Stevenson University Online Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics, B.S.

Stevenson's online bachelor's stands out for digital forensics. It carries two designations that go beyond the usual cyber badge, and graduates leave with two certificates of completion that can be exchanged for Department of Defense training course credit.

At $470 per credit and $0 fees, it is clearly priced, and a 2.0 GPA gets you in. It suits someone drawn to investigation and evidence work, and suits less well a student who wants a purely offensive security or cloud engineering focus.

Stevenson University is a private nonprofit school in Owings Mills, Maryland, with 3,684 students, a 79% admission rate and a 68% overall graduation rate. The Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics B.S. is 100% online and requires 120 credits. Only 10% of Stevenson students are enrolled exclusively online, so the online program sits inside a mostly campus-based university.

The school is an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, and it says it is one of only 16 universities designated a National Center of Digital Forensics Academic Excellence by the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center. The program graduates about 49 students a year in this field.

Stevenson also has an online master's version of the same subject for students who finish the bachelor's.

Online undergraduate tuition for 2026-2027 is $470 per credit with $0 fees, and the total for 120 credits is $56,400. The no-fee structure makes the bill easy to predict. Prior learning can cut that figure: undergraduates may earn up to 30 credits for previous work and life experiences through Credit for Prior Learning.

Confirm how the school assesses and prices that credit. For the master's sibling, 36 credits at $719 each, with up to 15 credits earned through transfer and prior learning, the graduate path costs more per credit.

120 credits at $470 a credit comes to $56,400 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• Students interested in investigations, evidence handling and incident response, which is what the digital forensics emphasis centers on.
• Aspiring federal or defense-sector workers, since CAE-CD status allows students to apply for NSA scholarships and join exclusive recruiting and networking events.
• Working adults with experience, because undergraduates can earn up to 30 credits for previous work and life experiences.
• Students with a modest GPA, who need only a 2.0 cumulative GPA in earlier academic work.

Who Should Skip It

• Students who want a pure cloud or offensive security specialty. The forensics emphasis shapes the degree.
• Anyone who needs a detailed course list before enrolling, since you should request the catalog to see the titles.

The signature element is the pair of certificates of completion that graduates receive alongside the diploma: Digital Forensics Examiner and Digital Media Collector. The school says these can be exchanged for Department of Defense training course credit. The program also lets students sit for CompTIA, EC-Council and other industry certification exams.

Use the university's catalog to see the individual course titles. The master's sibling lists specific forensic tools, including Magnet Axiom, EnCase, FTK Imager, Autopsy and Volatility, along with a Malware Detection, Analysis, and Prevention course, which tells you where the school's forensics teaching goes at the graduate level.

Ask which of those tools undergraduates use.

Standout Features

• Graduates receive two certificates of completion, Digital Forensics Examiner and Digital Media Collector, exchangeable for Department of Defense training course credit
• NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) status allows NSA scholarship applications and exclusive recruiting events
• One of only 16 universities designated a National Center of Digital Forensics Academic Excellence (CDFAE) by the DoD Cyber Crime Center

The program is fully online. Ask admissions whether classes are live or self-paced and when terms start. The master's sibling uses eight-week courses and can be finished in two years or less, and the bachelor's may follow a similar rhythm, but confirm. Federal data shows 60.5% of transfer students complete within eight years, a useful number if you are bringing credits in.

You earn a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics, plus the two certificates of completion. The Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense designation and the CDFAE designation from the DoD Cyber Crime Center are school-level credentials. Together they support applications to NSA scholarships and defense-linked jobs. Industry certification exams from CompTIA and EC-Council are available but are not described as included in tuition.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• Request the catalog to see course titles before you commit.
• The forensics emphasis narrows the degree for students who prefer cloud or offensive security.
• Only 10% of Stevenson students are exclusively online.
• The $56,400 tuition is higher than several public options.

• What is the full course list, and which courses are forensics-focused?
• Are classes live or self-paced, and how long are the terms?
• How are the Digital Forensics Examiner and Digital Media Collector certificates earned, and how does the DoD credit exchange work?
• How is Credit for Prior Learning assessed, and what does it cost?
• Which certification exams are covered, and who pays for the vouchers?

• Best Digital Forensics Degrees Rank 7 of 10, bachelor's
• Best Online Programs in Maryland Rank 4 of 6, bachelor's

• Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics, M.S.

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $719 per credit Score 51.8

• Old Dominion University

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• California Institute of Arts & Technology

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• Fort Hays State University

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  Kansas $275.65 per credit Score 55.4

• Colorado Technical University

  Bachelor of Science in Computer Science - Cybersecurity Engineering Concentration

  Colorado $340 per credit Score 55.2