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Key Takeaways
Best cybersecurity degree programs: Montreat College, Campbell, Guilford College
Ranked by graduation rates, program outcomes, and institutional quality
Tuition ranges from $2,076 to $40,400/year
Wake Technical Community ... offers the most affordable option at $2,076/yr
Cybersecurity degree programs available: 5 associate's, 2 master's in North Carolina
From community college pathways to advanced research degrees
7 online cybersecurity degree programs in North Carolina
Flexible scheduling for working professionals
North Carolina community college transfer can save 40-60% on total degree costs
5 associate's programs provide transfer pathways to bachelor's degrees
Education Commission of the States
Major employers: IBM, Cisco, Red Hat, SAS
Tech hubs in Raleigh and Charlotte
Hakia Research 2026
Cybersecurity degree programs near 92+ cities across North Carolina
Search by city to find programs within 200 miles of your location
Updated June 26, 2026
How we ranked North Carolina Cybersecurity programs
We rank 11 accredited cybersecurity programs in North Carolina using IPEDS 2024 institutional data, BLS OEWS 2024 state salary data, and College Scorecard outcomes. A 4-factor weighted composite is normalized to a 0–100 score. Schools cannot pay for placement; rankings are produced algorithmically.
Source: BLS OEWS May 2024
Cybersecurity Degree Rankings in North Carolina
Compare the top-ranked Cybersecurity programs in North Carolina by degree level. Tuition, graduation rate, and Hakia Score for every accredited program.
Best Associate's Cybersecurity Programs in North Carolina
Program Landscape
North Carolina offers 5 accredited associate's degree programs in cybersecurity, providing an affordable entry point into the technology field. The top-ranked programs include Miller-Motte College-Wilm..., Wake Technical Community ..., Strayer University-North ..., which combine rigorous technical curriculum with practical skills training.
Costs & Value
Community colleges in North Carolina offer these two-year programs at an average cost of $15,754/yr, significantly less than four-year university tuition. Students completing associate's degrees can pursue entry-level technical positions and transfer opportunities, with entry-level salaries averaging $59,037 in North Carolina.
Career Pathways
Many programs feature guaranteed transfer agreements with North Carolina's public universities, allowing students to complete their first two years at reduced cost before transferring to complete a bachelor's degree. The Raleigh, Charlotte, Durham areas offer particularly strong job markets for associate's degree holders, with employers like IBM, Cisco, Red Hat hiring for technical support, junior development, and IT specialist positions.
Curriculum & Specializations
Programs typically include coursework in programming fundamentals, database management, networking basics, and software development. Among cybersecurity schools in North Carolina, these associate's programs offer the best value for students beginning their cybersecurity degrees in North Carolina.
Best Bachelor's Cybersecurity Programs in North Carolina
Program Landscape
North Carolina ranks among the nation's top destinations for cybersecurity education, with 4 accredited bachelor's degree programs across 1 public and 3 private institutions. The highest-ranked programs are Montreat College, Campbell, Guilford College, recognized for academic excellence, research opportunities, and strong industry connections.
Career Outcomes
Graduates from North Carolina cybersecurity programs earn a median salary of $91,239, 7% below the national average. The state's robust technology sector, anchored by the Raleigh, Charlotte, Durham metropolitan areas, provides abundant internship and employment opportunities with companies including IBM, Cisco, Red Hat.
Costs & Value
Tuition ranges from $4,443 to $40,400 annually, with an average of $28,513/yr. Top programs maintain graduation rates above 87%, with the highest reaching 94%. Many programs hold ABET accreditation, the gold standard for computing education, ensuring curriculum meets rigorous industry standards.
Curriculum & Specializations
Students can choose from specializations including software engineering, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data science, and systems architecture. Strong industry partnerships provide access to co-op programs, capstone projects with real companies, and direct recruiting pipelines to North Carolina's leading technology employers. For students seeking cybersecurity degrees in North Carolina, these top-ranked cybersecurity schools offer the strongest combination of academic rigor and career preparation.
