Southern New Hampshire University Online Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) offers an established online cybersecurity bachelor's degree, with a flat $354 per credit, eight-week terms and an NSA-validated program of study. It's a strong fit for working adults who want a recognizable school, predictable pricing and a menu of add-on concentrations. It is a generalist degree with no stated certification prep, so plan your own exam study.

SNHU is a private nonprofit university in Manchester, New Hampshire, and most of its students learn online. Federal data counts 189,531 students, with 98% studying exclusively online, and 538 bachelor's-level awards a year in this field. That is a lot of online students, so the systems have been tested at scale.

The Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity is SNHU's validated program of study for the NSA's Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) designation. The school as a whole holds that designation, and this is the degree the NSA looks at.

The degree is 40 courses taught in eight-week terms.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

The online undergraduate rate is $354 per credit, or $1,062 per course. The program has 40 courses, so multiply $1,062 by 40 for the base tuition before transfer credit. Courses run in eight-week terms.

A warning for comparison shopping. The federal system shows a $540 per-credit charge for SNHU, but that is a campus rate. The online price is the $354 figure, so use that one.

Transfer credit is where you can save the most. Every course you bring in is a course you don't pay $1,062 for, so get a transcript review before you commit.

Who It Fits

• Working adults who want one flat rate and a clear picture of the bill. It's $354 per credit, or $1,062 per course.
• Students who want to add focus. You can stay with a general cybersecurity degree or add a concentration in Data Analytics Fundamentals, Generative AI or Project Management Fundamentals.
• Anyone who wants labs with AI-enabled security tools, which reflect where the field is heading.
• People who value open admission. SNHU admits 100% of applicants, so a weak high school record won't block you.

Who Should Skip It

• Students who want a built-in certification path.
• Learners who need a small, personal environment. SNHU is very large, and you'll drive your own support requests.
• Anyone who wants a research-heavy or highly selective program. This one is open to all applicants and aimed at working adults.

The program is built around labs and real-world scenarios. The school says you'll build skills with AI-enabled security tools, which is a current and practical angle, since both attackers and defenders now use AI.

The concentrations are the main way to shape the degree. Data Analytics Fundamentals suits someone who'll spend time in logs and detection data. Generative AI fits students interested in how AI changes both threats and defenses. Project Management Fundamentals is for people heading toward team lead and coordination roles.

You can skip the concentrations and take the general degree. The concentrations are optional, so pick one only if it matches a role you can name.

Standout Features

• Labs and real-world scenarios build skills with AI-enabled security tools
• SNHU is designated by the NSA as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) and the BS in Cybersecurity is its validated program of study

With 98% of SNHU's students online, you won't be a rare remote student on a campus-first school. Ask how advising and tech support work for online learners.

Terms are eight weeks, which means you typically focus on a small number of courses at a time and finish them quickly. If you fall behind, the next term starts soon, so a rough patch doesn't cost you a whole semester. The flip side is that eight weeks leaves no room for coasting.

Labs and scenarios are part of the coursework, and the school says they use AI-enabled security tools. Ask for a demo of the lab environment so you know what you'll be working in.

SNHU is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), an institutional accreditor. Accreditation from NECHE generally makes it easier to transfer credits or continue to a master's degree later.

The NSA has designated SNHU as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, and this B.S. is the validated program of study. That is a program-level quality signal that employers in government and defense recognize.

Federal data shows a 43% graduation rate for the school and a 42.5% 8-year completion rate for students who transferred in. Plan your schedule and support early, because finishing is the hard part for many online students.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

• Open admission and a large online population mean outcomes vary widely, and the graduation rate is 43%.
• At 40 courses of $1,062 each, tuition is substantial without transfer credit.
• Eight-week terms are fast, with little recovery time in a hard stretch.
• SNHU also offers an associate and a master's in cybersecurity, so make sure you're enrolling in the level you actually want.

• How many of my prior credits will count, and how many of the 40 courses would I still need?
• Which concentration fits the job I want, and does it add courses or replace electives?
• Which labs use AI-enabled security tools, and can I see the lab environment before enrolling?
• Which certification exams do graduates commonly pursue, and are there study resources through the school?
• How does the associate degree credit into this bachelor's if I start there?
• What support do online students get from an advisor, and how often do we talk?

Private nonprofit university in Manchester, New Hampshire that serves most of its students online.

• Best Online Cybersecurity Degrees Rank 8 of 10, bachelor's
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• Best Cybersecurity and AI Degrees Rank 1 of 4, bachelor's
• Best Affordable Online Programs Rank 8 of 10, bachelor's
• Best Accelerated Online Programs Rank 2 of 10, bachelor's
• Best for Working Adults Rank 5 of 10, bachelor's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 8 of 10, bachelor's

• Master of Science in Cybersecurity

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $659 per credit Score 55.6

• Associate of Science in Cybersecurity

  A.S., Associate

  Fully Online $354 per credit Score 54.4

Also at Southern New Hampshire University, but not counted here because they are not fully online: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (bachelor's, on campus).

• Excelsior University

  Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

  New York $510 per credit Score 62.8

• SUNY College of Technology at Canton

  Cybersecurity - B.S.

  New York $353 per credit Score 62.5

• University of Maryland Global Campus

  Cybersecurity Technology Bachelor of Science

  Maryland $499 per credit Score 64.2

• American Public University System

  Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

  West Virginia $360 per credit Score 62.1