Walden University Online MS in Cybersecurity

Walden's M.S. in Cybersecurity is a 45-quarter-credit, fully online master's priced at $575 per quarter credit, with a $185 program fee added each quarter. It's a fit if you want threat simulations and a cyber team more than a long list of named courses, and you're comfortable paying for-profit-school prices at a school with a modest on-time completion record.

Walden University is a private for-profit school based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with about 49,441 students on its IPEDS enrollment record. Federal data shows 100% of its graduate students enroll exclusively online, so the online classroom is the whole school, not a side option. The Higher Learning Commission accredits the university.

The cybersecurity master's is built around practice. Walden says you'll work through scenarios and data sets you can hack or decrypt, and it invites students to join a Walden cyber team that works through complex threat simulations, with the chance to compete nationally. Walden also advertises no application fee, no essay and easy credit transfer.

Tuition is $575 per quarter credit hour for 45 quarter credits, which is $25,875. A $185 program fee per quarter brings the minimum total to $26,800 at the fastest pace. Walden notes that the Believe & Achieve Scholarship lowers that total to $21,050. Books may add $1,000 to $1,400.

The fee is the part to watch. It's charged each quarter, so finishing sooner means paying it fewer times. A slower pace can raise the total above $26,800. Ask for a written estimate that matches how many courses you plan to take each quarter.

45 quarter credits at $575 a credit comes to $25,875 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• You learn by attacking things. The program centers on threat simulations and secure coding scenarios, so you'd spend your time doing the work instead of only reading about it.
• You'd like a team to work with. The cyber team and its national competitions give you something to put on a resume besides coursework.
• You don't have a technical bachelor's. Walden accepts a bachelor's in a nontechnical field if you also have at least 1 year of relevant professional experience in information technology.
• You want to move quickly. Walden says you can finish in as few as 15 months.

Who Should Skip It

• You want to pick a concentration. The degree is one 45-credit core, so everyone takes the same sequence.
• You're watching your budget closely. The per-credit rate is not low compared with other online master's programs, and the program fee repeats every quarter.
• You have little programming experience. Walden says proficiency in at least one modern programming language is highly recommended.

All 45 quarter credits are core courses, so every student takes the same sequence and there are no electives to steer around. What Walden describes is the style of the work: proactive secure coding, scenarios and data sets you can hack or decrypt, and threat simulations you solve as part of a Walden cyber team.

A quarter credit is smaller than a semester credit, which is why 45 credits here doesn't mean a longer degree than a 30-credit semester master's elsewhere. Compare programs by total tuition and time to finish, not by the raw credit count.

Standout Features

• Immersive threat simulations and secure coding scenarios with data sets students can hack or decrypt
• Join a Walden cyber team to solve complex threat simulations, with the opportunity to participate in national competitions
• No application fee, no essay and easy credit transfer

The program is fully online with no on-site requirement. The school describes it as hands-on, and the activities are the kind that need a lab-like environment: hacking and decrypting provided data sets and solving simulations. Ask before you enroll whether classes meet live or run on your own schedule, because that matters if your job has fixed hours.

Walden's size helps here. Because the entire graduate student body studies online, the support systems, technology and faculty habits are built for distance learners. Federal data puts the school's 8-year completion rate for transfer-in students at 41.5%, which is a reason to plan your schedule honestly and ask what advising help exists.

The Higher Learning Commission accredits Walden at the institutional level. Don't assume a programmatic accreditation or an NSA and DHS Center of Academic Excellence designation; neither is part of this program's record. Ask which industry certifications the coursework lines up with.

What you can point to is the cyber team and its competition experience. If you want to show employers you can work through a live-style problem, that's more concrete than a course title. For context, the median pay for graduates in this field on the federal data we use is $129,180.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• The $185 quarterly program fee is easy to overlook, and the total is $26,800 even at minimum time to completion.
• Walden is a for-profit university, and its 8-year completion rate for transfer-in students is 41.5%. Check how many people in your situation actually finish.
• There are no named concentrations, and no industry certification is tied to the degree, so plan any exam prep on your own.
• The advertised 15-month finish is the fastest case, shown with an asterisk on the school's page, so your own timeline may run longer.

• How many courses can I take each quarter, and what would my total be at that pace, including all program fees?
• Do classes meet live, or can I do everything on my own schedule?
• Which courses include the hack and decrypt scenarios, and what tools do they use?
• How does the cyber team work for an online student, and which competitions has it entered?
• How many credits from my earlier coursework would transfer in?
• Does the program end with a capstone or portfolio project?
• If my bachelor's isn't technical, what counts as relevant IT experience?

• Best Online Programs in Minnesota Rank 3 of 4, master's

• Brown University

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity

  Rhode Island Score 47.0

• University of Wisconsin-River Falls

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity

  Wisconsin $850 per credit Score 47.0

• City University of Seattle

  Master of Science in Cybersecurity

  Washington $775 per credit Score 46.8

• Colorado Christian University

  Master of Science in Cyber Security

  Colorado $628 per credit Score 46.8