Information Assurance and Cyber Security Degrees in Massachusetts

Fortune named Boston 5th on its 2017 list of “Cities that could Become the World’s Cyber Security Capital.” The city largely pioneered the cyber security industry in the 80’s with companies like RSA (now owned by Dell).
Massachusetts is the 8th smallest state in the nation but packs in the 14th largest population. With such density, it’s not a complete surprise that this little state boasts 13 institutes awarding cyber security degrees and 8,506 job openings.

Massachusetts Cyber Security Jobs

Boston is a hub for cyber security opportunities, home to some of the newest stars in the field including Carbon Black and the software analysis firm Veracode, which was acquired last month by CA Technologies. In addition to work in tech companies like Leidos Cyber and IBM, cyber security jobs can be found frequently with defense companies, such as MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Raytheon. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a mean wage of $97,750 for Massachusetts-based cyber security analysts, a step up from the national median of $92,600. The high cost of living in Massachusetts, however, significantly detracts from this high figure. This is particularly true for those living in the costly city of Boston, where the majority of cyber security jobs are concentrated.

Cyber Security Degrees in Massachusetts

Associate’s Degrees in cyber security are available from four schools in the state: Bristol Community College, Massachusetts Bay Community College, Quinsigamond Community College, and Middlesex Community College.

Bachelor’s Degrees in cyber security are offered by just two schools in Massachusetts. Bay Path University has a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity: Digital Forensics. The University of Massachusetts Amherst awards a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a Security & Privacy Track, and is recognized by the NSA as a “National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Security” (CAE).

Master’s Degrees in cyber security are available through seven different colleges in the state, three of which are designated by the NSA as CAEs.

Certificates and Doctoral Degrees in cyber security are offered by several different institutes. Seven schools offer certificates in cyber security, of which three are CAEs. Two schools offer Ph.D. programs in the subject. Northeastern University confers a Doctoral Degree in Information Assurance. Worcester Polytechnic Institute offers two doctoral degrees in cyber security: Ph.D. in Computer Science with a Cyber Security Focus and a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a Cyber Security Focus. Both schools are designated as CAEs by the NSA.

Cyber Security Resources in Massachusetts

Cyber Security Degree Providers in Massachusetts

Below we’ve included some of the most pertinent information for choosing a cyber security degree program. Affordability looked at the average in-state tuition rate (where applicable) and divided the range of tuition rates into five bins. Each bin contains a roughly $8,000 jump in tuition. So one $ contains schools from roughly $1,000 in in-state tuition to $9,000, $$’s contains schools from >$9,000 to $17,000, and so forth. Retention rate is one of the best predictors of undergraduate education quality. While the NSA/CAE designation marks programs deemed excellent by the NSA.