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MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CYBERSECURITY

Fast facts

Fact 1

Credit Hours

36

Fact 2

Per Credit

$760

Fact 3

Duration

1-2 yrs

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Program Benefits

  • CISSP and CISM Certification Preparation
  • 2 Certificate Offerings to Tailor Your Studies
  • Curriculum Designed by Cybersecurity Experts 
  • Does Not Require Bachelor’s in Computer Science or Technology
FAQs
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Lead the Fight Against Cyberattacks.

Learn to protect important assets with a powerful combination of technology expertise and business leadership skills

  • 100% online
  • Complete your degree in 1-2 years
  • Prepare for CISSP + CISM certifications
  • Does not require a bachelor’s in computer science or technology
  • Two online graduate certificate opportunities in cybersecurity management and technology

Nearly every day brings news of a cybersecurity attack.

Global cybersecurity spending grew 10 percent to $60 billion in 20211, driven by data breaches, app testing, and an urgent need to protect vital data. Previously unaware of their vulnerabilities, large and small businesses alike now grasp how quickly they need to act to protect important assets.

In addition, the cybersecurity industry has a pressing demand for skilled professionals. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, there are now at least 3.5 million cybersecurity job openings2.

Through Saint Mary’s Master of Science in Cybersecurity, you’ll build on your technology expertise with hands-on coursework in network security, risk management, and more, and you’ll cultivate the leadership skills to land a top-paying position and prevent the next cyberattack. With the online graduate certificates in Cybersecurity Management and Cybersecurity Technology, you'll have the opportunity to specialize your training at another level.

We won’t just make you an expert. We’ll make you a leader.

Program Highlights

  • Acquire Expert Insights. In partnership with Saint Mary's, real-world cybersecurity experts designed this program from the ground up. Course by course, these professionals, hiring managers, information security executives and government officials crafted this curriculum to give you the experience, knowledge and skills to stand out to professionals like them.
  • Lead the Field. Our Masters in Cybersecurity online will add business communication, negotiation and applied ethics to your skillset. With these strengths, which are crucial to advancing your career, you'll graduate ready to manage fellow cyber-experts, explain your ideas to non-cyber leaders and lead the way in cybersecurity.
  • Prepare for CISSP and CISM. Saint Mary's drew inspiration from the CISSP and CISM certifications while designing this program. You'll earn not only a master's degree in cybersecurity, but graduate with the knowledge needed to immediately excel at these exams.
  • Apply Real-World Skills. Many cybersecurity programs emphasize theory over application. Ours goes in-depth on issues faced by modern, real-world companies, gives you application-based coursework, and prepares you with coursework on risk management, network security, intrusion detection and more. Go hands-on with technology.
  • Save Time & Money. Saint Mary's Masters in Cybersecurity has a total estimated cost of $26,460 (just $735 per credit) and a 100% online curriculum that requires no campus visits or residency. This is a savings of up to $14,000 compared to other cybersecurity programs.
  • Grow with Saint Mary's. You'll benefit from the credentials, prestige and welcoming community of Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. Our private, non-profit, Lasallian Catholic University has more than 100 years of history as an educational institution.
  • ComptiaAcademic Partner: Saint Mary's University of Minnesota is now an Official CompTIA Authorized Academic Partner.

Program Outcomes

  • Demonstrate the business management skills relevant to administering information security programs in organizations.
  • Apply leadership skills in information security planning.
  • Demonstrate proficiency in communicating technical information.
  • Balance business needs and overall information security architecture planning.
  • Evaluate risk management frameworks, methods and strategies.
  • Plan for cyber-attacks on networks and computer systems.
  • Protect enterprise-wide information assets.

Graduate Certificate Options to Deepen Your Knowledge

Saint Mary's offers graduate certificate programs that students may stack with their degrees to accelerate their education and career advancement. Saint Mary's Accelerators include the following focus areas:

Comprehensive Leadership – From Ethics to Operations

“Employers simply aren’t looking for recruits who can maintain firewalls and mitigate risk. They want well-rounded professionals who can apply their security expertise across the business in order to yield bottom-line results.” – Todd Thibodeaux, “5 Soft Skills Young Cybersecurity Professionals Need to Get Ahead”4

Our online Master of Science in Cybersecurity was expertly designed to give you a broad understanding of this complex field.

Beyond technology fundamentals, you’ll learn a range of skills that are crucial to advancing your career. That includes communication, negotiation, and interrelation, so you can promote your initiatives to your superiors, manage teams of specialists, and stand out to high-level employers.

Additionally, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota offers two online graduate certificates to supplement the training you'll receive in the MS in Cybersecurity. In the online graduate certificate in Cybersecurity Technology, you'll engage with topics that cover intrusion detection, incident response, and network security to develop innovative protection strategies. Separately, in the online graduate certificate in Cybersecurity Management, you'll develop a set of leadership skills that will prepare you to apply the tenets of effective security policy, risk management, and security architecture.

