Norwich Masters of Science in Information Assurance

Is anyone here a part of this program now?

On the last week of study, when you go to the university for graduation, you actually take the CISSP certification, which they prepare you well for or so I have heard.

Anyone currently in this program?

 

I am not in the program, however I know you can elect to take the test as they are a testing site.

Please note, the CISSP is not a part of the program, but they do encourage you to take the test upon completion.

Norwich has a super cool program. Make sure you have a high interest in working closely between your place of employment and school. Great program, but might not be for everyone. I have had the wonderful opportunity of speaking with their director over the phone, a truly wonderful man.

 

Why did you choose Capitol College over other programs?

What other Computer Security type programs are out there?

 

I would start here. But please do your own research.

http://tinyurl.com/d6lck

There are other quality schools with infosec classes, however I would focus above.

Think about what they are trying to teach and more importantly reflect on what you want.
More management related?
Skill based?
Audit?
Forensics?

Also consider name, time, cost and quality.

Why Capitol?
Live lectures
You can interact during class VOIP and chat
Most assignments are lab based (john the ripper, nmap, newt ...)
Reasonable Cost ~$11 K
More than qualified professors (most have PhD or are in progress and most are former military officers)
Proctored Exams


Why not Capitol?
School is not that well known in the private sector
Might not want a live class (although I recommend it)

 

I will look into more options.

I really want an NSA qualified school, most good Online Security courses are though. Live classes seem cool, but I am not sure I could live with those time contraints, maybe dowloadable lectures and a message board, etc.

You know about any other programs out there? You seem to have done your homework.

 

CISSP

After completing all my doctoral courses at Nova, I took and passed CISSP exam without further prep. The exam was relatively easy for me.

 

I did a fair amount of digging around before I picked a school.

Look into Walsh, their director is serious about making them into a first rate program. JMU has the best name, Dallas has a slight management slant, Norwich is closely tied with your current employer (good exposure plus the week long event at the end is cool!) and Boston is Boston - good name but way too expensive.

There are other quality non-CAE schools, however I would start with NSA/CAE first. I know some have raved about the CTU program (Colorado Tech U). I looked into them, it wasn’t for me.

This area of education is a lot of fun and very interesting. Depending on your current career, there are NSA scholarships where they pay for you to go to school in exchange for employment with the DOD, NSA or wherever for a year or two – did someone just say free security clearance … I think so!
Look into the scholarship program, it’s on the NSA site. It’s obviously not “free” as I stated above, however it might be a sweet ticket.

 

Re: CISSP

Ike,
I am looking at the IS / CIS program at Nova (IA concentration). Which program did you complete? I see your dissertation was on skill set measures in relation to changing technological architectures (centralized/ decentralized/web). I think some people at my current place of employment need to read your work.

As far as the NSU program - Any regrets? Advice?


I am pretty excited about it.

thank you,
Steve

 

Thanks for all the good info everyone! Gonna look into the NSA scholorship!

 

Re: Re: CISSP

Steve:

Thanks for your nice comments about my dissertation. I think that the IA specialization is a great program. As far as regrets goes, I truly don't have any (but I still would have preferred that my PhD was awarded by Harvard or MIT PhD ).

Honestly, I don't have any regrets. If I have to do it all over again, I will still choose Nova. My PhD has perhaps added more than $75,000 to my annual income. I believe that combination of solid work experience and legitimate DL credential will never fail you.

 

What degree did you get at Nova?

what other degree's do you have?

Any Computers certifications other than the CISSP?

thanks!



" CISSP

After completing all my doctoral courses at Nova, I took and passed CISSP exam without further prep. The exam was relatively easy for me.

__________________
Ike Okonkwo, PhD

Nova Southeastern University (2003) "

 

Degrees from Nova: M.S. and Ph.D.

Certifications: CISSP, CNE, MCSE, CCNP, CLP.

 

Thanks for the reply. I find it really interesting to know other peoples credentials to know what paths they chose to get where they are now.