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Show all 6 ranked programs
| Rank | School | Location | Type | Tuition | Grad Rate | Hakia Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #6 | Shaw University | Raleigh, NC | Private nonprofit | $12,792 | 22% | 60.9 |
Best Master's Cybersecurity Programs in North Carolina
Program Landscape
North Carolina offers 2 master's degree programs in cybersecurity, designed for professionals seeking to advance into senior engineering, technical leadership, and specialized roles. The top programs, North Carolina A & T State, U of North Carolina at Ch..., combine advanced technical training with research opportunities and leadership development.
Career Outcomes
Master's graduates in North Carolina earn a median salary of $107,340, approximately 20-30% higher than bachelor's degree holders. The concentration of technology companies in Raleigh, Charlotte, Durham creates strong demand for graduate-level talent, with IBM, Cisco, Red Hat actively recruiting from these programs.
Costs & Value
Program formats include traditional full-time study (typically 2 years), part-time options for working professionals (2-3 years), and accelerated tracks. Tuition averages $3,676/yr, with many employers offering tuition reimbursement for graduate education. Some programs offer thesis and non-thesis tracks, allowing students to focus on research or professional development based on their career goals.
Curriculum & Specializations
Curriculum covers advanced topics including machine learning, distributed systems, software architecture, and technical management. Many programs include practicum experiences, industry capstone projects, or consulting engagements that provide real-world application of advanced concepts. Among North Carolina's cybersecurity schools at the graduate level, these programs stand out for both academic quality and career outcomes.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Cybersecurity Degree Costs & Tuition in North Carolina
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Average in-state tuition | $17,151/year |
| Average out-of-state tuition | $42,878/year |
| Community college tuition | $4,288/year |
| 4-year savings for residents | $102,908 |
| 2+2 transfer pathway savings | $25,726 |
Source: IPEDS 2024
Financial Aid for North Carolina Cybersecurity Students
Verdict: North Carolina cybersecurity students benefit from the state's moderate-but-genuine aid stack (NC Education Lottery Scholarship, UNC Need-Based Grant, NCNBS for private institutions) plus substantial cyber-specific funding through CyberCorps SFS at multiple NC CAE-CD-designated institutions. The standouts are NC State's Secure Computing Institute and UNC Charlotte's Cybersecurity Center, both with substantial federal funding and strong industry pipelines into Research Triangle Park and Charlotte financial-services cyber respectively.
CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) is funded at multiple NC CAE-CD designated institutions: North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, East Carolina University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T, one of the strongest US HBCU cybersecurity programs), Western Carolina University, Catawba Valley Community College. CyberCorps covers full tuition + ~$25,000/year stipend in exchange for federal cyber service commitment.
UNC Chapel Hill's Carolina Covenant and NC State's Pack Promise programs cover full tuition for qualified low-income NC residents at the state flagships, combined with NC State's cybersecurity CyberCorps SFS, the financial path to a research-tier cybersecurity bachelor's at NC State is well-supported for Pell-eligible North Carolinians.
NC A&T's cybersecurity program is particularly worth knowing about, one of the strongest US Historically Black College and University (HBCU) cybersecurity programs with CAE-CD designation, CyberCorps SFS funding, and substantial federal employer partnerships. For underrepresented-minority students interested in cybersecurity careers, NC A&T is among the strongest US destinations. Federal Pell stacks on top. Cyber-employer scholarships from NC-based employers (Bank of America cyber, Wells Fargo cyber, Truist cyber, Cisco cyber, IBM RTP cyber, Red Hat cyber, SAS cyber) provide additional industry-track funding most students don't pursue.
Cybersecurity Degree ROI Calculator, North Carolina
Use our interactive ROI calculator to estimate your return on investment for a cybersecurity degree in North Carolina. Enter your expected tuition costs, financial aid, and career goals to see projected payback periods and lifetime earnings. The calculator uses current salary data from BLS and tuition data from IPEDS to provide accurate estimates.
