Cybersecurity degrees in Vermont — Your guide to choosing a school

This guide is about cybersecurity schools in Vermont. It also includes information about the economic conditions in Vermont.

SKIP TO THE COMPLETE LIST OF CYBERSECURITY PROGRAMS IN VERMONT

Vermont, famous for its maple syrup production, has the smallest economy in the United States at $35 billion, according to Forbes. Vermont’s leading industries—including agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and technology— compensate for its size as it sustains a five-year average unemployment rate of 2.9 percent, the fourth-lowest among its competitor states. 

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Across its industries, its investments in software development and information technology include a diverse selection of businesses that deliver software, including IBM, one of the largest technology companies in the United States. 

Vermont data analysts predict that tech sector jobs will continue to grow at a rate of 7.5 percent from 2014 to 2022. As of 2014, Vermont tech workers generate an estimated $5.6 billion in annual wages, earning more than 63 percent than the state average, according to Vermont’s tourism website. 

The Agency of Commerce and Community Development consistently invests in new industries to attract businesses and continue their expansion, despite the state’s business costs at 12%. Since 2018, the state advanced educational opportunities in high-growth fields such as manufacturing, construction, and cybersecurity, focusing on reforming high schools and universities to create career pathways for students.  

As one of the few states to develop a comprehensive economic development strategy, Vermont’s investments in cybersecurity have cultivated rapidly, generating new options for job engagement and economic growth. 

Growing awareness of cybersecurity in Vermont

As part of the state’s comprehensive economic development strategy for 2020, Vermont’s significant initiatives highlight an artificial intelligence task force as a critical component for its defense against digital security breaches. Its task force will research into the field of artificial intelligence and how it can responsibly grow Vermont’s technology sectors. 

According to the state’s Office of Economic Adjustment Defense Industry, Vermont received a joint grant of $1.5 million alongside states such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island. As part of its diversification programs, the state in collaboration will create the New England Regional Defense Industry Collaboration to defend against cybersecurity attacks, growing defense-related businesses to meet the new cybersecurity requirements and production goals. 

Among the state’s major initiatives, Vermont’s expansion in education includes its collaboration with Norwich University to create a Cybersecurity Operations Center. The center will educate students on cybersecurity methods to defend against the millions of digital attacks the state faces each year, serving as real-world training for future jobs, including federal positions at the Department of Defense. Governor Phil Scott also partnered with the SANS Institute to implement the Girls Go CyberStart challenge to high school students to form cybersecurity skills and career exploration opportunities

Alongside emphasizing its initiatives on student engagement, the state’s Agency of Commerce & Community Development awarded $325,000 from the Vermont Training Program (VTP) and the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI) program to NuHarbor Security to give online learning and hands-on training to its employees. 

Cybersecurity education in Vermont

Vermont provides numerous academic opportunities through the Agency of Education, working with career and technical centers to develop cybersecurity career pathways for high school and college students. Teachers from specialized centers and universities regularly attend professional development activities to prepare them for Vermont’s Career Pathway in Cybersecurity program.

“Starting these initiatives now is particularly important because it will help reduce the impact of retirements across the advanced manufacturing industry in Vermont, said Governor Scott. “In addition, cybersecurity is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the country and world. By developing a K-16 cybersecurity career pipeline, we have the opportunity to develop and attract high-paying tech sector jobs through a skilled, in-demand workforce,” Governor Scott said.

ASSOCIATE’S DEGREE

At the Community College of Vermont, students can earn an associate of science degree in information technology. The information technology program educates students in networking, programming, and operating systems with the option to build in-depth knowledge of three focus area options: networking, programming, or website development. Students through the program will be able to use computer language to solve problems, maintain software programs, and prepare networking solutions. 

Vermont Technical College offers students an associate of science degree in computer information technology. The program teaches students to build software systems, deploy secure data networks, and reinforce telecommunication infrastructures. Students who choose this degree program will understand systems administration, web design, and will have a foundation for programming skills. Because the program provides students with the basics in programming, participants will be able to expand their expertise into new technical areas. 

