Colorado Technical University Online Master of Science in Computer Science - Cybersecurity Engineering

This is a computer science master's with a cybersecurity engineering focus, not a management or policy degree. It's 48 credits delivered in five-week courses with a new start about every five weeks, and applicants without a computer science or computer engineering bachelor's take two foundation courses first. It fits people who want to build and test secure software and systems, and who want a very fast start-and-stop rhythm.

Colorado Technical University is a private for-profit school accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), and it delivers its online programs through CTU Online. This Master of Science in Computer Science has three concentrations: Cybersecurity Engineering, Software Engineering and a General Track. You'd pick the first one for security.

The degree is a computer science master's, so expect more engineering than governance. CTU also offers a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a Cybersecurity Engineering concentration, a 183-credit hour program at $340 per credit. That one is for first-degree students. This master's is for people who already hold a bachelor's.

The cost to plan around is 48 credits. Ask an advisor for the current per-credit graduate rate, the fees and whether the two foundation courses are billed on top of the 48, because that is where totals differ between applicants.

For reference, CTU's bachelor's tuition table lists $340 per credit for associate and bachelor's programs. Graduate rates are separate, so don't use that figure for this degree.

Who It Fits

• You have a computer science or computer engineering bachelor's and want to specialize in security engineering without changing fields.
• You come from a different background and are willing to take foundation courses CS503 and CS505 first. Those two courses are the bridge for applicants without a computer science or computer engineering degree.
• You like short bursts. Five-week courses with starts about every five weeks mean you're never far from a fresh beginning if work forces a pause.
• You want the option to change direction. The Software Engineering and General Track concentrations sit alongside the security one in the same degree.

Who Should Skip It

• You want a management or policy degree. This program is a computer science degree, so look at a cybersecurity management master's instead.
• You need strong completion numbers before you commit. Federal data shows 25% of transfer-in students earning an award within eight years and a 19% graduation rate school-wide.
• You want certification prep built in. The program isn't tied to named exams, so plan to prepare for any you want on your own.

The degree is 48 credits and ends in CS698, a 4-credit Computer Science Capstone. Because it's a computer science degree, the capstone is a computing project, not a policy paper or an exam.

The concentration name, Cybersecurity Engineering, tells you the angle. Engineering means designing systems to be secure, which is a different job from running a security operations team or managing risk. If your target title is security engineer or application security specialist, that framing helps. If it's CISO, it doesn't.

The foundation pair, CS503 and CS505, exists because the master's assumes a computing base. Those courses take time and tuition, so count them when you plan your finish date.

Everything is online. Courses run five weeks, and new starts come about every five weeks, so a term is short and the pace is quick. Each course is over in about a month, so you can see quickly whether the pace suits you.

Federal data shows 100% of graduate students at CTU Colorado Springs enrolled exclusively online, out of 31,830 students overall, so online is the school's main mode, not a side offering. It's also a very large operation, so ask how often you'd work with the same instructors.

You earn a Master of Science in Computer Science. The Cybersecurity Engineering concentration appears on the program page, and the degree is not a separately named cybersecurity master's.

Institutional accreditation comes from the HLC. Federal records show median earnings of $98,538 for graduates in this field and 13 awards a year, so the program is small inside a very large school.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• A 19% school-wide graduation rate and a 25% transfer-in completion measure are low, so persistence matters more here than at most schools.
• Foundation courses CS503 and CS505 add time and cost for applicants whose bachelor's isn't in computer science or computer engineering.
• The degree title reads as computer science, which can matter if a hiring manager scans for a cybersecurity master's.
• Five-week courses move quickly, and a missed week costs a fifth of the course.

• What is the current graduate per-credit rate, and what fees apply across the 48 credits?
• Do CS503 and CS505 count toward the 48 credits, or are they extra?
• Which courses make up the Cybersecurity Engineering concentration, and how do they differ from the Software Engineering one?
• What does the CS698 capstone involve, and can it be a security project?
• How many credits can I transfer, and does military or work experience count?
• What is the typical time to finish for working students who take one course per term?

Private for-profit university offering online programs through CTU Online.

• Best Cybersecurity Engineering Degrees Rank 8 of 8, master's
• Best Online Programs in Colorado Rank 2 of 2, master's

• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science - Cybersecurity Engineering Concentration

  B.S., Bachelor's

  Fully Online $340 per credit Score 55.2

• University of Utah

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management

  Utah $1,300 per credit Score 44.9

• Davenport University

  Master of Science in Information Assurance and Cyber Security

  Michigan $1,148 per credit Score 44.7

• University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity

  Wisconsin $850 per credit Score 45.9

• University of California, Berkeley

  Master of Information and Cybersecurity (Online)

  California $2,712 per credit Score 46.2