Grand Canyon University Online Master of Science in Cybersecurity

Grand Canyon's M.S. in Cybersecurity makes sense if you want a graduate degree that ends in a portfolio piece, you're comfortable with a for-profit university, and you want eight-week classes at a flat per-credit price. Ask for the full course list before you enroll.

Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a private for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona, with a very large online division. Federal data shows 98% of its graduate students study exclusively online.

The Master of Science in Cybersecurity is 34 credits, fully online, and taught in eight-week terms. What defines it is the capstone: you develop a full cybersecurity program, working through the ethical and legal issues, and the result goes into a professional portfolio.

GCU sells a second cybersecurity master's, Cybersecurity Management, with the same credit count and price. The sections below explain which one points where.

GCU charges $610 per credit for this degree. At 34 credits, the published total is $20,740, with no separate in-state price.

Price won't separate this degree from GCU's Cybersecurity Management master's, which costs the same, so choose on content. Transfer is where you can save: up to 12 credits or one-third of the program, whichever is less, may come in.

Get fees in writing, since the program page lists tuition alone.

34 credits at $610 a credit comes to $20,740 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• You want something concrete to show in interviews. The capstone has you build a full cybersecurity program, and GCU describes it as usable in a professional portfolio.
• You work and need short terms. Eight-week classes mean you can take one course at a time and still finish in a predictable stretch.
• You don't want to sit the GRE. The program lists a combined GRE score of 300, with a waiver available if you meet GCU's conditions.
• You may have credits from another graduate program. GCU accepts up to 12 credits or one-third of the program, whichever is less.

Who Should Skip It

• You want a public university or a nonprofit. GCU is a private for-profit school, which some employers and some students weigh differently.
• You want to compare courses before you apply. Request the full curriculum from admissions, since the capstone is the one piece GCU describes in detail.
• You want a management emphasis. GCU's separate Cybersecurity Management master's is the closer match for that.

The capstone is the center of this degree. You develop a full cybersecurity program, working through ethical and legal issues along the way. A full program covers risk, controls, staffing, response and the legal side, so the work is part policy and planning and part technical design.

Request the complete course list from admissions and look for hands-on labs, the tools students use, and the balance of writing versus building. Those answers tell you how technical the middle of the degree is.

This is the clearest point of difference from GCU's Cybersecurity Management master's. That one ends with a cybersecurity capstone course and carries a leadership label. This degree ends with a build-it project, so it suits you better if you want to design a program yourself and show it to employers.

Standout Features

• Capstone builds a full cybersecurity program usable in a professional portfolio

Terms run eight weeks. Federal data shows 98% of GCU's graduate students study exclusively online, and that scale is the real story: this is a school whose systems and advising were built around remote students.

The university-wide federal numbers are a 43% graduation rate and a 51% eight-year completion rate for transfer-in students. They don't isolate this degree, but they are worth weighing as you plan your own schedule.

Confirm with admissions whether classes meet live or run on your own time.

You graduate with a Master of Science in Cybersecurity from GCU. If you want a certification as well, plan the exam separately and ask which courses overlap with its topics.

Federal data puts median earnings for GCU graduates in this field at $93,798. That figure covers the school's graduates in the field as a whole, so treat it as context and not a promise for your own salary.

GCU awarded 135 degrees in this field in the most recent federal count, which shows the school runs a large operation. Ask about faculty access and mentoring for the capstone.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• Ask for the full course list, because the technical depth is hard to judge from the capstone alone.
• GCU is a for-profit university with a 43% graduation rate across the school in federal data.
• Transfer tops out at 12 credits or a third of the program, whichever is smaller.
• Check whether sessions are live or self-paced before you enroll.

• Can I see the full course list and the learning outcomes for each course?
• Which hands-on labs or virtual environments are part of the degree?
• How is the capstone supervised, and what does a finished cybersecurity program usually look like?
• How does this degree differ from the Cybersecurity Management master's in the courses I'd take?
• What are the conditions for the GRE waiver, and do they apply to me?
• Is there a total cost estimate in writing that includes every fee?

Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona, with large online programs.

• Best Online Programs in Arizona Rank 3 of 8, master's

• Bachelor of Science in Information Technology with an Emphasis in Cybersecurity

  B.S., Bachelor's

  Fully Online $490 per credit Score 45.8

• Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $610 per credit Score 53.2

• West Virginia University

  Master of Science in Business Cybersecurity Management

  West Virginia $1,063 per credit Score 53.2

• Thomas College

  MS Cybersecurity

  Maine $735 per credit Score 53.1

• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide

  Master of Science in Aviation Cybersecurity

  Florida $902 per credit Score 53.5

• Auburn University

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity Engineering

  Alabama $949 per credit Score 53.0