BACHELOR’S DEGREE

Norwich University supplies students with innovative options for beginning and furthering their education in computer science, information technology, and cybersecurity. The university offers a bachelor of science in cybersecurity, also known as its computer security and information assurance degree, to students aspiring to achieve a well-rounded degree in the information technology sector. 

Students intending on pursuing Norwich’s cybersecurity degree will apply fundamental practices of digital forensics, information assurance, and digital incident investigation, understand cyber-law and cyber-crime and use programming languages to solve problems related to network defense. The bachelor’s degree program provides both on-campus and online courses, and both segments offer concentrations and minors, such as forensics, information assurance management, computer forensics and vulnerability management, and information warfare and security management. 

Alongside Norwich, The University of Vermont provides students with a generalized focus on information systems and computer science, providing students with two degrees in computer science and information systems and computer science. Both degrees offer knowledge in programming, database design, data structure, algorithms, and data analysis. The computer science and information systems degree centers around business administration and economics as part of its information systems component, while the computer science degree concentrates on programming as its foundation for future degrees. Students at the University of Vermont can also receive a minor in computer science in combination with other majors. 

Champlain College offers four programs at the bachelor’s degree level. There is an on-campus degree in Computer Networking & Cybersecurity and an online degree in Cybersecurity geared towards the adult student. Both programs are designated Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyberdefense Education by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Additionally, Champlain College offers an on-campus degree in Computer and Digital Forensics and an online degree in Computer Forensics and Digital Investigations. Both programs are designated National Centers for Digital Forensics Academic Excellence by the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3). Students in both programs work at Champlain’s Leahy Center for Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity.  Since opening in 2010, The Leahy Center for Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity has become the central hub of digital forensics and cybersecurity at Champlain College. It’s a world-class laboratory with state-of-the-art technology, providing digital forensics and cybersecurity services to a wide variety of organizations, from government bodies to local businesses. Champlain College also offers a Cybersecurity Minor and Digital Forensics Minor available to all students enrolled in an on-campus degree program. 

Vermont Technical College provides students with a bachelor of science degree in computer information technology. Similar to its associate’s degree, the degree program offers a broader technical background in programming software systems, understanding and interpreting databases, and managing technology infrastructures for further education. 

MASTER’S DEGREE 

At Norwich University, students wishing to advance their careers in the theoretical fundamentals of cybersecurity can pursue an online master’s degree in cybersecurity. 

The master’s program develops management skills related to computer assets, incident response, forensic investigation, and will apply those skills in a complex business enterprise. The degree program also provides options for concentrations, such as project management, vulnerability assessments, cyber law, and forensic investigation. 

Champlain College offers two online masters of science degrees in information security and digital forensics. The information security degree program teaches students to assess information technology risks, perform vulnerability assessment analysis, understand cyber law, and execute security management protocols. The digital forensics program focuses on cyberlaw, educating students on digital investigations, operating systems, cyber law principles, and digital encryption. 

Cybersecurity certifications in Vermont

Among the variety of degree programs, colleges in Vermont offer numerous undergraduate and graduate certificate programs for students looking to add to their careers in cybersecurity and information systems. Champlain College provides students with multiple certificates, ranging from cybersecurity to information security. Norwich University offers graduate certificates in cybersecurity forensics, cyberlaw, and international perspectives. 

Cybersecurity jobs in Vermont

With a total of 628 job openings in Vermont, around 1,766 employees currently work in the cybersecurity field, according to Cyberseek. 

The average hourly wage for a cybersecurity analyst in Vermont is $38.66, with the annual average wage at $80,420, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data. 

Cybersecurity in Vermont

Vermont continues to expand its technology sector by investing in educational incentives, encouraging colleges to provide a vast array of cybersecurity degree programs for future students. Cybersecurity in the state continues to be an ever-expanding prospect to bring in corporate enterprises, generate gross domestic income, and improve the lives of Vermont’s citizens through digital security measures and improved software development.