Posted on Mar 9, 2022
After finishing my bachelor's degree, is it manageable to continue onto a master's program while on active duty?
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I'm about to finish my bachelor's from GCU, and I'm wondering if it's manageable to continue onto a master's program while on active duty. I know it's beneficial to continue education, but is it doable while on active duty? I'm looking into getting my Masters of Science of Leadership
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As with our Bachelor's, not all Master's programs are created equal. It is entirely possible to do a Master's while AD. But you will need to check out the program requirements for timelines, research, projects, etc. If your prospective Master's program is going to require a thesis based on 6 months of original research, that is going to be VERY hard to accomplish. If it requires a 50 page meta-analysis of existing research, that is probably doable.
Master's classes, in my experiencence, are little different from Bachelor's classes, at least regarding timelines. Each class takes more work, but you take less of them. If you take it slow and steady, in a program that is flexible and works with you, you should be able to complete a Master's in 4 years, while still doing full time Soldier stuff. That would be one course each trimester. Which is entirely doable.
Of course, the expectations for the coursework are higher (longer papers, more research, and higher standards)... But I assume that is not what you were asking.
Master's classes, in my experiencence, are little different from Bachelor's classes, at least regarding timelines. Each class takes more work, but you take less of them. If you take it slow and steady, in a program that is flexible and works with you, you should be able to complete a Master's in 4 years, while still doing full time Soldier stuff. That would be one course each trimester. Which is entirely doable.
Of course, the expectations for the coursework are higher (longer papers, more research, and higher standards)... But I assume that is not what you were asking.
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SSG (Join to see)
Thank you for your input SFC. That’s pretty much what I keep hearing and I’ve done all my classes for my bachelors while on recruiting which is a blessing. But my time on recruiting is about done and I know the line is harder with time management.
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SFC Casey O'Mally
SSG (Join to see) It is.... And it isn't. That is why I was talking about flexibility.
My experience is that you have 9-5 jobs which are very predictable, and you have ?-? Jobs which are very unpredictable. But both work close to the same number of hours (when not deployed). It's just that one is 40/40/40/40/40 hours a week and the other is 60/50/10/40/20/80/20 hours a week. The latter certainly takes more planning than the former. But it is just as workable if you work it. (The key is capitalizing on the short weeks and short days, rather than relaxing. Which is sometimes hard, especially after a very long week.)
My experience is that you have 9-5 jobs which are very predictable, and you have ?-? Jobs which are very unpredictable. But both work close to the same number of hours (when not deployed). It's just that one is 40/40/40/40/40 hours a week and the other is 60/50/10/40/20/80/20 hours a week. The latter certainly takes more planning than the former. But it is just as workable if you work it. (The key is capitalizing on the short weeks and short days, rather than relaxing. Which is sometimes hard, especially after a very long week.)
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Suspended Profile
I think in general yes it is possible. I recently started a MS and I have a full time job that requires me to work four 12 hour shifts and I'm in the NG in a position that requires more than the advertised "one weekend a month." It's a lot but manageable. My program has one class at a time for eight weeks. Which is still full time but I don't have to juggle multiple professors competing requirements.
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I came in with a Bachelor's but yes - I have gotten two Masters degrees in the last 10 years. I used TA for the first one (and toward the end I used GI Bill with TA as I couldn't afford to pay the half TA didn't cover) and then I used the rest of my GI Bill for another Masters. I got that one in 2019. It was an accelerated 16 month program. Both were online.
I did have to delay the first one a couple times but I still got it done. It's doable as long as you put the effort and you do time management.
I did have to delay the first one a couple times but I still got it done. It's doable as long as you put the effort and you do time management.
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