| Programme or school | Credits | Estimated tuition |
|---|
| Southern New Hampshire University, cybersecurity associate | 60 | $21,240 |
| Southern New Hampshire University, bachelor's | 120 | $42,480 |
| American Public University, bachelor's | 120 | About $42,000 |
| University of Maryland Global College, in state | 120 | About $40,440 |
| Metro State University, St. Paul | 120 | About $41,417 |
| Southern New Hampshire University, master's | 36 | $23,724 |
Graduate programmes price differently again. Southern New Hampshire University charges $659 per credit for its master's in cybersecurity, which puts a 36-credit degree at $23,724 and drops to $16,920 for active military students.
How do military rates and transfer credits change the bill?
Military status is the single largest discount most schools publish, and it applies at the same schools that charge the highest standard rate.
Purdue Global charges active servicemembers $165 per quarter credit and veterans $230, against a standard rate of $371. American Public University lists $250 per credit for military students, and Maryland Global matches that figure for its $337 standard rate.
Transfer credit matters just as much. Military training, industry certifications and prior college coursework are often evaluated for credit, so a candidate with an associate degree and a CompTIA certification can finish a bachelor's with a year or less of tuition.
Residency rules sit on top of that. Some public universities offer reciprocity to students who already live in the state, which can cut an out-of-state rate to the in-state price for the whole degree.
Military credit evaluation is the other lever. A servicemember with 30 credits of evaluated training can finish a 120-credit degree with 90 credits left to pay for, which at $337 a credit is about $30,000 of tuition removed before the discount rate applies.
Our guide to how to get a bachelor's degree in cybersecurity covers how transfer credit and admission work at these schools, and our best cyber security certifications list covers the credentials that carry the most weight with employers.
Which fees sit outside the per-credit rate?
Course fees, technology fees and exam proctoring charges usually appear as separate lines, and they are where the real cost hides.
Metro State's $42.30 per credit standard course fee is the clearest example. Multiply it across 120 credits and it adds about $5,076 to the tuition line, which is why a published rate without the fee list understates the bill by thousands.
Technology fees are the second common surprise. Labs, cloud lab environments and security software access are often billed per course, and a programme with heavier lab work can cost more in fees than in tuition for the same credit count.
Budget for the credential itself too. A CISA certification carries its own exam and maintenance fees, and most employers now expect a certification alongside the degree rather than instead of it.
Add the credential to the total before you compare programmes.
A CISA exam with annual maintenance runs several hundred dollars a year, and adding it to a $40,000 degree is a rounding error, while adding it to a $27,000 degree changes the ranking between two schools.
How strong is the cybersecurity job market?
The United States had 514,000 open cybersecurity jobs in 2026, and more than half of employers say they intend to hire into the field.
CyberSeek's supply and demand map counted 514,000 open positions when it was last reviewed in April 2026, and the same data set puts the country's cyber workforce at more than 1.3 million people.
CompTIA's State of Cybersecurity research found that more than 50 percent of organisations plan to hire.
| Measure | 2026 value | Source |
|---|
| Open cybersecurity jobs | 514,000 | CyberSeek, reviewed April 2026 |
| US cyber workforce | More than 1.3 million | CyberSeek |
| Employers intending to hire | More than 50 percent | CompTIA State of Cybersecurity |
| Information security analyst median pay | $124,910 | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Projected growth for information security analysts | 29 percent through 2034 | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Estimated global cost of cybercrime | $1 trillion | Industry estimate |
The wage data supports the demand. Information security analysts earned a median of $124,910, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics outlook projects 29 percent growth through 2034, faster than almost any other technical occupation.
Demand is not evenly spread, though. Government and defence hiring often needs cleared candidates, and healthcare roles reward clinical experience alongside the technical side. Pick a sector that matches what you already know.
CyberSeek also tracks where the vacancies sit, and the pattern is stable across the country.
Most openings cluster in the Midwest and the South, where large employers hire security teams in bulk, and remote roles tend to pay less than the same title in a high-cost metro area. A location decision changes the salary more than the degree does.
Employer requirements also shape the real cost. Many postings now ask for a security clearance, a certification or hands-on lab work, and a programme without lab access costs you more in unpaid study time than it saves in tuition.
What are the next steps to compare per-credit cybersecurity costs?
Build a sheet with four columns per school: rate, credits needed, fee list and residency treatment.
Then send each admissions office the same question: what is the total tuition for my specific situation, including fees, with my transfer credits applied. Written answers settle the differences that comparison tables leave open.
Ask about professional certificates inside the degree. Some schools price a cyber certificate at less than the equivalent courses, and a few count it toward the bachelor's, which shortens the path and the bill at the same time.
Any online cybersecurity degree cost per credit comparison should include those credits.
Check accreditation before you commit, because it decides whether your credits move to a four-year school later. A per-credit rate that looks cheap is irrelevant if the credits cannot follow you.
Confirm the CAE designation as well, because it is part of how an online cybersecurity degree cost per credit comparison is judged by defence and government employers. The Centre for Cybersecurity Education and Innovation validates specific programmes, and that mark carries weight in cleared hiring.
Finally, price the credential side. A degree teaches the theory, a certification proves the skill, and employers reading two offers will usually rank the candidate who has both.
Then run the payback in months rather than years.
At a $124,910 median for information security analysts, even the cheapest route repays a $40,000 programme inside three years of work, and the same calculation makes an expensive programme the cheaper choice when it places you faster.
Fazlur Rahman
