How to Obtain Your Microsoft 365 Administration Certification

Microsoft recently announced an update to the Microsoft 365 administration certification. Let’s begin with the fact that Microsoft has renamed the certification from “Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert” to “Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert”. They dropped enterprise from the name.

To obtain the previous Microsoft 365 certification, you had to pass both the MS-100 and the MS-101 exams. The new exam that has replaced the MS-100 and MS-101 is called the Microsoft 365 Administrator, MS-102 exam, which you need to pass to obtain the new Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert.

However, before you study and take the MS-102 exam, you need to pass one of the prerequisite Microsoft exams. Below is a list of these prerequisite exams that includes a link to their certification details, skills measured, options for preparing for each exam, and an option to schedule the exam:

• MD-102 = Microsoft 365 Certified: Endpoint Administrator Associate
• MS-700 = Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate
• SC-300 = Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate
• SC-400 = Microsoft Certified: Information Protection and Compliance Administrator Associate 

After passing one of the prerequisite exams, you will next prepare for the MS-102 exam. The MS-102 exam topics are broken into the following four primary skill sets:

• Deploy and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant (25-30%)
• Implement and manage identity and access in Microsoft Entra ID (25-30%)
• Manage security and threats by using Microsoft 365 Defender XDR (25-30%)
• Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview (15-20%)

There are two training options available to help prepare for all exams discussed in this article that also have more information about each of them found on their respective websites:

• Self-paced
• Instructor-led

Specific to the MS-102 exam, you can expect the following two learning options:

• Self-paced (nine learning paths that discuss and explore the exam topics)
• Instructor-led (MS-102T00 five-day on-site, online, or hybrid)

For additional information about the MS-102 exam including certification details, skills measured, options for preparing for each exam, and an option to schedule the exam, you can visit this Microsoft Learn website.

I am a freelance author for Pluralsight, which is an online learning and workforce growth platform where I create online learning courses to help you learn about Microsoft technology and to help you prepare for Microsoft exams. You can sign up for a free 10-day trial to Pluralsight by using this link to the Pluralsight Plans website.

If you are interested in viewing any or all of my courses, you can do so by visiting this link: Brian’s Pluralsight Courses.

I have completed all courses necessary to help you prepare for the MS-102 exam:

• Deploying and Managing a Microsoft 365 Tenant
• Implementing and Managing Identity and Access in Microsoft Entra ID
• Managing Security and Threats by Using Microsoft 365 Defender XDR
• Managing Compliance by Using Microsoft Purview

All of the MS-102 courses can be accessed by clicking this link: MS-102 Exam Prep. You’ll see the completed courses are accessible by clicking the link I just mentioned, providing you the opportunity to start studying. I wish you well when preparing for and taking this exam, and you should feel very honored after you pass it and be sure to share your success on LinkedIn and X.