Information Assurance and Cyber Security Degrees in New Mexico

Thanks to its extensive military and defense economy, which includes three air force bases, New Mexico has some of the best opportunities for cyber security in the country, particularly in cyber defense. Other major economic drivers are energy – including solar, natural gas, and crude oil – plus healthcare, manufacturing, and scientific and tech services, all of which need cyber security professionals. To answer the demand for IS training, at least eight New Mexico colleges and universities offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in cyber security specializations, many of which are CAE-designated by the NSA and DHS.

Cyber Security Jobs in New Mexico

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, New Mexico is the fifth-best paying state for information security analysts, with an annual mean wage of $107,900 compared to $92,600 nationally. It also boasts the highest employment of IS professionals in any U.S. nonmetropolitan area: 13 out of every 1,000 Los Alamos County jobs are in security. Albuquerque and Las Cruces are other major hubs, with Harris IT Services, Sandia National Laboratories, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Science Applications International Corporation among the largest employers.

Cyber Security Degrees in New Mexico

Associate degrees in cyber security are available from University of New Mexico – Los Alamos and Eastern New Mexico University – Ruidoso.

Certificates in cyber security are offered by Western New Mexico University in Digital Forensics; Eastern New Mexico University – Roswell in Computer and Network Cyber Security; and Central New Mexico Community College in Computer Information Systems with a concentration in Cyber Security.

Bachelors’s degrees in cyber security are available from National American University, which offers a Computer Security and Forensics concentration, and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, which offers a BS in Information Technology with a Security and Assurance track.

The University of New Mexico offers the state’s sole master’s tracks in cyber security, with an MS in Information Systems & Assurance and Master of Accounting that features a Information Assurance concentration.

Cyber Security Resources in New Mexico

Cyber Security Degree Providers in New Mexico

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.