Washington University in St Louis Online Master of Cybersecurity Management

Washington University in St. Louis offers a fully online, 30-unit Master of Cybersecurity Management for working security professionals. It's priced at $2,450 per unit, so it's one of the pricier routes in this field, and it makes the most sense if you want a management-flavored master's from a research university rather than a pure technical degree.

The program lives in the McKelvey School of Engineering's Sever Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, a private research university. The school describes it as an exclusively online, part-time program developed for cybersecurity working professionals.

The name matters. This is a management degree, not an engineering one. The course titles lean toward governance, risk and operations, such as Cybersecurity Risk and Governance of Third-Party Ecosystems and Efficient and Effective Cybersecurity Operations. The school also has an MS in Cybersecurity Engineering, but it's the Master of Cybersecurity Management that is delivered online.

You earn a Master of Cybersecurity Management (M.C.S.M.) from a private nonprofit research university. Plan on the degree as a management credential, not as exam prep for a specific certification.

The earnings numbers are strong. Federal data shows graduates of the school in this field earn a median $160,419 four years out, and the school's overall graduation rate is 94%. Treat those as signals about the university and its graduates, not a promise for this program, since only 9 degrees a year are awarded in this field.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

Who It Fits

• You already work in security or IT and are heading toward a lead, manager or risk role, where you'll spend more time on policy, vendors and incident decisions than on configuring tools.
• You're coming from a different field. A bridge course for students with limited to no cybersecurity background counts toward your elective units, so you don't repeat it for nothing.
• You want to test the water first. A 15-unit graduate certificate, five courses, can transfer into the degree at any time.
• You're a qualified veteran. The school and the VA cover 100 percent of graduate tuition for qualified veterans, which changes the cost picture completely.

Who Should Skip It

• You want a deeply technical build-and-break degree. Only the core technologies course is described with lab exercises, studios and scenarios, so the weight of the program is on management.
• You're watching the budget and don't have employer help or veteran benefits. At the published rate, the tuition total is well above what many other online master's programs charge.
• You want lots of classmates studying online. Federal data shows 3% of graduate students at the university study exclusively online.

The degree is 30 units. The courses named in the school's bulletin give a clear picture of the mix: Cybersecurity Technologies and Threats, The Hacker Mindset: Cyber Attack Fundamentals, Managerial AI in Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity Risk and Governance of Third-Party Ecosystems, Efficient and Effective Cybersecurity Operations, and Incident Response and Business Continuity.

The technologies course is where the hands-on work sits. The bulletin says you gain familiarity with cybersecurity technology through lab exercises, in-class studios and scenarios. Ask how much lab time the other courses include, because only that one is described that way.

Courses the School Names

• Cybersecurity Technologies and Threats
• The Hacker Mindset: Cyber Attack Fundamentals
• Managerial AI in Cybersecurity
• Cybersecurity Risk and Governance of Third-Party Ecosystems
• Efficient and Effective Cybersecurity Operations
• Incident Response and Business Continuity

Standout Features

• A 15-unit graduate certificate can transfer into the degree at any time
• Bridge course for students with limited to no cybersecurity background counts toward the elective units
• Lab exercises, studios and scenarios in the core technologies course

Tuition is $2,450 per unit for part-time master's students enrolled in 8 or fewer units, per the school's 2026-27 schedule. Across 30 units, that's $73,500 in tuition, before any fees or books.

That's a large number, so look at the offsets. Qualified veterans have 100 percent of graduate tuition covered by the school and the VA. If you're not a veteran, ask your employer about tuition assistance, and ask the school what rate applies if you enroll in more than 8 units in a term.

The graduate certificate route lets you pay for five courses first and decide on the full degree after.

30 credits at $2,450 a credit comes to $73,500 in tuition, before fees.

The program is online only and part-time by design. One course is described as largely asynchronous with some mandatory synchronous meetings, so expect to be at your computer at set times now and then. Ask which courses have live sessions and how those times are chosen.

Only 3% of the university's graduate students study exclusively online, according to federal data. That figure covers the whole university, not this program, but it hints that online students here are a small group within a campus-centered school. Ask how the program builds community among remote students.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• Tuition is $73,500 at the published rate, and fees and books may add to it.
• The 8-unit rate limit means a heavier course load may be billed differently, so confirm your pace before you budget.
• Only 9 degrees a year are awarded in this field, so the alumni pool is small compared with larger online programs.
• The program leans toward management. If you need deep hands-on technical practice, the lab content is limited to what the technologies course offers.

• What tuition rate applies if I take more than 8 units in a term, and what fees and books come on top?
• Which courses have mandatory live sessions, and are they scheduled in evenings or on weekends?
• How much lab time is in the core technologies course, and do I keep access to the lab environment afterward?
• If I start with the 15-unit certificate, which of those five courses count toward the degree?
• Would the bridge course count toward my elective units if I'm coming from a non-technical job?
• How do qualified veterans apply for the full tuition coverage, and does it apply to the certificate too?

A private research university in St. Louis, Missouri. The online cybersecurity degree is offered through the McKelvey School of Engineering's Sever Institute.

• Best Online Programs in Missouri Rank 1 of 3, master's

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• Yeshiva University

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• Arizona State University

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• University of Rhode Island

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