Thomas College Online MS Cybersecurity

Thomas College's online M.S. in Cybersecurity is a 30-credit, fully online master's built around leadership and risk as much as technical defense. Tuition is $735 per credit, which comes to $22,050 before fees. It suits someone who wants to manage security work, investigate incidents and make risk decisions, more than someone who wants a deep reverse-engineering or cloud-engineering lab program.

Thomas College is a private nonprofit college in Waterville, Maine, with about 1,635 students. Its M.S. in Cybersecurity is listed as 100% online, with 30 credit hours and a curriculum the college describes as career-focused with leadership development.

The college's published curriculum draws on frameworks supported by NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology), the NSA (National Security Agency), the Department of Homeland Security's Center of Academic Excellence program, ISC2 and ACM. In plain terms, the courses are lined up with the same standards that government and industry security teams use.

Thomas also lists an M.S. in Criminology on the same tuition row, so the two master's degrees cost the same per credit. This cybersecurity degree is the one with the technical engineering and data courses; the criminology degree is a separate field.

Tuition is $735 per credit hour. At 30 credits, that is $22,050 in tuition. The college's tuition page also lists fees of $575 or $1,355, and its 2026-2027 totals are $22,625 or $23,406 depending on which fee applies.

Ask the bursar's office which fee line you would pay, because the gap between the two totals is real money. The same row on the tuition page covers the M.S. in Criminology, so the price isn't specific to cybersecurity.

30 credits at $735 a credit comes to $22,050 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• You work in IT, operations or public safety and want to move into security management without leaving your job.
• You like the idea of mixing technical courses with homeland security, investigation and risk-decision courses.
• You want a 30-credit master's with a total tuition near $22,050, which is shorter than many 36-credit programs.
• You prefer a small private college where only about 1,635 students are enrolled across the whole school.

Who Should Skip It

• You want a long list of hands-on lab courses and named certification exam prep; the college's page lists neither.
• You want a large engineering department behind your degree, such as the research-heavy programs at big public universities.
• You need to know a start date, a class meeting schedule and a typical finish time before applying, because you should confirm those with an advisor.

The notable courses give the program its personality. Cyber Engineering covers how secure systems are built. Cyber Data Analytics looks at how security teams use data to spot problems. Cyber Investigation covers how an incident is examined after the fact.

Two courses lean toward the management side. Managerial Risk Analysis and Decision Making teaches how to weigh threats against cost and business needs. Foundations of Homeland Security places cyber work inside the larger picture of national and public safety.

That mix tells you who the degree is for. You'll learn enough engineering to talk with technical staff, then spend a good share of the program on judgment, investigation and risk.

Courses the School Names

• Cyber Engineering
• Managerial Risk Analysis and Decision Making
• Foundations of Homeland Security
• Cyber Investigation
• Cyber Data Analytics

Standout Features

• Curriculum draws on frameworks supported by NIST, the NSA and DHS (Center of Academic Excellence), ISC2 and ACM

The program page describes the degree as 100% online. According to federal data, about 78% of Thomas graduate students study fully online, so you would be in a classroom community where distance learning is normal rather than an exception.

If you work shifts, ask whether classes meet at set times or run on your own schedule before you apply.

Thomas is a private nonprofit college, and the curriculum draws on frameworks supported by NIST, the NSA and DHS, plus ISC2 and ACM.

That's alignment, not a certification. ISC2 is the group behind the CISSP, but nothing ties this degree to a particular exam, so plan separate study time if you want a CISSP or similar credential.

The college's federal graduation rate is 54%, a school-wide number across all programs, and 96% of applicants are admitted.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• No named certification exam prep is listed, so you'd study for certifications on your own.
• Labs, a capstone and an internship are all worth asking about before you enroll, because hands-on work isn't described.
• Fees of $575 or $1,355 push the total to $22,625 or $23,406, above the $22,050 tuition figure.
• Thomas is a small school, so its cybersecurity community and alumni network will be smaller than a large state university's.

• Which fee applies to me, $575 or $1,355, and why?
• Do online classes meet at set times, or can I work through them on my own schedule?
• How long does a part-time student usually take to finish the 30 credits?
• Is there a capstone, practicum or lab component, and what does a typical project look like?
• Which courses prepare me for ISC2 or other certification exams?
• How many students are in the cybersecurity master's cohort right now?

Private college in Waterville, Maine offering online graduate programs.

• Best Online Programs in Maine Rank 2 of 3, master's

• Grand Canyon University

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management

  Arizona $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

• Auburn University

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity Engineering

  Alabama $949 per credit Score 53.0

• Grand Canyon University

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity

  Arizona $610 per credit Score 53.3