How to Compare Cybersecurity Degree Tuition

Two cybersecurity programs can both advertise a price and still be impossible to compare at a glance. One quotes a rate per credit, another per semester, a third for the whole program, and each may or may not include fees. This guide explains the tuition bases you will see, how residency and fees change the number, and how to turn published rates into an estimate you can actually compare. Every figure below is quoted from an official page as published in October 2026; where a page prints a year, it is 2026–2027. Rates change every year.

The four common tuition bases

Per credit hour

The most common basis, especially online. Champlain College Online lists graduate tuition for Fall 2026 through Summer 2027 at $608 per credit, with a reduced $500 rate for alumni, servicemembers, veterans and family members of veterans and servicemembers.

A per-credit rate is not a total. To estimate tuition you multiply it by the number of credits you will actually take, which depends on transfer credit, prerequisites and any courses you repeat.

Per term (banded or flat)

Many campus programs charge a flat amount for a range of credits. Mississippi State University lists a total of $5,547.50 per semester for residents and $15,043 for non-residents taking 12–16 undergraduate hours at its Starkville campus. Carnegie Mellon's Information Networking Institute sets 2026–27 tuition at $30,755 per semester, with a per-unit rate of $855 for students taking fewer than 36 units in a semester.

Read the edges of the band. Mississippi State assesses additional overload tuition above 16 hours, and Carnegie Mellon's per-unit rate applies below 36 units.

Per academic year

Purdue's 2026–2027 undergraduate table gives annual tuition for its Polytechnic Institute at West Lafayette of $10,564 for Indiana residents and $29,366 for non-residents, for students taking 8 or more credit hours. The same table shows a higher rate for Computer Science majors. Your major can change your price at the same university.

Whole program

Some programs, often professional master's degrees, quote one figure. Georgetown lists total tuition of $57,816 for its Master of Professional Studies in Cybersecurity Risk Management; the figure carries an asterisk, so read the note beside it. Florida International University lists program tuition for its Cybersecurity Risk Management MBA of $45,725.81 in state and $46,895.81 out of state.

A whole-program price is the easiest to compare, but check what happens if you take longer than planned or need to repeat a course.

Residency: in-state, out-of-state and online rates

At public universities, residency can multiply the rate. Kennesaw State's FY27 undergraduate table lists $192 per credit for Georgia residents and $722 for non-residents.

Online programs do not always follow that pattern. Old Dominion University's online rates for 2026–27 are:

The page notes that rates are effective Fall 2026 and subject to change. Never assume an online program charges the campus out-of-state rate, or the campus in-state rate; look for the online table.

Some private universities present a discount as the price. Davenport University lists online undergraduate tuition for non-Michigan residents as a net $716 per credit hour after a $343 per credit Davenport Tuition Grant, while Michigan residents are listed at $1,059 per credit hour. Read how each number is built before you compare it.

Fees that change the total

Tuition tables often leave out charges that every student in the program pays:

• Online fees. Mississippi State attaches a $25 per credit Instructional Support Fee to all courses

offered through MSU Online.

• Program or differential charges. Towson University charges junior, senior and second-bachelor students

$63 per credit hour for courses in certain subject codes, including computer and information sciences, capped at $750 per term.

• Per-term fees. Carnegie Mellon's INI lists a $245 technology fee and a $122 activity fee per semester.
• Format-specific charges. Capella's FlexPath format bills $2,575 per 12-week billing session plus a

resource kit, a completely different structure from its per-credit GuidedPath option.

Program profiles in our directory list fees separately from tuition and mark a fee as mandatory only when the school says so.

How to build a comparable estimate

Put every program on the same footing — your total tuition and required fees to finish the degree:

1. Count your credits, not the advertised total. Subtract transfer credit the school has confirmed; add

any bridge or foundation courses (see our prerequisites guide).

1. Convert the basis. Per credit: credits × rate. Per term: number of terms at your planned load × term

rate. Per year: years × annual rate.

1. Add mandatory fees at the same basis (per credit, per course, per term).
2. Use the right row of the table: your residency, your level, your format, your major.
3. Note the year. Use the current published year and expect increases.

What tuition does not cover

The federal Cost of Attendance used for financial aid is broader than tuition. The 2026–2027 Federal Student Aid Handbook lists components including tuition and fees; books, course materials, supplies and equipment (which can include a personal computer); transportation; and living expenses for food and housing. Program-specific costs can add to that, such as travel to required residencies or certification exam fees not included in tuition.

A per-credit price is a starting point, not a total cost. Once you have estimates, set them beside the funding each program offers — see scholarships and service obligations and our scholarships overview — and use compare to line up the published rates.