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Degree Path Help - Free_Jinn - 03-23-2026
Thank you in advance for your help.
My spouse needs to decide on his degree path soon. I suggested he apply for the UMPI BABA based on the recommendations here and what he currently has. He wants to finish quickly, but would also like a more technical degree that is better aligned with his IT project management background (10+ years of experience). He's open to all platforms/methods for credits before transferring over.
Your Location: Texas
Your Age: 45
What kind of degree do you want?: He wants a BS with an IT or PM focus, but he needs to finish quickly. Hoping for a balance of speed and relevance.
Current Regional Accredited Credits:
Houston Community College
GRADE COURSE
A ENG 1301 (COMP I)
C RELE 1301 (Principles of Real Estate)
A RELE 1211 (Law of Contracts)
A RELE 1307 (Real Estate Investments)
Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits:
CLEP
PASS Western Civilization II
Sophia.org
GRADE COURSE
A Art History I
A Art History II
A Developing Effective Teams
A Environmental Science
A Financial Accounting
B Introduction to Business
B Introduction to Ethics
A Introduction to Information Technology
A Introduction to Nutrition
A Introduction to Web Development
B Macroeconomics
B Microeconomics
A US History I
A Visual Communications
B Project Management
B Algebra I
A Introduction to Sociology
TBD Workplace Writing II (in process)
Any certifications or military experience?:
PMP - Project Management Professional
CSM - Certified Scrum Master
CSPO - Certified Scrum Product Owner
PCEP - Certified Entry-Level Python Programmer
Introduction to FOCUS - FinOPS Foundation
PRINCE2 Foundation
ITIL Foundation
Budget: Trying to keep it under $6K to finish.
Commitments: School is the primary commitment right now.
Dedicated time to study: 50+ hours per week.
Timeline: 6 months or less.
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: None
RE: Degree Path Help - WDue - 03-23-2026
I think UMPI's BABA in Project Management & Information Systems would be the best fit. UMPI's semesters are typically 8 weeks in length costing around $1800 USD I believe. It's not impossible to finish in one term but it typically takes 2-3 from what I've read. I'm not sure if any of the certifications can be transfered in but maybe someone here with more knowledge can expand on that. You can transfer in 90 credits and need to take 30 credits (10 courses) at UMPI as per their residency requirements.
If it needs to be a BS in IT or as you said he would like it to be technical, then the next best fit would be WGU, 6 month terms, the cost for one term for a BS in IT Management is $3,830. 10 courses have no alternative and need to be taken at WGU. The BS in IT is even more technical, however, a wide variety of courses cannot be transferred in without external certifications and I think he'd only be able to transfer in the PMP and ITIL Foundation certifications. Credit to @Gneza for creating this WGU degree planning tool
The good news is, both universities allow you to accelerate and finish on your own time. If he has test anxiety, then UMPI is the better fit, no proctored exams, instead, it's papers, projects and assignments. WGU is mainly test based, most courses have a proctored final exam. However, with his experience in the field he may be able to leverage that to his advantage.
There are other options like Thomas Edison State University (TESU) or Purdue University Global (PUG) but based on the research I've done, both would take longer than the options above. TESU for example has a capstone and you can't accelerate it, it would need to be taken during their 12 week term. There are also two classes that don't have any transfer equivalents and one required course (Information Literacy) that need to be taken during the term which aren't able to be accelerated either. So it's not as 'hackable' as the other degrees listed above. Though some of the certifications he has are more computer science based and he may have more luck with the BA in CS from TESU.
RE: Degree Path Help - Free_Jinn - 03-23-2026
(03-23-2026, 04:50 PM)WDue Wrote: I think UMPI's BABA in Project Management & Information Systems would be the best fit. UMPI's semesters are typically 8 weeks in length costing around $1800 USD I believe. It's not impossible to finish in one term but it typically takes 2-3 from what I've read. I'm not sure if any of the certifications can be transfered in but maybe someone here with more knowledge can expand on that. You can transfer in 90 credits and need to take 30 credits (10 courses) at UMPI as per their residency requirements.
If it needs to be a BS in IT or as you said he would like it to be technical, then the next best fit would be WGU, 6 month terms, the cost for one term for a BS in IT Management is $3,830. 10 courses have no alternative and need to be taken at WGU. The BS in IT is even more technical, however, a wide variety of courses cannot be transferred in without external certifications and I think he'd only be able to transfer in the PMP and ITIL Foundation certifications. Credit to @Gneza for creating this WGU degree planning tool
The good news is, both universities allow you to accelerate and finish on your own time. If he has test anxiety, then UMPI is the better fit, no proctored exams, instead, it's papers, projects and assignments. WGU is mainly test based, most courses have a proctored final exam. However, with his experience in the field he may be able to leverage that to his advantage.
There are other options like Thomas Edison State University (TESU) or Purdue University Global (PUG) but based on the research I've done, both would take longer than the options above. TESU for example has a capstone and you can't accelerate it, it would need to be taken during their 12 week term. There are also two classes that don't have any transfer equivalents and one required course (Information Literacy) that need to be taken during the term which aren't able to be accelerated either. So it's not as 'hackable' as the other degrees listed above. Though some of the certifications he has are more computer science based and he may have more luck with the BA in CS from TESU.
Thank you for your input. The UMPI and WGU degrees were also the top choices we discussed. He’s fine with doing proctored exams or papers, so that part isn’t an issue. I think the decision will really come down to time and cost.