Portland Community College Online Cybersecurity, Associate Degree

This is a fully online associate degree from a large Oregon community college, and it is the better fit if you live in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho or Nevada.

Residents pay $143 per credit, which puts tuition for the 91 credits at $13,013. Everyone else pays $298 per credit, or $27,118. The degree is long and some labs or exams may need a campus visit, so check each course before you enroll.

Portland Community College is a public community college in Portland, Oregon. Its Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) in Cybersecurity is listed among the college's online degrees, and the program page describes a mix of hands-on labs and lecture.

The detail that sets this program apart is how the curriculum is built. The college says its courses are mapped to the knowledge units of the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security requirements for a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense.

That is a statement about how the courses are organized, not a designation the program holds, so treat it as a sign the curriculum follows a federal checklist rather than a college's own invention.

The college is large, with 20,861 students enrolled, and 40% of its undergraduates take their classes exclusively online. That means online students are not a small side group here, and the college has had practice running remote courses.

Tuition is $143 per credit for residents of Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho and Nevada, and $298 per credit for everyone else. Across 91 credits, that is $13,013 for residents and $27,118 for non-residents.

Fees come on top. The college adds $4.25 per credit for student activity, $7.35 per credit for instructional technology and a $15 college service fee each term. Because the per-credit fees apply to all 91 credits, they add up to a real amount over the degree. The federal data shows an out-of-state charge of $278 per credit for the campus, so the online non-resident price is a little above that.

If you are a resident of one of the five states, the price is competitive for a degree with this much lab content. If you are not, compare it with other online associate degrees before you commit.

91 credits at $298 a credit comes to $27,118 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $143, the same 91 credits come to $13,013.

Who It Fits

• You live in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho or Nevada and want the $143 resident rate, which brings tuition for the whole degree to $13,013.
• You want a curriculum organized around the same knowledge areas federal agencies use to judge cyber defense programs, so the coursework has a recognizable outline.
• You plan to keep working while you study and need classes you can mostly take from home.
• You expect to transfer to a bachelor's later and want a large, established community college to start with.

Who Should Skip It

• You live outside the five resident states. At $298 per credit, tuition runs $27,118, and cheaper technical colleges on this list charge far less for a shorter degree.
• You need every course to be completable without leaving home. Some classes require lab work or proctored exams at a set location.
• You want the fastest route to a first security job. At 91 credits this degree is longer than the 60 and 61 credit associate degrees at some other colleges here.

The program page gives two details about the coursework. The courses are mapped to the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security knowledge units, and the format combines hands-on labs with lecture. Which specific tools or exam topics you will cover is a question for the department.

What the mapping does tell you is the scope. Knowledge units for cyber defense programs are the topic lists federal reviewers use, and they cover the core of the field rather than one narrow specialty. Expect the degree to be broad. If you want to know whether a particular skill, such as forensics or penetration testing, gets its own course, ask the department for the course list before you apply.

Standout Features

• Courses mapped to the knowledge units of the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security requirements for a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense
• Hands-on labs and lecture

The degree is listed as fully online, with one important exception. The college states that some online classes require lab activities or proctored exams that must be completed at a specific location, and that you should check each course's Class Details page. That is a useful warning if you live far from Portland.

In practice, check two things before you register. First, whether the lab courses in your first year are fully remote. Second, where proctored exams can be taken, since some colleges allow approved testing centers and others do not. Ask the department whether classes meet live or run self-paced, and how many start dates there are each year.

You earn an A.A.S. in Cybersecurity from Portland Community College. An A.A.S. is designed to prepare you for work, so it may not transfer to a four-year school as smoothly as an associate designed for transfer. If a bachelor's is the goal, ask which universities accept these credits.

Ask which industry certifications the courses prepare you for. For context, the federal graduation measure for transfer-in students at the college is 27%, which reflects a large community college where many students attend part time or move on to other schools. Treat it as background for the college, not a prediction for you.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• At 91 credits this is a long associate degree, so it takes more time and more per-credit fees than shorter options.
• Non-residents pay $298 per credit, which brings tuition to $27,118 for the degree.
• Some lab work or proctored exams may require you to be at a particular location, which undercuts the convenience of an online degree.
• Ask the department for the full course list and which industry certifications, if any, the courses prepare you for.

• Which of the required courses have labs or proctored exams that must be done in person, and where?
• Can I take proctored exams at a testing center near me if I live outside Oregon?
• Which industry certifications do the courses line up with, if any?
• Which universities accept this A.A.S. toward a bachelor's, and is there a written agreement?
• Are the labs run on virtual machines I can reach from home, or on campus equipment?
• How often do the required courses run online, and will I be able to finish in two years?

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