Best Value Colleges for Security Science and Technology

Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.

Schools Ranked

$36,741

Avg. Earnings

3.7 yrs

Best Payback

Graduates

How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.

#	School	Net Price/yr	Major Earnings	Payback
1	Robert Morris University Moon Township, PA · Private	$25,646	$63,005	3.7 yrs
2	Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY · Public	$14,287	$48,432	4.3 yrs
3	Champlain College Burlington, VT · Private	$32,288	$59,350	5.3 yrs
4	Farmingdale State College Farmingdale, NY · Public	$10,914	$42,073	6.2 yrs
5	Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH · Public	$13,754	$43,798	6.3 yrs
6	Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg, PA · Public	$18,004	$45,919	6.6 yrs
7	West Virginia University Institute of Technology Beckley, WV · Public	$10,775	$40,281	8.2 yrs
8	Texas A&M University-College Station College Station, TX · Public	$17,525	$42,682	9.1 yrs
9	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV · Public	$13,077	$40,281	9.9 yrs
10	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA · Public	$27,137	$45,500	10.3 yrs
11	Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC · Public	$14,701	$40,017	11.7 yrs
12	Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ · For-Profit	$20,787	$41,025	13.8 yrs
13	Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Public	$13,306	$37,363	22.5 yrs
14	University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND · Public	$15,818	$37,568	24.6 yrs
15	Towson University Towson, MD · Public	$17,667	$36,668	42.4 yrs
16	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred Alfred, NY · Public	$18,893	$36,312	57.6 yrs
17	Bay Path University Longmeadow, MA · Private	$24,041	$36,041	92.4 yrs
18	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE · Public	$15,394	$35,594	103.7 yrs
19	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA · Public	$18,553	$35,701	105.9 yrs
20	University of New Haven West Haven, CT · Private	$35,331	$36,324	106.7 yrs
21	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY · Public	$7,811	$33,459	N/A
22	Mercyhurst University Erie, PA · Private	$24,488	$25,194	N/A
23	University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, OK · Public	$18,802	$33,993	N/A
24	Hilbert College Hamburg, NY · Private	$17,402	$29,685	N/A
25	Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL · Public	$11,133	$32,925	N/A
26	Saint Edward's University Austin, TX · Private	$24,710	$31,839	N/A
27	University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS · Public	$14,959	$23,227	N/A
28	University of Wisconsin-Platteville Platteville, WI · Public	$13,699	$31,676	N/A
29	Glenville State University Glenville, WV · Public	$17,268	$31,670	N/A
30	Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FL · Private	$37,835	$32,124	N/A
31	The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX · Public	$10,682	$31,305	N/A
32	St. Mary's University San Antonio, TX · Private	$20,079	$33,993	N/A
33	Saint Leo University Saint Leo, FL · Private	$18,084	$31,547	N/A
34	Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon Bayamon, PR · Private	$10,486	$14,164	N/A
35	Tennessee Wesleyan University Athens, TN · Private	$14,282	$30,409	N/A
36	Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla Aguadilla, PR · Private	$8,837	$13,702	N/A
37	Seton Hill University Greensburg, PA · Private	$20,581	$35,060	N/A
38	Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL · Private	$32,229	$35,060	N/A

Top Earners in Security Science and Technology

See schools ranked by earnings alone, without considering cost.

Best Value Rankings

Explore best value colleges across all majors and categories.

Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.