Pennsylvania Western University Online Professional Science Master's in Cybersecurity

This is a 30-credit professional science master's built around applied work rather than research. It ends with a six-credit internship in a professional setting, and the tuition runs $568 per credit out of state and $557 in state. It suits someone who already has a computing degree and wants a practical capstone and a public-university price.

Pennsylvania Western University offers the Professional Science Master's in Cybersecurity entirely online. A professional science master's (P.S.M.) pairs technical coursework with business-facing skills and a workplace project, and it is designed for people heading into industry rather than a doctorate. The school says it developed the curriculum in consultation with industry advisors so the courses line up with what employers ask for.

The program is 30 credits. The school sits in California, Pennsylvania, and it is a public institution, which is why the price per credit stays below most private options on this list. Federal data shows 77% of its graduate students study exclusively online, so online students are the norm here and not an afterthought.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Tuition for the 2026-2027 online master's is $568 per credit out of state and $557 per credit in state. Over 30 credits, that works out to $17,040 out of state and $16,710 in state. Those totals are base tuition only. A technology fee and an instructional support fee are charged on top of every credit, so the real bill will be higher than the totals above.

Ask the bursar for the current fee amounts and multiply by 30 before comparing this program with another school's all-in price. The difference between the in-state and out-of-state totals is small, so out-of-state students are not heavily penalized.

30 credits at $568 a credit comes to $17,040 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $557, the same 30 credits come to $16,710.

Who It Fits

• Working professionals with a bachelor's degree in a computing field and a GPA of 3.00 or higher, since that is the stated admission standard.
• Students who want a real workplace project on the résumé. The six-credit capstone internship is the clearest difference between this program and a coursework-only master's.
• Pennsylvania residents and anyone comparing public prices, because the $557 in-state rate is a modest per-credit figure for a master's.

Who Should Skip It

• Career changers without a computing background. The admission page asks for a bachelor's degree from a computing discipline, and conditional admission is the only flexibility the school mentions.
• Anyone who wants to pick a specialty track such as digital forensics or cloud security. Every student follows one fixed curriculum.

The notable courses give a good picture of the technical mix: Applied Cryptography, Wireless Network and Security, Cybersecurity Risk Management and Assessment, and Biometrics. Cryptography and wireless security are hands-on technical subjects, while risk management and assessment are the courses that translate into audit, compliance and security-lead work.

The program ends with the PSM Capstone Course (PSM 7990), which is the six-credit internship. The school describes it as a chance to apply program coursework in a corporate, industrial, or other professional setting. If you already work in IT, ask whether your current employer can count as that setting. Get the answer in writing before you enroll.

Courses the School Names

• Applied Cryptography
• Wireless Network and Security
• Cybersecurity Risk Management & Assessment
• Biometrics

Standout Features

• Curriculum developed in consultation with industry advisors
• Six-credit capstone internship in a professional setting

The degree is offered 100% online. Confirm with an advisor whether classes meet live or run on your own schedule, how long each term is and how many starts there are per year. The practical question for most working adults is how the internship fits around a job, and that is worth raising on your first call.

The program prepares you for CompTIA Security+ through an elective prep course, PSC 7400. Security+ is an entry-level certification that many employers and government contracts ask for, so having a course that targets it can save you a separate study cycle. Because the prep course is an elective, you choose whether to take it.

Without a field-specific accreditor to lean on, judge it on the curriculum, the internship and the school's reputation with employers in your region.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

• The admission requirement is strict about background. A bachelor's in a computing discipline is expected, which closes the door on many career changers.
• Technology and instructional support fees are added to every credit, and the published tuition figures do not include them.
• No concentrations are listed, so every student follows the same broad path.
• Ask the school about typical completion time and the start-date schedule, since you will plan your internship around both.

• What are the technology fee and the instructional support fee per credit this year, and what is the all-in cost for the 30 credits?
• Can my current job count as the setting for the six-credit capstone internship, or do I need to find a placement?
• Is the Security+ prep course offered every term, and does the program pay for the exam?
• Are classes live or on my own schedule, and how many terms start each year?
• Would a bachelor's in a field close to computing, such as math or engineering, qualify for conditional admission?
• Which employers have hired graduates, and did they come through the internship?

• Best Public University Programs Rank 9 of 10, master's
• Best Programs With Internships Rank 1 of 10, master's
• Best Programs With Certifications Rank 5 of 10, master's
• Best Online Programs in Pennsylvania Rank 1 of 3, master's

• American Public University System

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity Studies

  West Virginia $470 per credit Score 58.7

• University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity

  Wisconsin $722 per credit Score 58.9

• Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

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• Boise State University

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