Columbia Southern University Online Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Cyber Security

This is the Columbia Southern degree to pick when you want the technical security core. It costs $33,360 for 120 credits, starts eleven times a year and lets you bring in up to 90 transfer credits, so it is built for adults who already have some college behind them.

Columbia Southern University is an online university based in Orange Beach, Alabama, and it operates as a private for-profit school. The Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Cyber Security is 100% online, 120 credits, with courses available around the clock. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

Columbia Southern has a second cybersecurity-related bachelor's, a business administration degree with a cybersecurity concentration. The two cost exactly the same and have the same length, so the real difference is the content.

This one is the information systems degree with a security core. The business one is a general business degree with cybersecurity as an area of emphasis, and it is the better pick if you plan to manage people or budgets rather than systems.

Federal data shows that 100% of the school's students study exclusively online, so the whole campus is built around distance learning.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Columbia Southern charges $278 per credit. Across 120 credits, the published total is $33,360. Active-duty military members using tuition assistance pay $250 per credit hour.

That total is the number to compare with other schools. A private nonprofit such as Bellevue University publishes a much higher per-credit price for its cybersecurity bachelor's, so the gap is large. Your own total will be lower if you transfer credits, since the school states you can bring in up to 90.

Tuition is not the only cost, so ask what fees and course materials add on top. The program page gives the per-credit rate but does not itemize fees.

120 credits at $278 a credit comes to $33,360 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• You have an associate degree or a stack of old college credits. The program states a maximum of 90 transfer credits, which can cut a 120-credit degree down considerably.
• You want a lower tuition bill while still studying real security topics. The tuition is $278 per credit.
• You want to start soon. The school offers 11 start dates each year, so you rarely wait long.
• You are on active duty and using tuition assistance, which brings the rate to $250 per credit hour.

Who Should Skip It

• You want a management track with business courses alongside the security topics. Columbia Southern's business administration degree with a cybersecurity concentration fits that better.

The program page describes a security core. It covers application security, intrusion detection, information systems (IS) auditing and IS disaster recovery. Read that as four practical areas: how software is built and attacked, how you notice a break-in, how you check that controls are working, and how you get a business running again after an incident.

The IS auditing and disaster recovery pieces are the ones that set this degree apart from a pure hacking program. They prepare you for work where documentation and recovery plans matter as much as tools.

If course titles, capstone work or lab details matter to you, ask for the current degree plan before you pay a deposit, because the answers decide whether the degree matches the jobs you are targeting.

Standout Features

• Security core covers application security, intrusion detection, IS auditing and IS disaster recovery

Courses are available 24 hours a day and the school lists 11 start dates every year. That is the main reason people choose Columbia Southern: you can begin in almost any month and work on your own schedule. Federal data confirms the school is entirely online, with 100% of its students studying exclusively online.

The program is asynchronous, so there are no set class meeting times. That helps if you work nights or travel, though you need the discipline to keep yourself on pace.

Federal data shows a completion rate of 50.5% for students who transferred in, measured over eight years. Ask the advising office what support exists for students who fall behind.

You earn a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Cyber Security. The institution is SACSCOC accredited. Plan any certification separately.

Federal data puts median earnings for the school's graduates in this field at $77,738. Use that as a rough picture of past results.

The security core content, especially the auditing and disaster recovery pieces, gives you plain talking points for interviews in compliance-heavy settings.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

• It is offered by a private for-profit school, which some employers and graduate programs view differently than a public university.
• Coursework is asynchronous with no set class meetings, which takes steady self-discipline.
• Federal data shows a completion rate of 50.5% for transfer students, so about half do not finish within eight years.

• Which of my past credits will be accepted toward the 90-credit transfer maximum, and in writing?
• What are the course titles in the security core, and is there a capstone project?
• What fees and course materials are charged on top of the $278 per credit?
• Does the school offer virtual labs for application security and intrusion detection?
• How is this degree different from your business administration degree with a cybersecurity concentration?
• What advising support does an online student get if they fall behind?

Online university based in Alabama.

• Best Affordable Online Programs Rank 2 of 10, bachelor's
• Best With Multiple Start Dates Rank 4 of 9, bachelor's
• Best Online Programs in Alabama Rank 1 of 3, bachelor's

• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Cybersecurity Concentration

  B.S., Bachelor's

  Fully Online $278 per credit Score 60.8

• Bellevue University

  Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

  Nebraska $459 per credit Score 61.1

• Ferris State University

  Bachelor of Science in Information Security and Intelligence

  Michigan Score 61.7

• University of Maryland Global Campus

  Cyber Operations Bachelor of Science

  Maryland $499 per credit Score 60.3

• Purdue University Global

  Online Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

  Indiana $371 per quarter credit Score 60.2