Best Online Cybersecurity Programs in Maryland (2027)

The courses point toward Security+, PenTest+ and CySA+, and the Virtual Security Lab is where you practice before sitting for those exams. Classes run year-round, so you can begin between semesters instead of waiting for fall. Maryland residents pay $337 a credit, and a Cybersecurity Technology Capstone closes out the 120 credits.

Where you live decides the bill: $337 a credit for Maryland residents, $499 for everyone else and $250 for military students. The Cyber Operations Capstone, CYOP 495, closes out the 120 credits. It suits a community college graduate who wants an operations focus, and out-of-state students should weigh the higher rate before applying.

Tuition matches UMGC's two other bachelor's degrees, so the choice comes down to what you want to study, and this is the one that ends with the CSIA 485 policy capstone instead of a technical project. Most courses are online, with a few hybrid ones. Choose it if you expect to write procedures and report on risk. Skip it if labs are your priority.

Evidence work is the center of this bachelor's, priced at $470 a credit with no added fees. You finish with two certificates, Digital Forensics Examiner and Digital Media Collector, plus access to CompTIA and EC-Council exams. Credit for Prior Learning can cover up to 30 of the 120 credits, so working technicians shorten the path. A 2.0 GPA gets you in.

Courses at SANS lead to GIAC certifications, with a choice of OnDemand recorded, Live Online or weeklong in-person classes. It is aimed at people who already hold 70 college credits and want the rest taught by working practitioners. Start dates are flexible, with applications due by the 15th of any month. The trade-off is the transfer requirement, which rules out anyone starting fresh.

Designed as a finishing degree for people holding an A.A. or A.S., with the upper-level major courses taught online. Digital forensics labs meet industry standards, and mentors coach students for National Cyber League competitions. Web classes add $25 a credit in state on top of $357 tuition. Some courses outside the major may not be offered online, so check the electives before you transfer.

You choose 12 of the 30 credits yourself, so a network or systems administrator can steer the degree toward the work they already do before finishing the CTCH 690 capstone. The other 15 credits are core courses with broad technical coverage. Anyone drawn to rules and risk should read the management and policy version instead.

DHS joins the NSA and DC3 among the designations UMGC cites for this degree, which matters if your employer works with federal agencies. The curriculum is built for people who write security rules and oversee programs, not for people who configure tools. Military students pay $336 a credit instead of $694.

Maryland residents pay $555 a credit here and out-of-state students pay $659, a lower rate than UMGC's other cybersecurity master's degrees, which charge $694 to everyone. The degree is 15 core credits and 12 elective credits, and it ends with the CYOP 690 capstone.

Budget for ten courses at $5,620 apiece, then choose a focus area before you start: Analysis, Networks, Systems, Cyber Operations, Space Cyber, Cyber Artificial Intelligence or Assured Autonomy. Starts come in August, January and May, and live sections exist next to the recorded ones. The Bridge Program guarantees full admission once you finish it, which helps if the prerequisites are the obstacle. The capstone research project is optional.

Forensic work gets a full degree, with a DFCS 690 capstone to finish. Practice happens through the Virtual Security Lab and the nationwide competition team. Tuition is $694 a credit whether you live in Maryland or not. Twelve of the 30 credits are electives, which is where you narrow your focus.

Hands-on labs in malware analysis, vulnerability assessments and penetration testing are mapped to the NSA's cybersecurity defense knowledge units, and a comprehensive risk assessment exercise serves as the capstone. Tuition is $665 a credit plus a $55 technology fee per credit, and active-duty members pay $350 instead. Every course is an eight-week asynchronous term, so you take one sprint at a time.

This is the one to skip if you don't have a security job yet, because admission requires a current infosec role. Those who do qualify choose among six concentrations, from Cloud Security to Industrial Control Systems, and finish through the ISE 6101 Security Project Practicum and the ISE 6300 NetWars Continuous Practicum. At $1,500 per credit across 36 credits, it is a steep price.

Pick this if you want to practice on the tools examiners use, including Magnet Axiom, EnCase, FTK Imager, Volatility and Splunk. Eight-week courses include Malware Detection, Analysis, and Prevention, and Stevenson says the NSA has validated the curriculum. Tuition is $719 a credit across 36 credits with no fees. You need a 3.0 GPA and a statement about your forensic-tool experience, which can be a hurdle for complete newcomers.

Thirty credits across ten courses, fully online, and no GRE required, so a 3.0 GPA from a regionally accredited bachelor's is the main hurdle. The degree carries a STEM designation. Tuition runs $865 a credit for Maryland students. You can start in fall or spring.

Baltimore County residents pay $124 a credit, half the rate of other Maryland counties, so a local can finish the 60 credits for a fraction of the usual price. Core classes cover Introduction to Information Security, firewalls and a four-credit Linux administration course. It suits Marylanders who want an associate degree the school says carries an NSA and DHS designation. Residents of other counties lose most of that price edge.

Students here choose a Security, Networking or Digital Forensics concentration and close with the one-credit CYB 270 Cyber Capstone. An industry advisory board that includes DC3 and Collins Aerospace shapes the courses, and the degree holds ABET accreditation. Anne Arundel County residents pay $135 a credit. Expect proctored exams at a testing center for some classes.

This associate degree runs fully online across 60 credits and carries the school-stated Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center CDFAE designation for digital forensics. In-person campus sections are offered alongside it, so Baltimore-area students can choose either. Good for a Marylander who wants a forensics label on a first degree.