The field of cyber security is growing extremely fast; according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment is projected to grow by 28% in the next decade. As technology advances and everything becomes connected online, colleges and universities are trying to keep up with the demand and are now offering master’s programs that are specific to the online and cybersecurity field. With the high demand for skilled security workers with technical skills and relevant work experience, you may be wondering if a graduate program is worth the time and effort it takes beyond how long students spend in school earning their undergraduate degrees; in a word, the answer is yes. With a Master of Science in cyber security degree, you can reach the top of the field in cyber security and find job security, new career opportunities, and excellent wages wherever you choose to live and work. You may even be able to work remotely through an online connection and create your own business consultancy to help companies with their cybersecurity needs. Here are some details to help you with your educational questions about advanced degree programs in cyber security.
These graduate programs will help graduate students to build on their undergraduate degrees, whether they earned a degree in cyber security, information assurance, or computer science. Core courses in these programs vary, even if you make sure to choose an accredited institution, but a master of science in cyber security or similar graduate program may cover the following subjects:
- Operating Systems, Computer Systems, Network Systems, and Information Security
- Information Security Risk Management
- Information Assurance
- Data Structures
- Ethical Hacking
- Systems Analysis and Vulnerability Analysis
- Cryptographic Techniques
- How to deal with cyber-attacks, cyber-threats, and security risk
- Security Architecture
- Security Analysis
- Network Security
- Secure Network Design
- Security Policies before and after Cyber Security Threats
- Cyber Law and Cyber Crime
- Technical Skills
- Critical Thinking
- Computer Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Digital Forensics
- And More
Top 25 Best Online Masters in Cybersecurity Programs
1
Harvard University
Score: 89.05
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $59,076
- Out-of-State:$59,076
- Net Price: $19,491
- Acceptance Rate: 3%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 98%
- Total Enrollment: 30,631
- Undergrad Students: 9,368
- Graduate Students: 21,263
- Grads Salary: $96,000
- Student-to-faculty: 7:1
2
University of California-Berkeley
Score: 87.27
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $14,850
- Out-of-State:$45,627
- Net Price: $19,257
- Acceptance Rate: 11%
- Retention Rate: 96%
- Graduation Rate: 94%
- Total Enrollment: 45,307
- Undergrad Students: 32,479
- Graduate Students: 12,828
- Grads Salary: $97,000
- Student-to-faculty: 19:1
3
Georgia Institute of Technology
Score: 86.85
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $11,764
- Out-of-State:$32,876
- Net Price: $17,402
- Acceptance Rate: 17%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
- Total Enrollment: 45,296
- Undergrad Students: 18,415
- Graduate Students: 26,881
- Grads Salary: $95,000
- Student-to-faculty: 19:1
4
Johns Hopkins University
Score: 85.5
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $63,340
- Out-of-State:$63,340
- Net Price: $24,034
- Acceptance Rate: 7%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 94%
- Total Enrollment: 31,275
- Undergrad Students: 6,044
- Graduate Students: 25,231
- Grads Salary: $94,000
- Student-to-faculty: 6:1
5
University of Southern California
Score: 79.48
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $68,237
- Out-of-State:$68,237
- Net Price: $36,808
- Acceptance Rate: 12%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 92%
- Total Enrollment: 48,945
- Undergrad Students: 20,699
- Graduate Students: 28,246
- Grads Salary: $92,000
- Student-to-faculty: 9:1
6
Purdue University
Score: 79.34
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $9,992
- Out-of-State:$28,794
- Net Price: $12,576
- Acceptance Rate: 53%
- Retention Rate: 90%
- Graduation Rate: 83%
- Total Enrollment: 51,528
- Undergrad Students: 38,593
- Graduate Students: 12,935
- Grads Salary: $83,000
- Student-to-faculty: 14:1
7
Georgetown University
Score: 79.08
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $65,081
- Out-of-State:$65,081
- Net Price: $35,566
- Acceptance Rate: 12%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 96%
- Total Enrollment: 20,984
- Undergrad Students: 7,900
- Graduate Students: 13,084
- Grads Salary: $87,000
- Student-to-faculty: 11:1
8
Boston University
Score: 78.86
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $65,168
- Out-of-State:$65,168
- Net Price: $27,829
- Acceptance Rate: 14%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 89%
- Total Enrollment: 36,714
- Undergrad Students: 18,459
- Graduate Students: 18,255
- Grads Salary: $85,000
- Student-to-faculty: 11:1
9
New York University
Score: 78.82
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $60,438
- Out-of-State:$60,438
- Net Price: $29,499
- Acceptance Rate: 12%
- Retention Rate: 95%
- Graduation Rate: 87%
- Total Enrollment: 59,144
- Undergrad Students: 29,401
- Graduate Students: 29,743
- Grads Salary: $87,000
- Student-to-faculty: 8:1
10
Northeastern University
Score: 77.73
