University of Maryland Global Campus Online Cybersecurity Management and Policy Master of Science

UMGC's Cybersecurity Management and Policy M.S. is the leadership-minded master's among the school's cyber degrees: 30 credits, fully online, and carried by NSA, DHS and DC3 designations for UMGC's cybersecurity programs. It fits security staff moving into management, risk and governance roles. It is the wrong pick if you want to spend your days in the technical weeds.

University of Maryland Global Campus is a public university in Adelphi, Maryland, serving a student body of about 63,012, most of it online. Federal data shows 95% of its graduate students study exclusively online. The Cybersecurity Management and Policy Master of Science is 30 credits, every course is available online, and the degree closes with a Capstone Course.

UMGC has received special designations for its cybersecurity programs from the NSA, DHS and DC3. This degree's list of designations is one agency longer than its Technology sibling, which names the NSA and DC3 only.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Tuition is $694 per credit for every student, which works out to about $20,820 for the 30 credits. Eligible military students pay $336 per credit, and other fees may apply. UMGC's Cyber Operations M.S. runs $555 per credit in-state and $659 out-of-state, so ask yourself whether the leadership focus is worth the difference.

Because you pay by the credit, taking one course at a time spreads the cost over more months without changing the total.

30 credits at $694 a credit comes to $20,820 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• Analysts and IT staff stepping into security manager, risk or compliance work, where decisions about people, budgets and policy matter as much as tools.
• Military and government employees. The military rate is $336 per credit against $694 for everyone else, and the DHS designation speaks to the government side.
• Students who want a master's without a heavy technical lab load. The name signals a focus on how organizations run security, not on building defenses by hand.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who wants to practice attacking and defending systems. UMGC's Cybersecurity Technology M.S., Cyber Operations M.S. and Digital Forensics and Cyber Investigation M.S. all sit closer to technical practice.
• Students who need the cheapest possible master's in the field. At $694 per credit, UMGC's own Cyber Operations M.S. costs less for Maryland residents.

Where Technology is about the systems themselves, Management and Policy is about the decisions around them: setting security policy, assessing and managing risk, and leading a program that other people run day to day. The degree is 30 credits, and it finishes with a Capstone Course, in which you bring the program's themes together in one applied project.

UMGC offers sibling master's degrees for each direction. Cybersecurity Technology has the CTCH 690 capstone, Cyber Operations has CYOP 690, and Digital Forensics and Cyber Investigation has DFCS 690 plus a Virtual Security Lab and an award-winning competition team. If you're deciding between UMGC degrees, pick the capstone you'd want to spend your last term on.

Standout Features

• UMGC has received special designations for its cybersecurity programs from the NSA, DHS, and DC3

All courses are available online, and UMGC is organized around remote adult learners, so you can expect support services designed for people working full time. Because most of the 63,012 students are remote too, you'll meet a wide mix of classmates, from military members to government staff. Ask for a sample syllabus so you can see how much group work you'll do and when deadlines fall.

The NSA, DHS and DC3 designations apply to UMGC's cybersecurity programs, and the program page lists all three for this degree. They show that federal agencies see UMGC as a serious cyber school. They aren't professional certifications, so if you're aiming at a security manager role, plan separate study for the industry credentials employers ask for. Federal data lists median earnings of $130,314 for UMGC graduates in this field.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

• The 42% eight-year completion rate for transfer-in students means it pays to plan your pace and your support before you start.
• At $694 per credit, the price is higher than UMGC's Cyber Operations master's for most students.
• A management focus means less hands-on lab time than the technical siblings.

• Which courses cover risk management and policy, and which are electives?
• What does the Capstone Course involve, and can I use a project from my own workplace?
• How do graduates use this degree: promotions at their current employer, or a switch to a new one?
• How does this program compare with Technology for a security manager track?
• Do the military rate and any employer tuition benefits stack?

• Best Cybersecurity Management Degrees Rank 3 of 10, master's
• Best Cybersecurity Policy Degrees Rank 3 of 10, master's
• Best Online Programs in Maryland Rank 2 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

• Cyber Operations Master of Science

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $659 per credit Score 60.4

• Digital Forensics and Cyber Investigation Master of Science

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $694 per credit Score 59.4

• University of the Cumberlands

  Master of Science in Cyber Engineering (Online)

  Kentucky $355 per credit Score 60.8

• Thomas Edison State University

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity

  New Jersey $695 per credit Score 60.7

• 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