Marymount University Online Cybersecurity, D.Sc.

This is a doctorate for people who already work in cybersecurity and want to research, teach or lead at the top of the field. It is a 72-credit dissertation degree at $1,388 per credit, with a shorter 36-credit route for applicants who already hold a master's.

The price is the main hurdle, at $99,936 for the full path. If you are not sure you want a dissertation, a master's is the safer first step.

Marymount University is a private Catholic university in Arlington, Virginia. The Doctor of Science in Cybersecurity sits in its School of Technology and Innovation, and the program is listed as available online and in person. The university is designated a National Center of Academic Excellence for Cyber Defense Education by the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security.

The credit count depends on where you start: 72 credits for applicants with a bachelor's degree, and 36 for applicants with a master's. The program ends in a dissertation and an oral defense.

Federal data shows 46% of Marymount's graduate students study exclusively online, so the school serves a mix of online and campus learners.

The cyber defense designation from the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security is the program's headline credential.

Be realistic about what a doctorate adds. It opens doors to research, academic and executive-advisory roles, while many senior security jobs weigh experience and certifications heavily. Consider what you want the title to do for you before spending close to six figures.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Experienced practitioners with a master's degree who want the 36-credit route and a research credential for senior roles, consulting or teaching.
• Professionals near Washington, D.C. who may want to use the in-person option for some interaction.
• Applicants with a statistics background. Admission asks for a B- or better in a college-level statistics course.
• People who can write: the application includes a research statement and two writing samples.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone mainly after a salary bump. A doctorate is expensive, and nothing here ties the degree to a pay figure.
• Students who want a certification-focused path. This degree is research-driven and ends in a dissertation.
• People who want a short program. Even the shorter route is 36 credits, and the dissertation adds time that depends on your research.

The school describes the doctoral work in terms of the finish line: a dissertation and an oral defense. Everything before that builds toward original research in cybersecurity.

For a sense of the technical grounding, look at the sibling master's at the same school, a 36-credit Cybersecurity M.S. whose courses include Computer Network Defense, Applications of Cryptography, Cybersecurity Risk Management and Human Factors in Cybersecurity. Applicants with a bachelor's degree take 72 credits because the extra 36 credits cover the ground a master's would.

That difference is the key decision. If you already have the master's, you skip half the credits. If you do not, you are buying both degrees' worth of study in one program.

Standout Features

• Designated a National Center of Academic Excellence for Cyber Defense Education (CAE/CDE) by the NSA and Department of Homeland Security

Tuition is $1,388 per credit. At 72 credits that comes to $99,936. The 36-credit route for applicants who already hold a master's is half the credit load, so tuition is lower too, and Marymount can give you the exact figure.

Ask about employer tuition benefits, since many doctoral students in technical fields are working and may qualify for reimbursement, and ask whether any assistantships or scholarships exist for online students.

72 credits at $1,388 a credit comes to $99,936 in tuition, before fees.

The program is listed as available both online and in person, so you can pick the format that fits. The dissertation phase tends to be self-directed whichever you choose, so how often you meet your advisor matters more than the delivery mode.

Before you enroll, ask how online students present at their oral defense and how they meet their dissertation committee.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• At $1,388 per credit, the full 72-credit route costs $99,936 in tuition.
• The dissertation timeline varies, so total time and cost can run beyond the credit count.
• Only 46% of graduate students at the university study exclusively online, so the program and its services may lean toward campus learners.

• How long do students typically take to finish the dissertation, and what happens to tuition if it runs long?
• Can online students complete every requirement, including the oral defense, without traveling?
• Which faculty advise cybersecurity dissertations, and what topics have recent students researched?
• If I hold a master's degree, how many credits will you accept, and is the 36-credit route automatic?
• What is the full cost after any fees, and are there employer or scholarship discounts?
• What do your doctoral graduates do after finishing?

A private Catholic university in Arlington, Virginia.

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