Bellevue University Online Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

Bellevue's bachelor's is a good match if you work full time, have no coding background and want a degree that ends in a real project. You choose between a defensive emphasis and a governance emphasis, study through weekly online modules, and graduate from a university that holds a federal cyber defense designation.

Bellevue University is a private nonprofit school in Bellevue, Nebraska, built around working adults. Its Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity is 100% online and takes 127 credits. Admission asks for a high school diploma or equivalent, a short readiness survey and an application. The program states that no complex prerequisites are required, so you can start without any programming experience.

The school is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have also designated Bellevue a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense for academic years 2022 through 2027. That designation belongs to the university's cyber work as a whole, so treat it as a sign of review rather than a promise about any single course.

Bellevue also offers a Master of Science in Cybersecurity. That is a separate graduate degree for people who already hold a bachelor's. This page is the undergraduate version, and the difference is simple: this one builds the foundation, the master's builds on it.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Bellevue charges $459 per credit hour for this degree. Across the 127 credits, the published total is $58,293. Military students pay a preferred rate of $250 per credit.

That is on the high end for an online bachelor's in this field, so compare it carefully with your own situation. If you are transferring in many credits, your total will drop, so get a written evaluation of your old transcripts before you commit.

There is also an accelerated cohort path. It is the same degree taken two courses at a time in a structured format, which can help if you want a predictable pace instead of choosing your own course load every term.

127 credits at $459 a credit comes to $58,293 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• You work all day and need classes you can finish in weekly modules, with no scheduled meeting times to rearrange your job around.
• You are coming from help desk, IT support, the military or an unrelated field and have never written code. The program states there are no complex prerequisites.
• You are in the military or a veteran and can use the $250 per credit military preferred cost.
• You like the idea of finishing with a hands-on project, a certification or an internship instead of a long exam.

Who Should Skip It

• You want to spend the least. At $459 per credit across 127 credits, the published tuition comes to $58,293, which is a high total for an online bachelor's.
• You want a school with a lot of live classroom contact. Coursework is asynchronous, which means weekly modules rather than class meetings.

The degree is built around two emphases of 6 credits each. Protect and Defend focuses on the technical side of stopping attacks. Oversee and Govern leans toward managing security programs, policy and risk. Picking one tells employers which direction you are heading, so decide before your last year.

The courses Bellevue lists as notable are Network Security, Securing Access Control, Web Application Security, Cyber Investigations and Forensics, and Penetration Testing and Incident Response. That is a fairly complete defensive sweep: you learn how networks and web applications are secured, how access is controlled, how investigators trace an incident, and how a team responds when something breaks.

The capstone-style requirement is CIS 456, the Service Component. A faculty-approved project, a research study, a certification or an internship can all satisfy it. If you already hold an industry certification, ask whether it counts, because that could save you an assignment.

Courses the School Names

• Network Security
• Securing Access Control
• Web Application Security
• Cyber Investigations and Forensics
• Penetration Testing and Incident Response

Standout Features

• Accelerated cohort path completes the same degree two courses at a time
• NSA and DHS designation of Bellevue University as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) for academic years 2022 through 2027

Classes run in weekly modules and do not have scheduled class meetings, so you can do the work on your own hours as long as you meet each week's deadlines. Federal data shows that 95% of Bellevue's undergraduates study exclusively online, so you will rarely be the only online student in the room, which matters for group work and faculty support.

Terms start on a set calendar. The program page notes that winter term classes start in November, which means you can start in the middle of the academic year instead of waiting for fall.

Federal data also shows a completion rate of 48.5% for students who transferred in, measured over eight years. That is not unusual for adult-focused schools, but it is a useful reminder to plan your workload. Ask the school which advising and tutoring services are available to online students.

You graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity from a Higher Learning Commission accredited university. The CIS 456 requirement is where certifications come in. Because Bellevue allows a certification to satisfy the Service Component, you can combine the degree with an exam you were going to take anyway.

Federal data puts median earnings for Bellevue's graduates in this field at $84,901. Treat that as a data point about past graduates, not a prediction for your salary, because it depends on your location and experience.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

• The total tuition of $58,293 is high for an online bachelor's.
• CIS 456 is flexible, which means you have to choose and arrange your own project, certification or internship.
• Asynchronous weekly modules suit self-starters, but they offer less live interaction than a synchronous class.

• How many of my existing credits will transfer, and can I get that evaluation in writing before I enroll?
• Can an industry certification I already hold satisfy the CIS 456 Service Component?
• How do the Protect and Defend and Oversee and Govern emphases change my last two terms?
• How does the accelerated two-courses-at-a-time cohort differ in cost and pace from the standard path?
• What hands-on labs or virtual environments do the Network Security and Penetration Testing courses use?
• How does the bachelor's connect to Bellevue's cybersecurity master's if I want to continue later?

Private nonprofit university in Bellevue, Nebraska with online programs for working adults.

• Best With No Programming Rank 2 of 4, bachelor's
• Best Programs With Internships Rank 3 of 10, bachelor's

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