Cybersecurity Degree ROI Calculator
Estimate your return on investment for a cybersecurity degree
Leave blank to use average cost for selected program type
+696%
Net gain divided by total investment. ROI above 200% is considered excellent for education investments.
$1,288,506
Your additional lifetime earnings with this degree vs. working without one, minus the total investment.
6 years
Years until your cumulative earnings exceed total investment. Shorter programs often break even faster due to lower opportunity cost.
$126,316
Your starting salary adjusted for local cost of living. This shows real purchasing power compared to a $100K national baseline.
Why does break-even change with program type? Your "total investment" includes both tuition AND opportunity cost (foregone earnings while in school). A 4-year full-time public university (in-state) means 4 years of not earning a salary ($140,000 in opportunity cost). Shorter full-time programs may have higher tuition but lower total investment because you return to the workforce sooner.
Detailed Breakdown
How we calculate your degree ROI using real salary data
Tuition plus opportunity cost (earnings you miss while in school)
Direct cost of the degree program
4 years × $35K/year foregone salary while studying full-time
Projected career earnings starting after graduation, with salary growth
What you'd earn working at $35K/year with 2% annual growth
Median salary for this role in your selected location (BLS 2024)
Your investment's compound annual growth rate (similar to stock market returns)
Data sources: BLS OEWS May 2024, IPEDS 2024. Calculations use median salaries, 3% discount rate, and assume salary growth declines from 6% to 2% over career. Individual results will vary. | Powered by Hakia.com
Cybersecurity Salaries by Metro Area
Median annual salary in North Carolina metro areas
View data table
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Raleigh | $118K |
| Charlotte | $113K |
| Durham | $107K |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2024
Hakia.com
Top Employers Hiring Cybersecurity Graduates in North Carolina
Find cybersecurity jobs in North Carolina. These major employers across North Carolina metro areas are actively hiring cybersecurity degree holders. Click employer names to view current job openings.
Cybersecurity Jobs in raleighDurham
NCCybersecurity Jobs in Charlotte
NCCharlotte is the second-largest banking center in the US. Bank of America and Wells Fargo drive fintech demand.
Nearby cities: Huntersville, Concord, Matthews, Gastonia, Rock Hill, Mooresville
North Carolina Tech Industry & Infrastructure
North Carolina's Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) is one of the densest US tech corridors per capita, anchored by three major research universities (NC State, Duke, UNC Chapel Hill) and a 7,000-acre Research Triangle Park hosting hundreds of tech employers. Charlotte separately operates as a top-tier US financial-services tech hub.
Research Triangle
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metros
Home to SAS Institute (analytics), IBM Research Triangle Park, Cisco, Red Hat (now IBM), Lenovo Americas HQ, Epic Games, Citrix, Bandwidth, and the Research Triangle Park complex. NC State CS, Duke CS, and UNC computer science all feed the local market — combined a top-10 US CS graduate pipeline.
Charlotte
Charlotte metro
Bank of America HQ and a top-3 US banking center. Wells Fargo, Truist, LendingTree, and dense fintech employment. Charlotte tech is heavily financial-services-coded; less consumer/startup but exceptionally stable employment.
Asheville / Western NC
Asheville metro
Smaller but growing remote-work and outdoor-industry tech market; not a primary tech destination but increasingly relevant for lifestyle-driven talent.
North Carolina has a flat state income tax (4.5% in 2026, scheduled to decline further). The NC Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) and One NC Fund are the principal tech-employer incentives — Apple's $1B+ RTP campus relocation was supported by these programs.
North Carolina Regulation Affecting Cybersecurity Graduates
North Carolina has been more active on legislation around identity theft, biometrics, and AI in employment than on broad consumer privacy. The state's regulatory environment is generally employer-favorable but has tightened on data security since several high-profile state-government breaches.
