University of Maryland Global Campus Online Cyber Operations Master of Science

UMGC's Cyber Operations master's is one of four cybersecurity-related master's degrees at a very large online public university. It suits you if you want the operations side of security, finish with a capstone and live in Maryland, where tuition drops from $659 to $555 per credit.

The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) is a public university based in Adelphi, Maryland. The Cyber Operations Master of Science takes 30 credits, all courses are available online, and it ends with a Cyber Operations Capstone (CYOP 690, 3 credits).

UMGC is big. Federal data shows 63,012 students enrolled and 95% of its graduate students studying exclusively online. It also reports 1,004 awards in this field, which means the school graduates a large number of cybersecurity students and has had time to refine its online delivery.

This degree is one of several. UMGC also offers a Cybersecurity Technology master's, a Cybersecurity Management and Policy master's and a Digital Forensics and Cyber Investigation master's, all 30 credits. Choose among them by job: Cyber Operations is about carrying out and running security work, Technology is about the tools, Management and Policy is about governance, and Digital Forensics is about investigation.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

UMGC publishes $659 per credit for out-of-state students and $555 per credit for in-state students. Over 30 credits, the totals are $19,770 and $16,650. Military students pay $336 per credit, and other fees may apply.

The sibling master's degrees in Cybersecurity Technology, Cybersecurity Management and Policy, and Digital Forensics and Cyber Investigation carry a slightly higher per-credit rate, so Cyber Operations is the least expensive of the group for out-of-state students.

The page says other fees may apply, so ask for the complete list. Fees can change the comparison with a flat-rate school.

30 credits at $659 a credit comes to $19,770 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $555, the same 30 credits come to $16,650.

Who It Fits

• You want the operational side of security: running defenses, responding to incidents and working with a team in the field.
• You live in Maryland and want the in-state rate of $555 per credit, which totals $16,650.
• You are a service member or veteran. UMGC lists $336 per credit for military students.
• You want a school with a large, mature online operation and a graduate community of tens of thousands.

Who Should Skip It

• You want to see every course before you apply. The capstone is the one requirement named up front, so request the full degree plan.
• You want a school-published federal designation for this specific degree. The pages for the Technology and Management and Policy master's mention designations from the NSA and DC3, but this page does not.
• You want hands-on labs on the program page. The Virtual Security Lab is mentioned for the Digital Forensics master's, and not for this one.

UMGC's page for this degree names the capstone and little else, so the honest picture is limited. The degree is 30 credits and finishes with the 3-credit Cyber Operations Capstone, CYOP 690. A capstone gives you a project to show an employer.

Because the course list is not on the page, use the siblings to see where this degree sits. UMGC's Cybersecurity Technology bachelor's says its courses align to industry certification exams including CompTIA Security+, PenTest+ and CySA+, and it mentions a competition team and Virtual Security Lab.

The Digital Forensics and Cyber Investigation master's mentions the same lab and competition team. Cyber Operations has its own capstone, which marks it as a separate path, not a rename of another degree.

Ask the admissions team for the current course sequence, and ask which electives the other cybersecurity master's programs share with this one.

All courses are available online, and federal data shows that 95% of UMGC's graduate students study exclusively online. That scale means you are not an exception: the university's advising, library and tutoring systems are designed around students who never visit the campus.

The federal completion rate for students who transferred in is 42%, measured over eight years. Ask what support exists for students who work full time or deploy.

Ask for a sample syllabus and for the term calendar before you pay a deposit.

You earn a Cyber Operations Master of Science from a public university. Federal data puts median earnings for UMGC's graduates in this field at $130,314,. Treat it as a picture of past graduates, with the caveat that it covers the school's graduates in this field as a whole and not only this degree.

The capstone is the one deliverable the program page names, and it is worth planning early. Choose a problem that resembles the work you want to do next.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

• The course list is something you will need to request from admissions before you apply.
• Out-of-state students pay $659 per credit, compared with $555 for Maryland residents.
• The eight-year completion rate for transfer students is 42%.
• The sibling master's degrees overlap with this one, so the choice among four can be confusing without advising.

• What courses make up the 30 credits, and how do they differ from the Cybersecurity Technology master's?
• Does the Virtual Security Lab and competition team available to some programs include Cyber Operations students?
• What fees apply on top of the $659 or $555 per credit rate?
• How does the $336 per credit military rate work, and who qualifies?
• How does the capstone, CYOP 690, work for online students, and who advises it?
• How many credits can I transfer in, and does anything I have already completed count?

• Best Cyber Defense Degrees Rank 2 of 10, master's
• Best Online Programs in Maryland Rank 3 of 9, master's

• Cybersecurity Technology Bachelor of Science

  B.S., Bachelor's

  Fully Online $499 per credit Score 64.2

• Cyber Operations Bachelor of Science

  B.S., Bachelor's

  Fully Online $499 per credit Score 60.3

• Cybersecurity Management and Policy Bachelor of Science

  B.S., Bachelor's

  Fully Online $499 per credit Score 59.4

• Cybersecurity Technology Master of Science

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $694 per credit Score 61.4

• Cybersecurity Management and Policy Master of Science

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $694 per credit Score 61.2

• Digital Forensics and Cyber Investigation Master of Science

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $694 per credit Score 59.4

• Bellevue University

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity

  Nebraska $680 per credit Score 60.3

• Murray State University

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management

  Kentucky $606 per credit Score 60.1

• Thomas Edison State University

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity

  New Jersey $695 per credit Score 60.7

• University of the Cumberlands

  Master of Science in Cyber Engineering (Online)

  Kentucky $355 per credit Score 60.8