Online Master degrees in INFOSEC (B&M list)

veritas_libertas

I have been surfing around trying to decide on an INFOSEC Master degree program for when I finish my BSIT at WGU. I am pretty much settled on pursuing a degree from a B&M rather than an online only university. Here is the list I have compiled so far. Hopefully it will be useful to others out there:

North Eastern University

Dakota State University
**They also have an online Doctor of Science in Information Systems with the option for an emphasis in INFOSEC**

Norwich University

Boston University

Nova Southeastern

James Madison University

George Washington University

Georgia Tech

University of Maryland University College

Capitol College
**They also have an online Doctor of Science in Information Systems with the option for an emphasis in INFOSEC**

East Carolina University

Davenport University

Mercy College

Regis University

Carnegie Mellon University

Penn State

Lewis University

University of Central Florida - M.S. Digital Forensics

Columbus State University

University of Advancing Technology

DePaul University

Iowa State University (Masters of Engineering in Information Assurance)

University of Denver

Northwestern University

University of Advancing Technology

Brandeis University

University of Dallas (MBA + MS in Information Assurance)

Fort Hays State University (MBA with concentration in INFOSEC)

Stevens Institute of Technology

City University of Seattle

Florida State University

George Mason University

Walsh College (concentration in Digital Forensics)

Utica College (Intelligence and Forensics)

University of Maryland: University College

MSIT: Emphasis in INFOSEC
MS is Cybersecurity

Options: MS+MBA or MS in Cyber Security + MBA or MS in IT + MS in Cyber Security

powerfool

That looks like a good list. My company has partnerships with a couple of those schools.

James Madison University has an MBA in Information Security. It is a very interesting concept. Each of the traditional MBA courses (accounting, management, business law, economics, etc) have an InfoSec bent to them, and then there are 4 InfoSec-only courses. The program through my work allows us to attend the first class of each course in person, but the rest is online; I am not sure if that is how it works for the general public.

George Washington University has an interesting graduate certificate in InfoSec that is four classes. It isn't offered online for my company, although I think it is for the general public; it is only offered at our company facility. The certificate also counts towards their MS in Computer Science.

Both schools are NSA Centers of Excellence.

steve13ad

East Carolina University has a good program as well

veritas_libertas

steve13ad wrote: »

East Carolina University has a good program as well

Yes, but insanely expensive for us that don't live in NC

Thanks for the reminder. I will add that to the list

Zartanasaurus

I think I listed most of these in the main online B&M degrees thread.

veritas_libertas

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

I think I listed most of these in the main online B&M degrees thread.

You did, I just wanted to start a thread that specifically focuses on Master degrees in INFOSEC.

QHalo

Graduate School & Graduate, MBA, Phd Programs & Degrees - GradSchools.com allows you to select schools with the program you want and the option for online. It's pretty comprehensive.

shednik

Nova is a pretty solid InfoSec program, I was going to go there when I thought things weren't going to workout at my local school.

GAngel

You want to go to a school that well known in your target market. Alumni is a schools greatest asset.

rogue2shadow

UMUC (University of Maryland University College) is a great school. They are just now setting up their cybersecurity (BS/MS) program so a few of the introductory courses may not be available until spring.

pml1

I'm looking into starting a MS in InfoSec soon (hopefully this spring). My top choice would be Georgia Tech, but even with partial tuition reimbursement from my employer, I'm not going to be able to swing the nearly $40k for the program.

After that, the James Madison InfoSec MS program seems pretty solid also. It was one of the original NSA Centers of Academic Excellence. I actually applied to the program and was accepted a couple of years back, but I had to put grad school on hold for some life issues. The interaction I had with the staff and faculty during the process was very positive.

I'm trying to get into the best program that I can afford, so unless GA Tech offers me a scholarship or other assistance, I'll probably end up at JMU.

powerfool

pml1 wrote: »

I'm looking into starting a MS in InfoSec soon (hopefully this spring). My top choice would be Georgia Tech, but even with partial tuition reimbursement from my employer, I'm not going to be able to swing the nearly $40k for the program.

After that, the James Madison InfoSec MS program seems pretty solid also. It was one of the original NSA Centers of Academic Excellence. I actually applied to the program and was accepted a couple of years back, but I had to put grad school on hold for some life issues. The interaction I had with the staff and faculty during the process was very positive.

I'm trying to get into the best program that I can afford, so unless GA Tech offers me a scholarship or other assistance, I'll probably end up at JMU.

The JMU program looks good. If I didn't already have some pretty ambitious plans, they also have an InfoSec MBA, but it is only 90% online, having to meet the first class of each course on campus. It is a $30k program.

Zartanasaurus

pml1 wrote: »

I'm trying to get into the best program that I can afford, so unless GA Tech offers me a scholarship or other assistance, I'll probably end up at JMU.

You'll never know until you try. Try to get as high of a score on the GRE (I think that's what GA Tech takes) as you can and see what happens. Doesn't cost much to just apply.


Add University of Dallas and Brandeis to the list.

Zartanasaurus

And speaking of costs, there's an InfoSec grant you can get from the gubmint that pretty much covers all your tuition. It just requires that you work for the feds for so many years in return after you graduate.

pml1

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

And speaking of costs, there's an InfoSec grant you can get from the gubmint that pretty much covers all your tuition. It just requires that you work for the feds for so many years in return after you graduate.