NC Identity Theft Protection Act
Requires businesses to notify NC residents of data security breaches and sets minimum data-handling and disposal standards for personal information.
Standard breach-response compliance for any NC-resident-serving business; minimum technical standards have informed security-program design at NC-headquartered employers.
Read moreNC Computer Trespass Statute (N.C.G.S. § 14-453 et seq.)
State cybercrime law parallel to federal CFAA; covers unauthorized computer access, computer-related fraud, and damage to data.
Relevant for cybersecurity professionals doing incident response, penetration testing, or security research within NC.
Read moreNC Insurance Data Security Act
Adopted from the NAIC model; requires insurers and insurance-adjacent businesses to maintain comprehensive information security programs with risk assessments, incident response plans, and third-party oversight.
Drives security-engineering hiring at Charlotte-based insurance and financial-services employers; sets the technical bar for NC financial-services security teams.
Read moreProfessional Engineer Licensure in North Carolina
North Carolina does not currently administer a separate Software Engineering PE license. Standard engineering disciplines require ABET-EAC accreditation for PE eligibility; software engineering is not a recognized NC PE discipline. NC State's ABET-EAC software engineering program does qualify graduates for engineering tracks at federal agencies that recognize software engineering as engineering.
North Carolina licensing boardNorth Carolina Financial Aid Programs
NC Need-Based Scholarship (NCNBS)
State scholarshipUp to $11,150/yr
NC residents with demonstrated financial need at NC private colleges/universities
UNC Need-Based Grant
State grantVaries by institution and need; averages ~$3,500/yr
NC residents with financial need attending one of 16 UNC System universities
NC Education Lottery Scholarship
State grantUp to $5,100/yr at 4-year, $2,800/yr at community college
NC residents at NC public 2-year and 4-year institutions with financial need
NC Community College Grant
State grantUp to $2,800/yr
NC residents at NC community colleges with financial need
Transfer Pathways for North Carolina Cybersecurity Students
Verdict: North Carolina's Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) between the 58-school NC Community College System and the 16-campus UNC System guarantees transfer admission for students completing the appropriate Associate in Science or Associate in Engineering degree. The cybersecurity-specific consideration is that NC State and UNC Charlotte both have accessible cybersecurity transfer admission plus several NC community colleges hold CAE-2Y designation specifically for cybersecurity programs.
CAE-2Y designated North Carolina community colleges include Catawba Valley Community College, Forsyth Technical Community College, and Wake Technical Community College. Best NC cybersecurity feeder schools also include Wake Tech (Raleigh, strong NC State pipeline), Central Piedmont Community College (Charlotte, strong UNC Charlotte pipeline), Forsyth Technical (Winston-Salem), Guilford Technical Community College (Greensboro), and Durham Technical Community College. Each has refined cybersecurity AAS sequences aligned to CAA articulation.
The Wake Tech → NC State cybersecurity pathway is well-supported, NC State's cyber transfer admission runs roughly 25-40% for qualified applicants and Wake Tech's CS/cyber prerequisite sequences are specifically aligned to NC State's program. The Central Piedmont → UNC Charlotte cybersecurity pathway is the parallel for Charlotte-area students, UNC Charlotte's Cybersecurity Center has substantial NSA partnerships and produces well-placed graduates into Charlotte's financial-services cyber market.
Beyond NC State and UNC Charlotte: East Carolina University (Greenville) has CAE-CD designation with substantial military-veteran student support (Camp Lejeune and Fort Liberty proximity). North Carolina A&T State University (Greensboro) is one of the strongest US HBCU cyber programs with CAE-CD designation and substantial federal cyber pipeline. Western Carolina University has CAE-CD designation. Duke and UNC Chapel Hill are research-prestigious but transfer admission is genuinely difficult (under 15% admit rates). For NC cyber-track students, the NC State pathway is the research and federal-cyber optimization; UNC Charlotte is the Charlotte financial-services cyber optimization; NC A&T is the strong CAE-CD pathway with substantial diversity recruiting; East Carolina is the military-veteran-friendly option.
