Pikes Peak State College Online Cybersecurity, Associate of Applied Science

This is the associate degree on this list with the most clearly named security coursework and a stated certification plan. You can earn Security+ and Cisco CCNA while completing it, and the National Security Agency recognizes the college as a Cyber Security Center of Academic Excellence. The cost is $301.85 per credit for Colorado residents and $460.30 for everyone else.

Pikes Peak State College is a public community college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This page covers its Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) in Cybersecurity, a 60-credit degree the college lists among its programs that can be completed fully online.

The college runs a Cyber Defense Center, where students join a Cybersecurity Club and compete in IT security challenges.

The college offers a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S.) in Cybersecurity as a next step, so the associate degree works as the first half of a four-year path if you want one. Ask how the credits connect.

You earn an Associate of Applied Science in Cybersecurity. The college says you can earn Security+ and Cisco CCNA certifications while completing the degree. Security+ is CompTIA's entry-level security exam, and CCNA is Cisco's entry-level networking credential. Pairing a degree with both is a practical way to show employers you can handle security and networking.

The National Security Agency recognizes the college as a Cyber Security Center of Academic Excellence. That recognition is a point in the program's favor for government and defense employers.

The college's Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity is the stated next step if you want a four-year degree.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

Who It Fits

• You want a degree that names the certifications you can earn on the way: Security+ and Cisco CCNA.
• You are on active duty and can use the $250 per credit online military rate.
• You plan to continue to the college's Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity and want to stay in one system.
• You like clubs and competitions as a way to practice, since the Cyber Defense Center runs a Cybersecurity Club and IT security challenges.

Who Should Skip It

• You live outside Colorado and watch every dollar. The non-resident rate of $460.30 per credit puts tuition at $27,618 for 60 credits.
• You want the highest completion numbers. Federal data shows a 21% graduation rate at the college and a 22.5% 8-year completion rate for transfer-in students.
• You need a clearly structured online lab environment. Ask how labs work for online students first.

The catalog names real security courses. Network Security Fundamentals and Network Defense and Counter Measures cover protecting a network and answering when it is attacked. Vulnerability Assessment Level 1 teaches you to find weak points in a system before someone else does. Enterprise Security applies those ideas to a whole organization, and Linux Fundamentals gives you the operating system skills that most security tools run on.

That sequence moves from basics to defense to assessment, which matches how entry-level analyst work is organized. The 3-credit CNG 2080 Internship is also part of the plan.

Because Security+ and Cisco CCNA are named, the networking and security courses are likely your best prep for those exams. Ask which courses map to which exam.

Courses the School Names

• Network Security Fundamentals
• Vulnerability Assessment Level 1
• Network Defense and Counter Measures
• Enterprise Security
• Linux Fundamentals

Standout Features

• Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity available as a next step
• Cybersecurity Club and IT security challenges
• Earn Security+ and Cisco CCNA certifications while completing the degree
• Recognized by the National Security Agency as a Cyber Security Center of Academic Excellence

Online tuition has four rates. A Colorado resident with the College Opportunity Fund pays $301.85 per credit, a resident without it pays $417.85, and a non-resident pays $460.30. Active duty service members pay $250.00 per credit.

For 60 credits, tuition comes to $18,111 at the resident rate with the fund and $27,618 at the non-resident rate. Those are the rates for 2026-2027, and fees are extra.

Federal data lists a campus per-credit charge of $694, which is higher than the in-state online rate, so make sure you are quoted the online price rather than the on-campus one. If you plan to continue to the B.A.S., ask whether the same per-credit rate applies.

60 credits at $460.30 a credit comes to $27,618 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $301.85, the same 60 credits come to $18,111.

The college lists this associate degree among its online offerings. Federal data shows 28% of its students are enrolled exclusively online, and the college has 12,556 students overall, a large student body.

Ask whether classes are asynchronous, how long each term runs, and whether the Cyber Defense Center's club and challenges are open to online students. Those those activities are where many students build the practical experience that employers want to see.

The internship is a 3-credit course, so ask how online students are placed.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• Tuition is $27,618 for non-residents, which is high for an associate degree.
• The college's federal graduation rate is 21%, and many students attend part time or transfer.
• Colorado residents pay $417.85 per credit if they don't have the College Opportunity Fund, so the lowest rate depends on that eligibility.

• Do I qualify for the College Opportunity Fund rate of $301.85, and what is my total with fees?
• Which courses prepare me for Security+ and which for Cisco CCNA, and are exam vouchers included?
• Can online students join the Cybersecurity Club and the IT security challenges?
• How are online students placed in the CNG 2080 Internship?
• How do the associate credits count toward the Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity?
• If I am active duty, does the $250 per credit rate apply to every course in this degree?

Public community college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, recognized by the National Security Agency as a Cyber Security Center of Academic Excellence.

• Best for Military Students Rank 3 of 3, associate
• Best Online Programs in Colorado Rank 1 of 1, associate

• Blue Ridge Community and Technical College

  Cyber Security

  West Virginia $406 per credit Score 31.0

• Northland Pioneer College

  Cybersecurity (Associate in Applied Science)

  Arizona $376 per credit Score 31.6

• Los Angeles Mission College

  Cyber Security Associate

  California $443 per credit Score 32.0

• Mid-America Christian University

  Associate of Science in Network Management and Security

  Oklahoma $455 per credit Score 32.5