SC-900 study plan

Week 1chapters 1–5 · about 9 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 1. Security, compliance and identity concepts
  • 2. Microsoft Entra ID, identity types and hybrid identity
  • 3. Authentication: methods, MFA and passwords
  • 4. Access management: Conditional Access and roles
  • 5. Identity governance and protection
• 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: The shared responsibility model: what Microsoft secures and what you always keep, The Zero Trust model: principles and pillars, What Microsoft Entra Conditional Access is, and when it runs.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-900 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity · 10–15%Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra · 25–30%

Week 2chapters 6–10 · about 8 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 6. Core infrastructure security in Azure
  • 7. Security management: Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Microsoft Sentinel
  • 8. Threat protection with Microsoft Defender XDR
  • 9. Compliance management and information protection
  • 10. Data lifecycle, records, insider risk, eDiscovery and audit
• 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: Azure DDoS Protection: infrastructure protection, Network Protection and IP Protection, Foundational CSPM vs Defender CSPM in Microsoft Defender for Cloud, SIEM and SOAR explained, Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Plan 1 vs Plan 2, Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) vs Audit (Premium).
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-900 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft security solutions · 35–40%Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions · 20–25%

Week 3review 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-900 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 4 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 1. Security, compliance and identity concepts
  • 2. Microsoft Entra ID, identity types and hybrid identity
• 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: The shared responsibility model: what Microsoft secures and what you always keep, The Zero Trust model: principles and pillars.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-900 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity · 10–15%Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra · 25–30%

Week 2chapters 3–4 · about 3 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 3. Authentication: methods, MFA and passwords
  • 4. Access management: Conditional Access and roles
• 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: What Microsoft Entra Conditional Access is, and when it runs.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-900 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra · 25–30%

Week 3chapters 5–6 · about 3 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 5. Identity governance and protection
  • 6. Core infrastructure security in Azure
• 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: Azure DDoS Protection: infrastructure protection, Network Protection and IP Protection.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-900 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra · 25–30%Describe the capabilities of Microsoft security solutions · 35–40%

Week 4chapters 7–8 · about 4 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 7. Security management: Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Microsoft Sentinel
  • 8. Threat protection with Microsoft Defender XDR
• 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: Foundational CSPM vs Defender CSPM in Microsoft Defender for Cloud, SIEM and SOAR explained, Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Plan 1 vs Plan 2.
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-900 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft security solutions · 35–40%

Week 5chapters 9–10 · about 3 hours Done

• Read these chapters:
  • 9. Compliance management and information protection
  • 10. Data lifecycle, records, insider risk, eDiscovery and audit
• 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 Purview Audit (Standard) vs Audit (Premium).
• Look up any unfamiliar term in the SC-900 glossary.

Exam skill areas this week: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions · 20–25%

Week 6review 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-900 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.