Yeah, I think DHS and DoD both offer InfoSec scholarships. I certainly wouldn't mind they fed job after graduation, but I think they both require summer internships as well. I can't swing the internship, but any other TE readers who can should definitely check them out.

QHalo

I really like the Carnegie Mellon MSIT with a concentration in ISA distance program. But the requirements to get into CMU are pretty high.

MSIT Application Process : Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College
http://www.heinz.cmu.edu/school-of-information-systems-and-management/information-technology-msit/curriculum/information-security-assurance/index.aspx

Not to mention that it's a $57k degree. But you pretty much write you own ticket with a degree from there.

votek

I was just accepted to Boston University for their M.S in Computer Information Systems w/ a concentration in Security. So I'll see where that takes me.

I also applied to Nova Southeastern University and Regis University.

Regis University has a new MS in Information Assurance program that looked pretty solid.

veritas_libertas, best of luck.

nicklauscombs

powerfool wrote: »

The JMU program looks good. If I didn't already have some pretty ambitious plans, they also have an InfoSec MBA, but it is only 90% online, having to meet the first class of each course on campus. It is a $30k program.

hometown pride!

TrainingDaze

edit - didn't catch the "online" part..

Zartanasaurus

QHalo wrote: »

I really like the Carnegie Mellon MSIT with a concentration in ISA distance program. But the requirements to get into CMU are pretty high.

Looks like the average GRE Quant score is only 620. I know on the GaTech page they recommended a 700. The 1000-word essay would be annoying.

QHalo

I was going on the 3 letters of recommendation, the GRE/GMAT, and that annoying essay. Seems like a lot to get into a graduate school. I mean DePaul's Masters programs are pretty top notch as well and they don't even require a GRE/GMAT.

I'll look into the Georgia Tech program as well. If I'm going to drop dough on a Masters it's going to be from an amazing school no doubt. I think CMU fits that bill but my mind isn't made up just yet.

Edit: Looks like GT is pretty much the same requirements. They ask for 3 letters as well. Any idea what the tuition is looking like? I'm going to continue to dig on this.

pml1

QHalo wrote: »

Edit: Looks like GT is pretty much the same requirements. They ask for 3 letters as well. Any idea what the tuition is looking like? I'm going to continue to dig on this.

Just over $1,000 per credit hour for 32 hours plus a $300 per semester fee. Ends up being around $37,000 if you take 6 hours a semester and then spend one semester on a 5 hour practicum.

QHalo

CMU is $339 a unit but requires 144 units in their program. That brings the total just over $56k. DePaul's programs run in the upper $40k's so $37k is pretty cheap. Thanks for the quick response.

erpadmin

QHalo wrote: »

Edit: Looks like GT is pretty much the same requirements. They ask for 3 letters as well. Any idea what the tuition is looking like? I'm going to continue to dig on this.

This is what I found:

Office of the Bursar
http://www.bursar.gatech.edu/student/tuition/Fall_2010/Fall10-all_fees.pdf

QHalo

Great thanks! I always forget to just look for the bursar's office.

Computadora

Does anyone know if out of state tuition waivers apply to online degree programs? For example, If a certain academic program is not offered by any local state college you can be eligible for in state tuition even though its an out of state college. I think not all states/colleges participate in this however.

erpadmin

QHalo wrote: »

Great thanks! I always forget to just look for the bursar's office.

No problem.

shednik

Qhalo are you from around Pittsburgh? University of Pittsburgh is a much cheaper option for an info sec masters, they don't offer it fully online though. I'm paying roughly half of CMU, they meet more CNSS standards, and you can take quite a few of CMUs courses as well if you'd like. Overall I like Pitt better then CMU, I did try to get into CMU though. I know CERT(CMU's SEI) like to higher graduates from the program I'm in, someone told me better then even the CMU graduates since they're too theoretical. Eitherway to add to the thread a masters business or technical can do wonders to your career. Find a well respected school in your area online or in class and it will take you places.

QHalo

No I'm not from Pittsburgh, wife and her family is; I'm up in Chicago, but I was looking for the maximum return from paying for a Masters degree and from an amazing school. CMU is a great school and ranked very highly but right now I'm just looking at schools in general. The 57k is takes to go to CMU is probably the worst part about the entire thing in my eyes, but I'm willing to entertain the notion of paying that much if the return is there which I think it is.

My issue is that I get very much tunnel vision when looking at schools so I thank you guys for at least posting thoughts on different schools and aspects of each. It's caused me to open my eyes to places like Georgia Tech. The good thing is that I have plenty of time to consider all the options and research because I'm still finishing my BS but will be done in July of 2011 so I'd like to get my eyes set on a place sooner rather than later.

powerfool

QHalo,

CMU does look very appealing overall, other than the price. It appears that each course is over $4,000. If I were able to take one course per semester and graduate in a few years, I might consider it, but my employer only pays for $5k of school each year...

WGU is much more cost effective and will nearly be free if my employer can negotiate the 10% discount. I would much prefer a school that is a Center of Academic Excellence already, but maybe later...

cleanwithit

veritas_libertas wrote: »

The list has been updated...

Hey, Veritas, do all of these schools listed accept WGU degrees?