Northwood University Online Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity

The Bachelor of Applied Science is Northwood's shorter, more practical cybersecurity degree. It asks for 90 credits instead of 120, charges the same $525 per credit, and totals $47,250. It also lists a required credit-bearing internship, so you finish with workplace experience as well as coursework.

Northwood University is a private university in Midland, Michigan, known for its business focus. The Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity is 90 credits, and the school says you can finish in as few as three years. You can study online or on campus. Online, a class begins every six weeks and you take one course at a time.

To apply, you need a high school diploma or GED, and transfer applicants add their college transcripts. No GRE or GMAT score is asked for.

The key difference from the Bachelor of Science at the same school is length and focus. That degree is 120 credits at $63,000 in tuition. This one is 90 credits at $47,250, and it spells out an internship requirement and a Technology Senior Project.

Plan on $47,250 in tuition: 90 credits at $525 each, which is $1,575 per 3-credit course for 2026 to 2027. Books are folded in at an estimated $30 per credit hour.

Nothing about the rate is special to this degree. Face-to-face and online students pay the same, and the Bachelor of Science charges the same amount per credit. Your savings come from needing 30 fewer credits.

Prior learning assessments can trim the bill again, so request one before your first start date.

90 credits at $525 a credit comes to $47,250 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• You want a degree with real-world experience built in. The program requires a credit-bearing internship approved by the program chair.
• You are bringing credit from earlier college work or from your job. The Credit for Prior Learning program converts validated skills into credit.
• You work best with a predictable load, one class per six-week block.
• You are aiming for federal service and want to apply for the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service, which Northwood students are eligible for.

Who Should Skip It

• You do not have a way to complete an internship. It is required and the program chair has to approve it.
• You want a longer, broader bachelor's. The 120-credit Bachelor of Science covers more ground.
• You want to pick a concentration. None is listed.
• You want the fastest possible finish. The school says as few as three years, and that is not the shortest in the field.

Notable courses include Cybersecurity Principles, Scripting, Cryptography, Network Security (Red Team/Blue Team) and Ethical Hacking. The sequence runs from fundamentals into attack and defense practice, and the ethical hacking project has you build and manage a security posture from start to finish.

Two requirements set this version apart. First, a credit-bearing internship is mandatory, approved by the program chair. Second, the capstone is called the Technology Senior Project, MIS 4500, which pulls together your major courses.

With fewer total credits, you have less elective space, so ask for the degree map and see which general education credits you will need beyond the 90.

Courses the School Names

• Cybersecurity Principles
• Scripting
• Cryptography
• Network Security (Red Team/Blue Team)
• Ethical Hacking

Standout Features

• Credit for Prior Learning program awards credit for validated college-level skills gained outside the classroom
• Eligible to apply for the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service
• Ethical hacking project building and managing an organization's security posture from start to finish
• National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity designation, jointly awarded by the NSA and DHS, according to Northwood

A new session opens every six weeks, and each one holds a single course. With only one set of deadlines at a time, a job or family schedule is easier to protect.

About 47% of Northwood undergraduates study exclusively online, according to federal data. Among transfer students, 72.5% complete within eight years.

The internship is the piece to plan early. Online students may need to locate their own placement, so ask how the school helps with that search.

You earn a Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity. Northwood reports a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity designation, jointly awarded by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

A Bachelor of Applied Science is sometimes designed for students who already hold technical coursework or an associate degree, so confirm with admissions how this one treats your prior credits.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• A required internship needs approval from the program chair and time you may not have.
• No concentrations are listed.
• The degree is shorter than a standard bachelor's, which some employers or graduate programs may view differently, so ask about both.
• Ask whether the online courses include scheduled live sessions.

• How do online students find and get approval for the required internship?
• Does this degree assume I already have an associate degree or technical credits?
• How will graduate schools and employers view a Bachelor of Applied Science compared with a Bachelor of Science?
• What does the Technology Senior Project involve?
• How much credit could my experience earn through Credit for Prior Learning?

A private business-focused university that offers its cybersecurity degrees both on campus and through Northwood Online.

• Best Online Programs in Michigan Rank 3 of 6, bachelor's

• Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

  B.S., Bachelor's

  Fully Online $525 per credit Score 51.6

• Dakota State University

  Cyber Leadership and Intelligence, BS

  South Dakota $373.80 per credit Score 51.7

• National University

  Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

  California $640 per credit Score 51.9

• Indiana Institute of Technology

  Cybersecurity, B.S.

  Indiana Score 52.1

• University of Cincinnati

  Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity (Online)

  Ohio Score 50.8