TierOne DefenseAcademy
CISSP

CISSP study plan, week by week

Enter your exam date and the hours you have, and get a schedule that covers every CISSP domain in proportion to its official weight, then switches to mixed practice and timed mock exams before exam day. Suggested prep time for CISSP is 8–16 weeks.

No date yet, so this is a 8-week plan at 8 hours a week. Add your exam date to fit it to your calendar.

  1. Week 1

    Learn

    Focus: Security and Risk Management, Asset Security

    • Take the free 10-question diagnostic to see where you start
    • Flashcards for this week's domains, a short session every study day
    • 80 practice questions from this week's domains, reading every explanation and its cited source

  2. Week 2

    Learn

    Focus: Security Architecture and Engineering, Communication and Network Security

    • Flashcards for this week's domains, a short session every study day
    • 80 practice questions from this week's domains, reading every explanation and its cited source
    • Review your flashcard queue before starting the new domain

  3. Week 3

    Learn

    Focus: Identity and Access Management (IAM), Security Assessment and Testing

    • Flashcards for this week's domains, a short session every study day
    • 80 practice questions from this week's domains, reading every explanation and its cited source
    • Review your flashcard queue before starting the new domain

  4. Week 4

    Learn

    Focus: Security Operations, Software Development Security

    • Flashcards for this week's domains, a short session every study day
    • 80 practice questions from this week's domains, reading every explanation and its cited source
    • Review your flashcard queue before starting the new domain

  5. Week 5

    Practice

    Weighted toward: Security and Risk Management, Security Architecture and Engineering, Communication and Network Security

    • 120 mixed questions across every domain, weighted toward Security and Risk Management
    • Redo your missed questions until each one sticks
    • Check your Readiness Read and move your time to the weakest domain it names
    • Your first mock exam (speed drill): 100 questions in 90 minutes, under the timer

  6. Week 6

    Practice

    Weighted toward: Identity and Access Management (IAM), Security Operations, Security Assessment and Testing

    • 120 mixed questions across every domain, weighted toward Security and Risk Management
    • Redo your missed questions until each one sticks
    • Check your Readiness Read and move your time to the weakest domain it names

  7. Week 7

    Exam rehearsal

    Weighted toward: Security and Risk Management, Security Architecture and Engineering, Communication and Network Security

    • Mock exam (speed drill): 100 questions in 90 minutes, under the timer
    • Review every question you missed on it, then 80 more from the domains it exposed

  8. Week 8

    Exam rehearsal

    Weighted toward: Security and Risk Management, Security Architecture and Engineering, Communication and Network Security

    • Mock exam (full length): 150 questions in 180 minutes, under the timer
    • Review every question you missed on it, then 80 more from the domains it exposed
    • The day before the exam: a light flashcard review and nothing new

Question targets assume about 3 minutes a question, including the explanation and its source. Learn weeks follow the official domain order and give heavier domains more time. Mock exams and questions beyond the free 25 need Pro.

Get reminders before your exam

Add your exam date to a free account and we email you 30 days, 7 days and the day before, with your dashboard counting down in between. No credit card.

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Before week 1

A plan is only as good as its starting point. Answer ten CISSP questions, no account needed, and see which domains to spend the extra time on.