The master’s program is easily broken down into three main components that are designed to work together to prepare graduates to lead cybersecurity programs within businesses. 

-Don Heier, Ph.D., Program Director M.S.. Cybersecurity

To learn more about the program and how it helps prepare you to advance in cybersecurity check out this interview with Don Heier and Dean Michelle Wieser.

Computer Networking Requirement

Students who have not taken a foundational computer networking course and/or lack previous experience in the networking technology field may be required to take CYBR 590 Computer Networking (3 cr.) as part of their program. 

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE (3 credits per course)
CYBR600Foundations of Cybersecurity (required first course)
CYBR606Cloud Architecture and Application Security
CYBR610Network Security and Intrusion Detection
CYBR615Cybersecurity Change Management
CYBR620Operational Security Policy
CYBR625Risk Management
CYBR630Communication and Ethics for Cybersecurity Professionals
CYBR635Data Privacy
CYBR645Incident Response and Investigation
CYBR650Ethical Hacking and Defense
CYBR690Security Operations and Leadership (Capstone course)
DIGA625Python Programming for Technology Applications

Career Outlook – Meet the Demand

  • Companies spent more than $86 billion on cybersecurity in 20175

  • According to Cybersecurity Ventures, by 2021, there will be at least 3.5 million cybersecurity job openings6

  • 40,000 new cybersecurity jobs go unfilled every year7

  • Postings for cybersecurity jobs grew 91% between 2010 and 2014, compared to 28% growth for general IT job postings8

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary in 2018 for top-tier cybersecurity positions was $104,358.

Employers as varied as Booz Allen Hamilton, AT&T, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, Boeing and Lockheed Martin are all on the lookout for cybersecurity leaders. You’ll graduate from Saint Mary’s with the business leadership skills and technology fundamentals you need to stand out to these high-level employers.

Have a look at cybersecurity career paths and their 2016 median incomes, according to U.S. News & World Report and PayScale.com

TITLEMEDIAN INCOME

Computer Network Architect

$109,0209
Information Security Analyst$98,35010
Information Security Engineer$109,34011
Information Security Officer$91,56212
Information Security Specialist$75,34713
Information Systems Manager$142,53014

Let’s Get Started.

Get the tech fundamentals and leadership skills you need to succeed with a Master of Science in Cybersecurity. To learn more, contact an enrollment counselor at 877-308-9954 or request more information and we’ll reach out to you.

Resources:

1Lomas, Natasha (2017, August 16). Global cybersecurity spending to grow 7% to $86.4BN in 2017, says Gartner. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/16/global-cybersecurity-sending-to-grow-7-to-86-4bn-in-2017-says-gartner/.
2Morgan, Steve (2017). Cybersecurity Jobs Report, 2017 Edition, A Special Report from the Editors at Cybersecurity Ventures. Retrieved from https://www.herjavecgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/HG-and-CV-The-Cybersecurity-Jobs-Report-2017.pdf.
3Kauflin, Jeff (2017, March 16). The Fast-Growing Job With A Huge Skills Gap: Cyber Security, Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2017/03/16/the-fast-growing-job-with-a-huge-skills-gap-cyber-security/#174302545163.
4Thibodeaux, Todd (2016, June 14). 5 Soft Skills Young Cybersecurity Professionals Need to Get Ahead. Retrieved from https://www.darkreading.com/cloud/5-soft-skills-young-cybersecurity-professionals-need-to-get-ahead/a/d-id/1325896?.
5Ackerman, Bob (2018, February 9). The Road for Cybersecurity in 2018.
6Morgan, Steve (2017). Cybersecurity Jobs Report, 2017 Edition, A Special Report from the Editors at Cybersecurity Ventures. Retrieved from https://www.herjavecgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/HG-and-CV-The-Cybersecurity-Jobs-Report-2017.pdf.
7Kauflin, Jeff (2017, March 16). The Fast-Growing Job With A Huge Skills Gap: Cyber Security, Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2017/03/16/the-fast-growing-job-with-a-huge-skills-gap-cyber-security/#174302545163.
8Yasin, Rutrell (2016, March 14). 5 Hot Security Job Skills. Retrieved from https://www.darkreading.com/careers-and-people/5-hot-security-job-skills-/d/d-id/1324678.
9Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Computer Network Architects. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-network-architects.htm.
10Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Information Security Analysts. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/information-security-analysts.htm.
11Payscale, Average Senior Information Security Engineer Salary. Retrieved from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Senior_Information_Security_Engineer/Salary.
12Payscale, Average Information Security Officer Salary. Retrieved from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Information_Security_Officer/Salary.
13Payscale, Average Information Security Specialist Salary. Retrieved from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Information_Security_Specialist/Salary.
14Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Computer and Information Systems Managers. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/computer-and-information-systems-managers.htm.