Information Assurance and Cyber Security Degrees in Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s steady and diversified economy represents a great opportunity for cyber security professionals. The state’s GDP is over $300 billion, and unemployment is below 3.5%. A stalwart of Midwestern manufacturing and farming, Wisconsin has added a tech-intensive, knowledge-based component to its workforce, turning healthcare, information services, tech, and financial and professional services into top-ranked national industries. Concurrent with its business transformation, cyber security opportunities have exploded, and at least eight colleges and universities offer IS programs to match the state’s talent demand and train future security experts.

Cyber Security Jobs in Wisconsin

The mean annual wage for information security analysts in Wisconsin is $79k, which ranks below national averages but should increase with labor demand. Further, experienced mid-level and upper-tier workers make good money: the 75th percentile of IS analysts in WI earn $100k, and the 90th percentile earn $120k. That said, about two-thirds of current job listings are advertised for entry-level workers, making Wisconsin a great place to start a career in information security and assurance. Milwaukee, Madison, Janesville, Appleton, and Green Bay are the largest IS employment hubs, and the most active employers range from research institutions to health insurers to government agencies.

Cyber Security Degrees in Wisconsin

Of the eight schools that offer cyber degrees in Wisconsin, six offer certificates in cyber security specializations, including in areas like Security Administrator, Information Systems Security, IT Security Auditing, and Infrastructure Security, among others.

Associate’s degrees in cyber security are available from Fox Valley Technical College, Madison Area Technical College, Milwaukee Area Technical College, and Waukesha County Technical College.

University of Wisconsin – Stout offers the state’s sole bachelor’s in cyber security: a BS in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science with a concentration in Cyber Security.

Marquette University offers a Master of Science in Computing: Information Assurance and Cyber Defense.

Cyber Security Resources in Wisconsin

Cyber Security Degree Providers in Wisconsin

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.