Possibly pursuing part-time masters degree. Seeking advice on options and GRE's.

Graduate School
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Hello everyone,
I’m graduating in May 2018 with a BS in Computer Science and Mathematics. I’m fortunate in that I already have a job offer for when I graduate, located in Maryland. The employer will pay for grad classes after hours, as long as you can justify them. I would most likely only be able to take one class at a time for at least my first three years as an employee.

I’m interested in crypto (specifically cryptanalysis) and computer security (especially the more offensive side: hacking, reverse engineering, etc). I know I want to get a Master’s, but I’m not sure exactly which field. Math, applied math, cyber security, and computer science all appeal to me. I don’t know which of these would be best for my areas of interest, and was wondering if you guys had any ideas on the pros/cons of each.

I have been looking into schools. Johns Hopkins, UMBC, and a couple others are appealing to me, and I’m exploring other options as well (including online classes). I don’t exactly know how taking one class at a time affects admissions and whether some schools are better for this, particularly since most of the classes would need to be night classes. Any advice on this would be appreciated.

My last question has to do with GREs. If I take one class at a time, I would presumably have to apply at some point to become a degree seeking student. Would I need to submit GRE scores in that case? If so, should I take them before I graduate? I would assume I’d need both the GRE and the GRE Math Subject Test.

Thank you so much for your time and advice!

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The best program depends a lot on what you want to do, not sure what advice to give there. Cyber-security sounds like a good fit but you can probably tailor any of those programs to fit your needs so long as the university offers the classes.

You will definitely need GREs for the actual program, and your employer may require that you be in a degree program before they will pay for classes - degree programs and individual classes are often funded differently depending on the company.

I would recommend you take the GRE before graduating but it is not crucial - these programs are not highly selective in most cases. No idea if you need the Math GRE specifically, you would need to check with the programs.

I also work for a MD employer and got my masters part time at JHU. Feel free to message me for specific questions, we may be talking about the same company.

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@cosmicfish Thank you! I’ll pm you.

For others reading, I do want to clarify that my employer does not require you to be in a degree program. In fact, they generally don’t actually pay for degrees, rather individual classes, which can lead to degrees. They do have a program where you can go to school part time and work part time, with them also paying your tuition, but it is highly competitive, only funds a limited number of semesters, and I will be ineligible for my first three years of employment.