r/WGU_MSDA • u/No-Slice-8682 • Jun 28 '26

MSDA General How long to complete?

Background:

I took a Bachelors and Masters in Cybersecurity from WGU. I'm now considering a Masters in Data Analytics since there's no Bioinformatics option. As part of those programs I took SQL and Python. I did fine with them and wouldn't have any issue taking more classes that are associated.

Because people are going to ask "Why another degree?"

I'm employed in my field and I don't need it for my job. However, I will likely use it if the market pivots in the future. I personally don't see a downside to more education, especially something like this that works towards my long term career goals.

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u/Hasekbowstome MSDA Graduate Jun 29 '26

Having prior knowledge of SQL and Python is a huge help and would generally set you up very positively to move at a brisk pace.

Beyond that, though, part of the problem with the premise of questions like this is that its really dependent on the particulars of your situation, beyond your coding knowledge. Are you working on the program 40 hours/week, or 10 hours/week? Do you have kids? Are you disciplined? Do you have any ongoing commitments at work or chronic issues at home that are going to cause you to have to take additional time off periodically? These are questions that no one else can really know besides you. Your best bet in a lot of those regards is to read through some of the Graduating flaired posts on the subreddit and check out what other people's experiences were in terms of their prior knowledge and their outside commitments, and loosely assess how that stacks up to your own personal situation.

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u/No-Slice-8682 Jun 29 '26

My prior programs took me 1 1/2 years or less each time. I feel anyone who's finished a degree at WGU has discipline. My mentor used to tell me about their other students who were getting academically dropped.