Southern New Hampshire University Online Master of Science in Cybersecurity

SNHU's master's is built for working adults who want a fast, structured online degree from a school that serves most of its students online. It runs in 10-week terms, can be finished in as few as 15 months, and ends in a capstone. The tradeoff is a higher per-credit price than SNHU charges for its undergraduate cybersecurity degrees, and a lower federal completion figure than some smaller schools.

Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private nonprofit university in Manchester, New Hampshire, accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). Its Master of Science in Cybersecurity has 36 credits and is fully online, with a capstone course at the end and an IT Management concentration you can add.

SNHU is among the largest online universities in the country, with an enrollment of 189,531 in federal data, and 92% of its graduate students study exclusively online. That scale shows up in the experience: a lot of support staff, a polished learning platform and a program designed around people who are not on campus.

SNHU also offers cybersecurity at other levels. The online Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity and the Associate of Science in Cybersecurity both cost $354 per credit, which is well below this master's price. The bachelor's is described as SNHU's validated program of study with the NSA. This master's is the graduate step above those.

Tuition is $659 per credit, and with 36 credits the published total is $23,724. That is a clean number to plan around, but it is tuition only, so ask about technology fees, books and any capstone charges.

For comparison inside SNHU, the online bachelor's and associate programs are $354 per credit. If you have not finished a bachelor's yet, that lower rate matters. The master's price is the cost of the graduate level, not of cybersecurity itself.

Ask how many graduate credits from another school or from certifications count, since every credit you transfer is a credit you do not pay $659 for.

36 credits at $659 a credit comes to $23,724 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• You already have a bachelor's and want a graduate credential on a schedule you control, in terms of 10 weeks rather than 16.
• You work in IT and want to move into security management, since the IT Management concentration points toward leading teams.
• You are comfortable in a large online university with a lot of structure, and you want a school with a long record of online students.
• You like competition. SNHU says students have the opportunity to compete in national tech competitions during the program.

Who Should Skip It

• You want a master’s organized around named ethical hacking or forensics lab courses. Ask for the course list and check that those topics are there.
• You want the lowest price in the field. At $659 per credit and $23,724 in tuition, SNHU is not a budget option, so compare it against public-university rates.
• You want a smaller cohort, where faculty know your name early.

The master's has 36 credits, a capstone course and an optional IT Management concentration. The capstone is a required finish, and that it is where you would expect to apply what you learned to a project.

The competitions are the unusual part. The school says that throughout your program you will have the opportunity to compete in national tech competitions. Ask which ones, how often students enter, and whether online students are placed on teams or have to organize their own.

Because SNHU's bachelor's program carries the NSA validation and lab work, ask whether graduate students get access to the same lab environment.

Standout Features

• Students have the opportunity to compete in national tech competitions

Online is the default here. The program is fully online, terms run 10 weeks, and the school says you can finish in as few as 15 months. Ten-week terms move fast, so expect to take on a course at a time and treat the pace seriously.

Federal data shows SNHU's graduate students are overwhelmingly online, so the platform and support staff are tuned to distance learners. Ask whether classes meet live or run on your own schedule, and request a sample week.

One caution from the federal numbers: the completion rate for transfer-in students at SNHU is 42.5%, which is lower than at some smaller private schools. Ask what advising looks like when you fall behind.

You earn a Master of Science in Cybersecurity from a school accredited by NECHE. SNHU is also designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense by the NSA, a school-level designation the page mentions in connection with its undergraduate program.

If you want to hold a CISSP or similar credential, ask which exams the coursework supports and plan to study for the exam separately.

The capstone is your portfolio piece. Pick a project that looks like the job you want.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• At $659 per credit, the master's costs more per credit than SNHU's undergraduate cybersecurity programs.
• Transfer-in students have a federal completion rate of 42.5%, so self-discipline and advising matter.
• Course titles, certification prep and lab details for the master's are things to request from admissions.
• Ten-week terms are fast, which is a strength for some people and a burden for others.

• Which courses are required and which are electives, and does the IT Management concentration add or replace courses?
• How many graduate transfer credits do you accept, and do you grant credit for certifications?
• Which national tech competitions have online students entered recently?
• Do graduate students use the same virtual labs as the bachelor's program?
• What fees and book costs come on top of $659 per credit?
• How does advising work if I get behind in a 10-week term?

Private nonprofit university in Manchester, New Hampshire that serves most of its students online.

• Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

  B.S., Bachelor's

  Fully Online $354 per credit Score 63.2

• Associate of Science in Cybersecurity

  A.S., Associate

  Fully Online $354 per credit Score 54.4

Also at Southern New Hampshire University, but not counted here because they are not fully online: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (bachelor's, on campus).

• University of Illinois Springfield

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management

  Illinois Score 55.6

• University at Albany

  Master of Science in Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity

  New York $634.38 per credit Score 55.7

• American National University

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity

  Virginia $411 per credit Score 55.5

• Mercyhurst University

  Master of Science in Cyber Security

  Pennsylvania $1,132 per credit Score 55.5