Excelsior University Online Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

Excelsior University's online Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity is built for adults who want a full four-year degree on an asynchronous schedule, with a Cyber Operations option and exam prep for seven named certifications. Tuition is $510 per credit before fees, and the 120-credit total is $61,200 in tuition alone. It's a strong choice if you bring transfer credit and don't need to start from zero.

Excelsior is a private nonprofit university in Albany, New York. This bachelor's is delivered fully online and asynchronously, with courses starting every 8 weeks, and the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security designated Excelsior as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education for this program.

The degree is 120 credits with two concentrations, Cyber Operations and General. Excelsior also offers a Master of Science in Cybersecurity, which is a separate 30-credit graduate program. The bachelor's is where you build the technical foundation: networks, applications, attacks and defenses, risk. The master's assumes you already have an undergraduate degree and moves toward policy and compliance.

The school is built for online students. IPEDS, the federal college data system, shows 100% of students enrolled exclusively online, and 30 bachelor's awards a year in the federal cybersecurity program code. The school says there are no experience requirements to enter this program.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

Excelsior is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The NSA and DHS designate this specific program as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education, which is a program-level credential and not just a school-level one.

For industry credentials, the program page says graduates are prepared to take CISP, CEH, Security+, Network+, CHFI, SSCP and ESCP. Preparing you for an exam isn't the same as covering every domain, so plan on extra study for any one you really want.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Adults with some college credit who want to finish a bachelor's without attending live sessions. Asynchronous courses and 8-week starts make it easier to fit around work.
• Beginners. The school states there are no experience requirements to enter, and no programming background is required.
• Students aiming at entry-level security roles who want certification exam prep tied to the degree, including Security+, Network+, CEH and CHFI.

Who Should Skip It

• Students watching total cost. Tuition at $510 per credit plus per-credit fees adds up across 120 credits, and fees come on top of the $61,200 tuition figure.
• Anyone who already has a bachelor's degree. The graduate program or a certificate will get you further, faster.
• People who want the lowest published price for a first degree. Several public colleges list lower per-credit rates, especially for in-state residents.

The program page names four notable courses: Network and Application Security, Security Focused Risk Management, Cyber Attacks and Defenses, and Large Scale Cybercrime and Terrorism. Those cover the technical layer, the management layer, the hands-on attack and defense layer, and the policy and threat context.

You pick between two concentrations. Cyber Operations points toward the technical, defense-and-response side of the field, and General keeps the degree broad. Excelsior prepares students for the certification exams such as CISP, CEH, Security+, Network+, CHFI, SSCP and ESCP. That's a long list, so ask which course builds toward which exam. The school also notes optional hybrid courses with in-person lab sessions, covered below.

Courses the School Names

• Network and Application Security
• Security Focused Risk Management
• Cyber Attacks and Defenses
• Large Scale Cybercrime and Terrorism

Standout Features

• Designated National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the NSA and DHS for the B.S. in Cybersecurity
• Optional hybrid format with in-person lab sessions in St. Petersburg, Florida
• Prepares for industry certification exams including Security+, Network+, CEH and CHFI

Tuition is $510 per credit hour for non-nursing undergraduate courses. Across the 120 credits, that comes to $61,200. On top of tuition, Excelsior charges a $40 per credit hour Academic Services Fee and a $28 per course credit Technology Fee.

Because the fees are charged per credit, they scale with how much you take. Add them to the tuition number before you compare against other schools. The biggest cost lever is transfer credit: every course you bring in from a community college or earlier degree comes off the 120 you'd pay for here. Ask for a transfer evaluation before you apply.

120 credits at $510 a credit comes to $61,200 in tuition, before fees.

The fully online option is asynchronous. Courses run on 8-week starts, so you can plan around work and family rather than around a fall or spring calendar.

There's an optional hybrid format as well. Each hybrid course requires a three-hour in-person session every other week, for a total of 12 hours on-site per course per term, at the St. Petersburg, Florida site. The fully online option has no on-site sessions. Federal data shows a 55% completion rate for transfer-in students, so the format does work for people who arrive with credits.

• Fees of $40 per credit hour and $28 per course credit sit on top of the $510 per credit tuition, so the true price is higher than $61,200.
• Seven certifications are named, but that doesn't mean seven vouchers are included. Ask what the program pays for.
• The hands-on lab option is the hybrid format in St. Petersburg, Florida, which doesn't help students who live elsewhere.
• The bachelor's degree is long. Without transfer credit, you're signing up for 120 credits.

• How many of my existing credits will transfer, and can you evaluate them before I apply?
• What is the all-in cost per credit once the Academic Services Fee and Technology Fee are added?
• Which courses fall in the Cyber Operations concentration, and which fall in General?
• Are exam vouchers for Security+, Network+, CEH or CHFI included, or do I buy them?
• Do online students get virtual labs for the attack and defense courses?
• What does the capstone or final project involve?

• Best Online Cybersecurity Degrees Rank 9 of 10, bachelor's
• Best Online Bachelor's Programs Rank 9 of 10, bachelor's
• Best Cyber Defense Degrees Rank 1 of 10, bachelor's
• Best Accelerated Online Programs Rank 3 of 10, bachelor's
• Best for Working Adults Rank 6 of 10, bachelor's
• Best With No Programming Rank 1 of 4, bachelor's
• Best Self-Paced Programs Rank 2 of 2, bachelor's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 9 of 10, bachelor's
• Best Programs With Certifications Rank 5 of 10, bachelor's
• Best Online Programs in New York Rank 1 of 7, bachelor's

• Master of Science in Cybersecurity

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $715 per credit Score 65.4

• SUNY College of Technology at Canton

  Cybersecurity - B.S.

  New York $353 per credit Score 62.5

• Southern New Hampshire University

  Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

  New Hampshire $354 per credit Score 63.2

• American Public University System

  Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

  West Virginia $360 per credit Score 62.1

• Dakota State University

  Cyber Operations, BS

  South Dakota $373.80 per credit Score 62.1