I Earned a Masters Degree in Six Months

And, you can, too!

Starting October 2018 and working through March 2019, I completed my Master of Science in Management and Leadership. Just six months — and I took two weeks off during Christmas. The degree plan comprised 10 courses, and the deliverables included 15 papers (a total of 281 pages), four exams, and seven “other” pieces such as recorded presentations, personality and habit profiles, and a communication portfolio.

How did I do this? Not having a time-turner, I relied on a handful of strategies. These are simple, achievable, and widely available.

1. Choose a school that fits. A school that requires your presence every Tuesday and alternating Saturdays for 18 months isn’t going to cut it. You have to choose a school that allows you to move at your own pace, without pre-defined expectations for your time. I chose Western Governors University. Freedom of scheduling is essential — plus WGU is also competency-based, which means you can put your existing knowledge to good use. To complete your degree in six months, choose a school that will let you.

2. Stay in your wheelhouse. Whenever I’ve considered a graduate degree, I assumed it would be an MBA. When I finally got around to taking the pursuit seriously, I discovered the array of viable options has expanded since I completed my undergrad degree in 1987 (BA, Vanderbilt). The MSML (Master of Science in Management and Leadership) and its ilk started to gain ground in 2010 (McCormack, 2010). For me, the MSML is ideal. Its coverage of people skills, strategy, business acumen, data-driven decision making, change management, and process improvement fit my experience and my goals. Bottom line — it’s in my wheelhouse. Couple this with WGU’s competency-based program, and I was off & running. To complete it in six months, choose a degree that’s in your wheelhouse.

3. Examine your calendar. Choose your time wisely. Could be spring/summer, could be fall/winter — whatever works best for you. I chose fall/winter because I wouldn’t be committed to a soccer team, training for a marathon, or on staff at summer camp. That’s not to say that you can’t take breaks — I took two weeks off, from December 19th to year’s end. But you’ve got to be intentional about planning. To complete a degree in six months, take a hard look at your calendar and choose a reasonable time-frame.

4. Get support. Unless you’re a hermit with extreme self-motivation, you need a support network. You need people cheering you on, encouraging you, sending you candy corn (whatever works, right?). I found it especially important to tell family and friends what I was up to, so that when I declined an activity “to get my homework done” they’d understand. I sometimes turned down girls nights, babysitting the grandkids, going to sporting events — but I was able to fit in some activities. You’re aiming for a balance here. To complete a degree in six months, enlist the support of family and friends — and do say “no” sometimes.

5. Be accountable. Your support network serves another purpose — holding you accountable. Pinpoint one or two of your supporters to hold your feet to the fire. Your significant other isn’t a good option — you need this person to be your biggest cheerleader. WGU helps out here with an automated email program to keep your accounta-buddies (I think I just coined that term…) informed of your progress. My daughter and brother filled this role for me. To complete a degree in six months, submit to being held accountable.

6. Tell your boss. It’s also vital to tell your boss. Not only can they be another source of support and accountability, there will come a time when you just have to have a couple hours to finish an assignment or take an exam during the workday. Unless your company is exceptionally short-sighted, they will see the value in your attaining this degree, and they’ll support it. (If they don’t — maybe you’re in the wrong job?) Also — check with your HR department about tuition reimbursement. To complete a degree in six months, be open with your employer.

7. Do the work. At the end of the day, you have to do the work. There is no getting around it. Read the material, write the papers, take the tests, complete the projects. Roll up your sleeves and get it done. Here, I suggest two incentives: (1) a focus on how good you will feel when you have the accomplishment — basically an “eyes on the prize” philosophy and (2) allow yourself to experience the learning. After I got over the initial hump of remembering how to “do school”, I reveled in all I was learning — everything from management theories to how to use various online learning platforms. And, I knew that in the end, I would be proud, and that the accomplishment itself would be affirming. To complete a degree in six months, do the work, experience the learning— and hold on to the vision of your glowing success.

8. Celebrate. Notice and celebrate the joys along the journey. After you turn in an assignment, take an evening, or a day, off to recuperate and reflect. Take the time to appreciate what you are accomplishing along the way. When you pass a course, give yourself a little gift — a bit of school swag, another day off, a bag of candy corn, a splurge-y coffee drink. Whatever feels gifty to you, treat yourself. You reached a milestone and deserve a reward. When you’ve completed the whole thing, that’s the time to celebrate big. Throw yourself a party! Or, get that pair of Manolo Blahnik’s you’ve had your eye on. I mean, you’ll need them when you walk across the stage and get your diploma, right? To complete a degree in six months, celebrate!

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