Information Assurance and Cyber Security Degrees in Utah

Utah’s robust economy makes for great opportunities in cyber security. With a GDP of $156 billion, Utah has made a concerted effort toward a knowledge-based, IT-driven, and entrepreneurial business community in the last decade. Forbes and Newsweek have each named the state one of the best in the country for business, and its tourism industry continues to hold world-class status. To meet statewide demand for IS professionals, at least six colleges and universities offer programs in cyber security, with more on the way.

Cyber Security Jobs in Utah

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that information security analysts in Utah earn between $80k-90k, which is just below average but should increase with rising demand. Nearly all cyber jobs are located in North and Northwest Utah, with Salt Lake City, Hill Air Force Base, Draper, and Ogden among the major employment hubs in the state. Goldman Sachs, which offices all non-finance personnel in Salt Lake City, is an excellent source for fraud detection, information assurance, and security engineering jobs; and Allied Universal, Lockheed Martin, L3 Technologies, Symantec, and Zions Bancorporation are major job suppliers, as well. Over half of Utah’s job openings are entry-level positions, making the state a great place to start your career, and numerous mid- and senior-level roles round out a balanced job pool.

Cyber Security Degrees in Utah

Southern Utah University offers a two-year associate degree in Computer & Information Systems Security for current or aspiring ethical hackers, security analysts, infrastructure administrators, security consultants, and technical support analysts.

Certificates in cyber security are available from Utah Valley University, Weber State University, Salt Lake Community College, including specializations in Information Assurance and Information Systems & Technologies.

Bachelor’s degrees in cyber security are offered by Utah Valley University and Western Governors University, which has multiple tracks.

For those interested in an advanced degree, Utah Valley, Southern Utah, and Western Governors all offer master’s degrees in cyber security and information assurance.

Cyber Security Resources in Utah

Cyber Security Degree Providers in Utah

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.