DSU vs NOVA CyberSecurity/IA Masters

Discussion in 'IT and Computer-Related Degrees' started by philz1982, Oct 12, 2013.

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  1. philz1982

    philz1982 New Member

    Ok, so I have narrowed down my list of 4 to two. Granted I have to wait until next week to find out if I am accepted to DSU but if I am then I need to decide.

    Do I do the NOVA CIS with a security focus- Pro's are the blended focus on Comp sci and IA plus the Early admit to the PHD

    Or DSU with the MSIA Pros are the Course's (especially the ethical hacking specialization) and they have a Doctorate as well.

    I plan to move into a roll with my company where I help develop security for BAS and ICS (scada) for our customers. I hope to eventually teach at the university level.

    My degree is fully paid for.

    THANKS!
     
  2. instant000

    instant000 Member

    I'll tell you the same thing that I said on the other forum: NOVA.

    The one thing that I am curious about now, though, is the commenter who said that NOVA had an atrocious completion rate.

    I thought that all PhD completion rates were atrocious: (See Table 1)
    Quantitative Data by Field for the Ph.D. Completion Project - Council of Graduate Schools

    Anyway, I do know that at least one person on this forum here has recently completed at Dakota State (this past spring, I believe). I'm not sure if anyone here has recently completed at NOVA. My sample size is very small, and my memory is fading. :)
     
  3. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    There are absolutely pro's and con's for each institution, and it depends on your goal. If you want to remain as a practitioner and DSU's DSc is enough. And if you want to enter the academia or hybrid; then NSU's Ph.D is the way to go. Have you weight the pro and con for each institution?

    For example, these are my criteria:

    Dakota State University
    Ease of Admission: 0 (Admission really competitive due to low tuition)
    Doctorate (DSc): 0
    Costs: 1
    Reputation: 0
    Flexibility: 1

    Nova Southeastern University
    Ease of Admission: 1
    Doctorate (Ph.D): 1
    Costs: 0
    Reputation: 1
    Flexibility: 0 (Two residencies per semester) cannot get an oversea job.

    As the same time I would recommend you to attend the most affordable and high reputation for your Master degree. By the time you finish your Master degree, who knows more limited residency Doctorates pop up left to right. Which means more option to you. For example, how many Doctor of Business Administration via distance learning in 10 years ago? Just take a look it now, there are plenty choices.

    I am not sure about Dakota State University's program, but Nova Southeastern University's Ph.D's program allow you to use Post 9/11 GI Bill. You'll get full ride and full Basic Housing Allowance (E-5 W/ Dependents). The current rate at Nova Southeastern University is $1,950.00 per month. It is not about school anymore, but it can be one's part-time job.
     
  4. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    As someone that has been teaching IT and IS for the last 13 years, I would recommend the Nova PhD for few reasons:

    -The IT and IS market is very dynamic. Not too long time ago, there were PhDs in E-Commerce, nobody is hiring these PhDs anymore as E-commerce programs hardly exist. The same thing can happen to security, you might be doing a security Doctorate that in 10 years from now nobody will care. CIS is a safer bet, even if you do a security focus, you can change the focus if you need to do so in the future. Just to give you an idea, I did an IS doctorate in Software engineering, nobody cares anymore about software engineering nowadays and now teach security but not a big deal as the degree is in Information Systems and not software engineering.

    -The Doctor of Science designation is actually considered higher in Europe than a PhD. However, you will be working in the US (I assume) and there most employers heard about a PhD but not a DSc. In the US, most designations that are not PhDs (DBAs, EdDs, DSc, etc) seem to be watered down versions of PhDs, most US employers will consider non PhDs doctorates at a lower level. It might not be the case but in my experience most employers get turn off when I mention that I hold a DBA and not a PhD. As employers are used to the PhD designation, this degree should be easier to sell than a DSc, DBA, DM, DIT, DTech, DAnything.

    -Nova has a good reputation in CIS. Many people know this school in the IS world.
     
  5. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

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