In this paper, the reliability performance of 1.2-kV SiC power MOSFET modules is investigated through the combination of both accelerated power cycling tests and short circuit tests. The short-circuit robustness of SiC MOSFETs is investigated after stressing the dies under power cycling tests. In this way, the implications of different levels of degradation on the short circuit capability can be better understood. During the power cycling tests, some electrical parameters, either related to the package or the die, may experience variations as a consequence of the device ageing (e.g., increase in bond wire resistance and increase in gate leakage current). The effect of these parameter variations on the short-circuit withstanding capability of SiC MOSFETs is investigated for the first time in this work. The proposed method helps to understand which degradation effects under normal operation have a major implication on the short-circuit robustness, which gives a more realistic information about the root cause of the failures observed in the field.