SC-300 study plan

Week 1chapters 1–4 · about 10 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 1. The Microsoft Entra tenant, roles and administrative units
  • 2. Users, groups, devices and licences
  • 3. External identities and multitenant organisations
  • 4. Hybrid identity: Connect Sync, Cloud Sync and sign-in options
• After each chapter, cover its key takeaways and explain each one out loud. Re-read any you can’t.
• Free study notes for this week: Cross-tenant access settings: inbound, outbound and trust, Microsoft Entra Connect Sync vs Cloud Sync, and choosing PHS, PTA or federation.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-300 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Implement and manage user identities · 20–25%

Week 2chapters 5–8 · about 8 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 5. Authentication methods, MFA, SSPR and passwords
  • 6. Conditional Access
  • 7. ID Protection and Global Secure Access
  • 8. Workload identities and enterprise applications
• After each chapter, cover its key takeaways and explain each one out loud. Re-read any you can’t.
• Free study notes for this week: Security defaults vs per-user MFA vs Conditional Access, Temporary Access Pass: settings, roles and how it works, Continuous access evaluation (CAE) explained, User risk vs sign-in risk in Microsoft Entra ID Protection, System-assigned vs user-assigned managed identities, Application objects vs service principals in Microsoft Entra ID.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-300 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Implement authentication and access management · 25–30%Plan and implement workload identities · 20–25%

Week 3chapters 9–12 · about 10 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 9. App registrations and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
  • 10. Entitlement management
  • 11. Access reviews and Privileged Identity Management
  • 12. Monitoring identity: logs, workbooks and Identity Secure Score
• After each chapter, cover its key takeaways and explain each one out loud. Re-read any you can’t.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-300 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Plan and implement workload identities · 20–25%Plan and automate identity governance · 20–25%

Week 4review Done

• Go back through every chapter’s key takeaways. Anything you can’t explain without looking, re-read that section.
• Re-read the common-trap callouts: they mark the answers that look right but aren’t.
• Check the exam coverage map against Microsoft’s own outline, in case it has changed since the book was checked.
• Take Microsoft’s free practice assessment, if your exam has one, from the official SC-300 study guide page. Revisit the chapters behind any weak area.
• Try the exam sandbox to get used to the exam’s screens and question formats.
• Get the free exam-day checklist and work through it a few days before your exam.

Week 1chapters 1–2 · about 5 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 1. The Microsoft Entra tenant, roles and administrative units
  • 2. Users, groups, devices and licences
• After each chapter, cover its key takeaways and explain each one out loud. Re-read any you can’t.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-300 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Implement and manage user identities · 20–25%

Week 2chapter 3 · about 3 hours Done

• Read chapter:
  • 3. External identities and multitenant organisations
• After each chapter, cover its key takeaways and explain each one out loud. Re-read any you can’t.
• Free study notes for this week: Cross-tenant access settings: inbound, outbound and trust.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-300 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Implement and manage user identities · 20–25%

Week 3chapter 4 · about 3 hours Done

• Read chapter:
  • 4. Hybrid identity: Connect Sync, Cloud Sync and sign-in options
• After each chapter, cover its key takeaways and explain each one out loud. Re-read any you can’t.
• Free study notes for this week: Microsoft Entra Connect Sync vs Cloud Sync, and choosing PHS, PTA or federation.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-300 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Implement and manage user identities · 20–25%

Week 4chapters 5–6 · about 5 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 5. Authentication methods, MFA, SSPR and passwords
  • 6. Conditional Access
• After each chapter, cover its key takeaways and explain each one out loud. Re-read any you can’t.
• Free study notes for this week: Security defaults vs per-user MFA vs Conditional Access, Temporary Access Pass: settings, roles and how it works, Continuous access evaluation (CAE) explained.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-300 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Implement authentication and access management · 25–30%

Week 5chapters 7–8 · about 3 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 7. ID Protection and Global Secure Access
  • 8. Workload identities and enterprise applications
• After each chapter, cover its key takeaways and explain each one out loud. Re-read any you can’t.
• Free study notes for this week: User risk vs sign-in risk in Microsoft Entra ID Protection, System-assigned vs user-assigned managed identities, Application objects vs service principals in Microsoft Entra ID.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-300 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Implement authentication and access management · 25–30%Plan and implement workload identities · 20–25%

Week 6chapters 9–10 · about 5 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 9. App registrations and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
  • 10. Entitlement management
• After each chapter, cover its key takeaways and explain each one out loud. Re-read any you can’t.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-300 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Plan and implement workload identities · 20–25%Plan and automate identity governance · 20–25%

Week 7chapters 11–12 · about 5 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 11. Access reviews and Privileged Identity Management
  • 12. Monitoring identity: logs, workbooks and Identity Secure Score
• After each chapter, cover its key takeaways and explain each one out loud. Re-read any you can’t.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-300 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Plan and automate identity governance · 20–25%

Week 8review Done

• Go back through every chapter’s key takeaways. Anything you can’t explain without looking, re-read that section.
• Re-read the common-trap callouts: they mark the answers that look right but aren’t.
• Check the exam coverage map against Microsoft’s own outline, in case it has changed since the book was checked.
• Take Microsoft’s free practice assessment, if your exam has one, from the official SC-300 study guide page. Revisit the chapters behind any weak area.
• Try the exam sandbox to get used to the exam’s screens and question formats.
• Get the free exam-day checklist and work through it a few days before your exam.