu/doctor-of-business-...ration-dba

Virginia University of Lynchburg, another NA school, offers a distance Doctor of Healthcare Administration: https://www.vul.edu/dha/

There are others, but these happen to be 2 schools that get discussed with some frequency on this forum.

[bjcheung77]

@Phdhopeful, Welcome to the board!  You need to provide more details, update this thread with the information in this template, as the info provided is too basic to determine your best courses of action or directions you want to investigate further: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

Many people start with an RA undergrad and end up with NA graduate degrees, and vice versa.  It all depends on where you want to go for your Masters and beyond.  When you get up to the Doctoral degrees such as a PhD or DBA, DSc in Comp Science or IT, choices are slim for the picking.

[dfrecore]

WGU accepts NA degrees, so that's an easy option.

[ifomonay]

If you want to do all distance schools, then your route can be Online MS in Cybersecurity at Georgia Tech. I don't have hard evidence, but someone told me they emailed Georgia Tech, and was told that nationally accredited undergrad programs qualify for their MS programs. You can check with them. Once you get Georgia Tech as a credential, you should be able to get into a PhD program of your choice. Some distance Ph.D. programs I know that has cybersecurity emphasis are Dakota State and U Cumberlands. There are other types of doctorates like Doctor of IT and others, but for me, I prefer the "Ph.D." It's just my personal bias, but I think nothing looks better than a "Ph.D" after your name. lol. That's just my personal bias.
By the way, that was the route I took. I went to a mid-tier, non-descript undergrad school. I got a really crappy GPA, nowhere close to 3.0. I was rejected by every grad school for at least a decade. However, I had over a decade of leadership roles when I applied to GT, and was admitted *hands folded to them*. Then I attended a distance PhD program which is mid-tier-ish again.

[freeloader]

Anybody else get entirely too invested in posts like this?  I really want, nay, I need OP to come back and tell use more. To me, this is almost like the Lewis Black “If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college” but. Gonna find me dead in my bathroom one of these days…

[Cfun2222]

I applied to Georgia Tech and they declined ITT saying it was the following below.  a) Is not accredited b) Is nationally accredited c) Is not recognized by the proper authority in that country as a degree granting institution. I am kind of bummed out. I wanted to get something to be proud of when people ask. I am successful no doubt, but never like to say ITT.