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $63,141
- Out-of-State:$63,141
- Net Price: $35,827
- Acceptance Rate: 7%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 91%
- Total Enrollment: 30,013
- Undergrad Students: 16,302
- Graduate Students: 13,711
- Grads Salary: $87,000
- Student-to-faculty: 16:1
11
Stevens Institute of Technology
Score: 77.69
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $60,952
- Out-of-State:$60,952
- Net Price: $41,689
- Acceptance Rate: 46%
- Retention Rate: 93%
- Graduation Rate: 88%
- Total Enrollment: 9,314
- Undergrad Students: 4,070
- Graduate Students: 5,244
- Grads Salary: $101,000
- Student-to-faculty: 11:1
12
Virginia Tech
Score: 77.53
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $15,478
- Out-of-State:$36,694
- Net Price: $19,301
- Acceptance Rate: 57%
- Retention Rate: 91%
- Graduation Rate: 86%
- Total Enrollment: 38,170
- Undergrad Students: 30,434
- Graduate Students: 7,736
- Grads Salary: $83,000
- Student-to-faculty: 17:1
13
Capitol Technology University
Score: 76.6
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $27,318
- Out-of-State:$27,318
- Net Price: $25,445
- Acceptance Rate: 64%
- Retention Rate: 73%
- Graduation Rate: 55%
- Total Enrollment: 823
- Undergrad Students: 301
- Graduate Students: 522
- Grads Salary: $114,000
- Student-to-faculty: 9:1
14
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Score: 76.19
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $19,022
- Out-of-State:$35,934
- Net Price: $17,762
- Acceptance Rate: 66%
- Retention Rate: 89%
- Graduation Rate: 74%
- Total Enrollment: 12,332
- Undergrad Students: 9,019
- Graduate Students: 3,313
- Grads Salary: $88,000
- Student-to-faculty: 15:1
15
University of Delaware
Score: 74.95
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $16,080
- Out-of-State:$39,720
- Net Price: $18,044
- Acceptance Rate: 74%
- Retention Rate: 91%
- Graduation Rate: 80%
- Total Enrollment: 24,039
- Undergrad Students: 19,482
- Graduate Students: 4,557
- Grads Salary: $81,000
- Student-to-faculty: 15:1
16
University of South Florida
Score: 74.15
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $6,410
- Out-of-State:$17,324
- Net Price: $11,004
- Acceptance Rate: 44%
- Retention Rate: 90%
- Graduation Rate: 74%
- Total Enrollment: 49,600
- Undergrad Students: 38,047
- Graduate Students: 11,553
- Grads Salary: $73,000
- Student-to-faculty: 22:1
17
Illinois Institute of Technology
Score: 73.67
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $51,763
- Out-of-State:$51,763
- Net Price: $28,702
- Acceptance Rate: 61%
- Retention Rate: 85%
- Graduation Rate: 75%
- Total Enrollment: 6,943
- Undergrad Students: 3,125
- Graduate Students: 3,818
- Grads Salary: $91,000
- Student-to-faculty: 13:1
18
University of Detroit Mercy
Score: 72.88
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $32,300
- Out-of-State:$32,300
- Net Price: $18,197
- Acceptance Rate: 91%
- Retention Rate: 85%
- Graduation Rate: 73%
- Total Enrollment: 5,360
- Undergrad Students: 3,156
- Graduate Students: 2,204
- Grads Salary: $84,000
- Student-to-faculty: 11:1
19
James Madison University
Score: 72.52
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $13,576
- Out-of-State:$30,790
- Net Price: $18,274
- Acceptance Rate: 78%
- Retention Rate: 89%
- Graduation Rate: 81%
- Total Enrollment: 22,224
- Undergrad Students: 20,346
- Graduate Students: 1,878
- Grads Salary: $75,000
- Student-to-faculty: 17:1
20
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $14,278
- Out-of-State:$31,678
- Net Price: $14,023
- Acceptance Rate: 81%
- Retention Rate: 86%
- Graduation Rate: 62%
- Total Enrollment: 7,080
- Undergrad Students: 5,498
- Graduate Students: 1,582
- Grads Salary: $86,000
- Student-to-faculty: 18:1
21
Auburn University
Score: 72.47
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $12,536
- Out-of-State:$33,944
- Net Price: $25,271
- Acceptance Rate: 44%
- Retention Rate: 93%
- Graduation Rate: 81%
- Total Enrollment: 31,764
- Undergrad Students: 25,379
- Graduate Students: 6,385
- Grads Salary: $76,000
- Student-to-faculty: 20:1
22
University of San Diego
Score: 72
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $56,444
- Out-of-State:$56,444
- Net Price: $36,008
- Acceptance Rate: 53%
- Retention Rate: 90%
- Graduation Rate: 83%
- Total Enrollment: 8,815
- Undergrad Students: 5,669
- Graduate Students: 3,146
- Grads Salary: $85,000
- Student-to-faculty: 13:1
23
University of Massachusetts-Lowell
Score: 71.87
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $16,570
- Out-of-State:$35,396
- Net Price: $17,240
- Acceptance Rate: 86%
- Retention Rate: 84%
- Graduation Rate: 71%
- Total Enrollment: 17,153
- Undergrad Students: 12,389
- Graduate Students: 4,764
- Grads Salary: $82,000
- Student-to-faculty: 17:1
24
Florida International University
Score: 71.54
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $6,565
- Out-of-State:$18,963
- Net Price: $9,881
- Acceptance Rate: 64%
- Retention Rate: 91%
- Graduation Rate: 69%
- Total Enrollment: 55,609
- Undergrad Students: 45,688
- Graduate Students: 9,921
- Grads Salary: $71,000
- Student-to-faculty: 24:1
25
University of Michigan-Dearborn
Score: 70.84
- Undergraduate Tuition
- In-State: $14,944
- Out-of-State:$31,360
- Net Price: $12,444
- Acceptance Rate: 54%
- Retention Rate: 82%
- Graduation Rate: 56%
- Total Enrollment: 8,223
- Undergrad Students: 6,116
- Graduate Students: 2,107
- Grads Salary: $81,000
- Student-to-faculty: 16:1
