Colorado Technical University Online Bachelor of Science in Computer Science - Cybersecurity Engineering Concentration

Colorado Technical University's online B.S. in Computer Science with a Cybersecurity Engineering concentration is a computer science degree first and a cybersecurity degree second. It fits students who want programming and engineering depth plus a DHS and NSA-recognized school, and who can handle 5-week courses and a 183-credit-hour plan.

Colorado Technical University (CTU) is a private for-profit university offering online programs through CTU Online. The degree is a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a Cybersecurity Engineering concentration, a 183-credit-hour program offered online and at the Colorado Springs campus. Courses run five weeks each, and CTU offers multiple start dates throughout the year.

The engineering label matters. This is a computer science degree with a security concentration, so you'll build software and systems skills alongside the security courses, which suits people who want to build defenses as well as monitor them. CTU also offers a master's in the same field, so a student who finishes this degree can continue at the same school.

CTU's 2025 undergraduate tuition table lists $340 per credit, and the program is 183 credit hours, so tuition comes to $62,220. That's among the higher bachelor's totals on this list. The credit count is the reason, not the rate, because 183 credit hours is far more than the 120 credits at semester schools such as Fort Hays State.

Transfer credit is the biggest way to shrink the total. Ask how many credits from a community college or earlier degree would count toward the total. The sticker figure doesn't include fees or books.

183 credits at $340 a credit comes to $62,220 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• Students who want a computer science degree with a security focus, because the cybersecurity coursework is a concentration inside a broader CS program.
• Working adults who prefer short courses. Five-week classes let you focus on one subject at a time and restart quickly after a break.
• People who want a school recognized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Security Agency (NSA) as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD).
• Students who want to stay with one school through a master's degree, since CTU offers a 48-credit M.S. in Computer Science with a Cybersecurity Engineering concentration.

Who Should Skip It

• Students who want the shortest, cheapest path. At 183 credit hours and $340 per credit, tuition alone is $62,220.
• Anyone who needs strong completion numbers. The federal graduation rate for the school is 19 percent.
• Students who don't want a heavy math and programming load, since this is a computer science degree.

The concentration is Cybersecurity Engineering, so you take a computer science core and then specialize in securing systems. The program ends with a two-course Team Project sequence, CS491 and CS492, which is a group capstone. Group work online can be the hardest part of a degree, so ask how teams form and how they communicate across time zones.

Ask admissions for the full plan of study before you enroll. Compare it with the master's version, which is 48 credits and ends in the CS698 Computer Science Capstone (4 credits). The bachelor's is the broader, foundational degree, while the master's goes deeper for people who already hold a technical bachelor's.

Standout Features

• CTU is recognized by DHS and NSA as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD)

Courses run five weeks, and CTU offers multiple start dates throughout the year, so you can begin when your schedule allows. The federal data reports that 99 percent of students at the school are enrolled exclusively online, so the online experience is the main experience, not a side offering.

It also means you'll study alongside a very large student body. Enrollment is 31,830. Short terms move fast, so a week of missed work is a big share of a course.

CTU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a regional accreditor. The standout feature on the program page is CTU's recognition by DHS and NSA as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD), which some federal jobs and scholarships look for.

Federal data lists median earnings of $84,277 for the school's graduates, a figure that covers the school broadly and isn't specific to this concentration. Our research on this program carries a low confidence audit, so verify current details with an advisor.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• The federal graduation rate is 19 percent, which is low.
• At 183 credit hours, the tuition figure of $62,220 is high before fees and books.
• It's a private for-profit school, and 5-week courses leave little room to catch up.

• How many of my existing credits will you accept, and can you show me the revised plan and cost in writing?
• Which courses make up the Cybersecurity Engineering concentration?
• How are Team Project groups formed in CS491 and CS492, and what does the final deliverable look like?
• What fees and book costs come on top of the $340 per credit?
• What support do online students get if they fall behind in a 5-week course?
• Does the CAE-CD recognition apply to the online program, and does it help with federal scholarships?

Private for-profit university offering online programs through CTU Online.

• Best Cybersecurity Engineering Degrees Rank 5 of 8, bachelor's
• Best Affordable Online Programs Rank 5 of 10, bachelor's
• Best Accelerated Online Programs Rank 9 of 10, bachelor's
• Best Online Programs in Colorado Rank 1 of 2, bachelor's

• Master of Science in Computer Science - Cybersecurity Engineering

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online Score 45.1

• Fort Hays State University

  Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in Information Networking and Telecommunications (Cybersecurity)

  Kansas $275.65 per credit Score 55.4

• University of Phoenix

  Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

  Arizona $398 per credit Score 55.0

• Stevenson University

  Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics, B.S.

  Maryland $470 per credit Score 55.9

• Old Dominion University

  Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

  Virginia $453 per credit Score 56.1