Source: BLS Occupational Outlook
North Carolina Cybersecurity Job Market & Salary
Verdict: North Carolina has two materially distinct cybersecurity job markets: Charlotte's substantial financial-services cyber concentration (Bank of America HQ, Wells Fargo, Truist, collectively one of the largest US bank cyber workforces) and Research Triangle Park's enterprise-tech and defense-adjacent cyber cluster (SAS cyber, IBM RTP cyber, Cisco cyber, Lenovo cyber, Red Hat cyber, plus defense contractors and the Research Triangle Institute International (RTI) federal cybersecurity research operations). Nominal NC cyber compensation is below coastal markets but cost of living differential is substantial; mid-career NC cyber engineers often have higher take-home purchasing power than equivalent Bay Area peers once housing is factored in.
By metro: Charlotte averages ~$120,000-$155,000 for security engineer roles per Levels.fyi and industry compensation surveys, with substantial premiums at senior levels in the major banks. Major Charlotte cyber employers: Bank of America cyber (one of the largest US bank cybersecurity organizations), Wells Fargo cyber (substantial Charlotte operations alongside SF HQ), Truist cyber (formed from BB&T-SunTrust merger, substantial Charlotte presence), LendingTree cyber, Honeywell cyber, Lowe's IT cyber, and a growing fintech and insurance-tech cyber cluster. Charlotte's banking-cyber regulatory environment is shaped by NY DFS 23 NYCRR 500 (which applies to any NY-licensed financial institution regardless of operations location) plus the NC Insurance Data Security Act.
Research Triangle Park (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) averages ~$115,000-$145,000 with SAS cyber (substantial analytics-platform security), IBM Research Triangle Park cyber (one of IBM's most significant US cybersecurity research operations), Cisco cyber (substantial RTP security organization), Lenovo cyber, Red Hat cyber (open-source security at scale), Citrix cyber, NetApp cyber, Epic Games cyber, RTI International (federal cybersecurity research), plus growing Apple RTP cyber needs. NC State CS + Duke CS + UNC CS combined feed RTP cyber at scale.
Two NC-specific cyber dynamics: (1) The NC Insurance Data Security Act drives security-engineering hiring at Charlotte-area insurance and financial-services employers, sets the technical bar for NC financial-services security teams and creates ongoing compliance engineering work. (2) Camp Lejeune and Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) in eastern NC create substantial defense-cyber and special operations cyber employment supporting U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), Marine Corps cyber, and surrounding federal contractor operations. East Carolina University is the primary regional educational pipeline for this defense-cyber cluster. See Cybersecurity Career Guide and Cybersecurity Certifications Guide.
Entry-Level (0-2 yrs)
New graduates and career changers
Senior (8+ yrs)
Technical leads and architects
Online vs On-Campus Cybersecurity Programs in North Carolina
Online Programs
7 available in North Carolina
On-Campus Programs
Traditional classroom experience
Compare Cybersecurity Programs in Other States
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- 25
- Median Tuition
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- 50
- Median Tuition
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- Total Programs
- 65
- Median Tuition
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Cybersecurity Degree Programs in North Carolina: FAQ
What are the best cybersecurity degree programs in North Carolina?
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Data Sources
Institutional characteristics, completions, graduation rates
North Carolina salary and employment data
Program details and admissions information
Last Updated: June 26, 2026. Rankings based on IPEDS 2024 data. Salary data from BLS OEWS May 2024.
Taylor Rupe
Co-founder & Editor (B.S. Computer Science, Oregon State • B.A. Psychology, University of Washington)
Taylor combines technical expertise in computer science with a deep understanding of human behavior and learning. His dual background drives Hakia's mission: leveraging technology to build authoritative educational resources that help people make better decisions about their academic and career paths.