On Oct. 18, Intelligent.com released a report naming Mercyhurst’s Graduate Cyber Degree third in 2022 Internet Security Degree programs. In addition, Intelligent recognized Mercyhurst for having Best Class Format for this degree.

The ranking analyzed 160 universities and formed a list of the Top 30 Best Master’s in Internet Security, including Cybersecurity, Information Security and Cyber Defense.

Since the cybersecurity field is expected to grow more than 30% through 2029, Mercyhurst is in a good position to provide a reliable and applicable career track and expertise.

Assistant professor of cybersecurity Christopher Mansour, Ph.D, confirms Mercyhurst’s advantage, claiming students “get their hands dirty from day one” using industry tools and software for defending against and thwarting cyberattacks.

Mansour said the program aligns with specific guidelines and recommendations by the Accreditation Body for Engineering and Technology as well as the Intelligence Community.

The fully online graduate program also incorporates several courses in preparation for major industry certifications like Cloud and Web Security as well as Ethical Hacking Penetration Testing Skills.

Another plus of choosing Mercyhurst’s convenient online format is the added $10,000 or more in income with a completed master’s, according to Intelligent.

In a time when turning on the news results in daily reports about breaches, attacks, ransomware and identity theft, Mercyhurst is in a good position to meet the need for cybersecurity professionals.

“Cybercriminals target every sector from financial, health, government services to retail, manufacturing and education” said Mansour. In response, these areas all need qualified and trained individuals to protect data and respond to these attacks.

Intelligent is an education-centered news site looking to inform prospective and current students and enable them to make smarter choices to produce the greatest advantage, utility and satisfaction.

The main goal is to rank U.S. colleges and programs with open-source aggregated data compiled completely void of advertising or having relationships with the schools, guaranteeing unbiased assessments and results.

Articles apart from the program rankings include topics in College Life, Student Finances and Career Prep.

Intelligent evaluates nearly 3,000 U.S. colleges and universities for its assessment categories.

Intelligent also ranks degrees based on the largest career fields like Art and Design, Business and Management, Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, Education and Teaching, Nursing and Healthcare, Science and Engineering and more, plus the Best Online Degrees and other factors.

Three key criteria are necessary for consideration of a college or university. It must be nonprofit, accredited and flexible in terms of class format.

Intelligent then looks at each school for program strength, student readiness, returns on investment, costs and student engagement using public evaluators like the U.S. News and World Report.

Finally, these elements are scored numerically on a scale from 0-100 with a higher score being the better program.

Mercyhurst’s online Master of Science in Cyber Security program received a 98.4 where the top program had a score of 99.58, a 1.18 difference.

Looking at Jacksonville State University’s Master of Science in Computer Systems and Software Design, the cost is lower, but the degree is offered on-campus only.

It also requires six fewer credits and has accreditation from the ABET while Mercyhurst does not.

For a relatively new and growing program, Mercyhurst will continue to develop its cyber program and seek to improve on a few of these factors.

Congratulations to the Cybersecurity grad program on all of their hard work and dedication to the education of Mercyhurst students.

Reach out to Dr. Mansour if you have any questions regarding the graduate program.