Best Accelerated Online Cybersecurity Degrees (2027)

A new class begins every eight weeks, and a typical 3-credit course costs $1,317, so you can start almost any month and pay one course at a time. Labs are run by working security practitioners. Wilmington says the NSA and DHS designate it a Center of Academic Excellence. Digital Forensics is the one named concentration, so cloud or industrial focus would need a different school.

Short eight-week terms let you take one 3-credit course at $1,062 and see what a cybersecurity workload feels like before committing to more. The NSA's Cyber Defense designation backs this as the school's validated program of study. It suits a beginner who wants a familiar online school and a low-risk first term.

Speed here comes from transfer: up to 113 of the 120 credits can come from earlier college work, certifications or training, which could leave very little to finish. What remains is practical, with Network and Application Security, Cyber Attacks and Defenses and a Cyber Operations concentration. Courses are asynchronous with a start every eight weeks. Tuition is $510 a credit, plus a $40 services fee on each.

Courses start every month and last eight weeks, which keeps the pace brisk. The electives reach past the basics into Cyber Warfare, Cryptography Concepts, Biometrics and Red and Blue Team Security. Ebooks cost nothing. Active-duty and veteran families pay $250 a credit instead of $360.

The ABET Computing Accreditation Commission accredits this degree, an outside check on the curriculum. You take one five-week course at a time, working through ethical hacking, penetration testing, cryptography and risk management with hands-on labs. It suits someone who loses focus when juggling classes. Books average about $125 a course, and a $115 technology fee is charged on every course.

Seven-week asynchronous courses start six times a year, and no math or technical background is required, so a career changer can begin cold. Boise State's School of Computing holds NSA designations in both Cyber Defense and Cyber Research, and VMware, Palo Alto and Cisco academy training is free to students. If you already hold an applied associate degree, the B.A.S. version accepts up to 47 technical credits.

Five-week courses are taught as live online classes, and the plan is built around certifications: up to 14 along the way, with exam vouchers included and unlimited attempts. Courses include Certified Ethical Hacker, Advanced Network Security for CISSP and AWS Security Foundations.

The degree is listed under its current name, Applied Bachelor's in Computer Information Systems, while a name change is approved. The 130 credits at $660 reach about $85,800, plus a $1,250 tech fee.

Six start dates a year, with eight-week terms and no scheduled meeting times, let you build this around a job. Required courses include Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing, Digital Forensics and Cyber Law, plus a cybersecurity internship and two capstones. Prior learning credit, up to 60 hours at 20 to 50 percent of tuition, can shorten the path. Out-of-state students pay only $10 more per credit than Virginians.

Five-week courses move quickly, but the degree is a computer science B.S. with a Cybersecurity Engineering concentration, so the load is 183 credits rather than the usual 120. That extra volume buys programming-centered depth and ends in a two-course team project. CTU holds the DHS and NSA Cyber Defense designation. It fits someone who wants to build software as well as defend it.

Eight-week terms inside a semester structure, with Linux System Administration, Network Defense and Security, and Network and Telecommunication Concepts building toward practice on Regent's cyber range, which online students can use too. The degree carries ABET accreditation and an NSA Cyber Defense designation. Taking 12 or more credits a semester brings tuition to $415 a credit, though the $750 services fee still applies each term.

The fast part here is coursework, and the slow part is writing. Two courses per 7-week term fits the 10-month pace, but the degree ends in a research thesis, so start thinking about your topic early. Mobile Device Analysis and Digital Forensics and Encryption give you material to write from. Take it if you want a thesis on your résumé, or try Champlain's M.S. in Digital Forensic Analytics.

Built around a fixed calendar: 36 credits and 576 contact hours across 52 weeks, with a new eight-week term starting six times a year. You take Forensics and Network Intrusion and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, which covers the systems behind utilities and factories. There is almost no room to pause, so plan your year before you start.

The shortcut here is transfer credit. Excelsior accepts up to 15 graduate credits earned in the past five years, which could cover half of the 30-credit degree if you've already started a master's elsewhere. Courses are asynchronous, and the Information Assurance concentration points toward compliance-heavy employers. A new course starts every eight weeks, so your transferred credits are put to work quickly.

The 2026-27 calendar is dated and easy to plan around: terms begin Aug 24, Oct 19, Jan 11, Mar 15, May 10 and Jul 1. Full-time students can finish in as little as one year, and eight-week courses have no set meeting times. The 30-credit degree has no thesis, so a capstone is the last hurdle between you and the diploma.

Seven-week terms and a published $18,180 total make the plan easy to map out, with students finishing in 12 to 18 months. The degree is STEM-designated, includes Information Security Program Management, and lets you join the audit body ISACA as a student. It suits a management direction. Starts are limited to four dates a year, so check the calendar first.

Stacking is how you move quickly here. Nine-credit graduate certificates can be finished in as few as two semesters, so you leave with a credential early and can continue toward the master's later. Seven-week asynchronous courses start six times a year, and Cisco, Palo Alto and VMware training is free. Any academic background is accepted, advisors help you choose courses, and technical and non-technical tracks are available.

Admission accepts a bachelor's plus Security+ or two years of related work, and courses start every month. The coursework leans toward investigation, with Computer Forensics, Advanced Cybercrime Analysis and Intrusion Detection and Incident Handling. Standard tuition is $470 per credit, or $250 for military students.

Finishing in a year is realistic here, with six start dates and two embedded certificates that count toward the degree. Pick Cybersecurity Management or Cybersecurity Technology and earn a smaller credential along the way. The price is $775 per credit.

Four-week courses mean one subject at a time across 39 credits, and you point the degree at a specialty: Ethical Hacking and Pen Testing, Digital Forensics, Cloud Security or Enterprise Cybersecurity Management. Tuition is $644 per credit, and the NSA designation as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense runs through 2028.

Seven-week classes and an 18-month minimum make this a steady sprint instead of a crash course. Cloud-based labs aim at CISSP, CEH, Certified Network Defender, OSCP and the AWS Certified Security Specialty. Expect $805 per credit hour plus $20 in fees, and a related bachelor's with a 2.5 GPA to apply.

Courses run in seven-week sessions, and the four-credit CCNA I course sits in the second session, so networking starts early in the plan. Finishing in two years takes 30 credits a year toward the 60-credit degree. Some sections meet live on set days and times, while others have no scheduled times, so check each section before you register.

Each of the 17 courses lasts five weeks, which suits someone who wants a fast two-year finish without juggling subjects. At-home lab kits give you hands-on practice with cabling and hardware. At $660 a credit, the 64 credits come to $42,240, and the average student finishes in under two years.

Sessions run eight weeks inside each semester, so you move through the 63 credits in short bursts. Hands-on skills come from Ethical Hacking, Python Scripting for Cyber, PowerShell for Cybersecurity, and Cyber Forensics and Incident Response. The 2-credit Career Experience course may require an in-person placement wherever you live. Its graduate survey reports 83% employed in the field.

SNHU runs eight-week terms at $354 a credit, so a course finishes before a busy season at work can stall you. Practice happens in online labs and simulated operating environments rather than software you set up yourself. Pick it if you want short terms and a steady calendar for an associate degree.

Classes start every eight weeks, and a typical 3-credit course costs $1,317, so the 60 credits total $26,340. The program is NSA-validated and fully online. That gives you a steady calendar, a clear total price and no long wait for your next start date.

Semesters range from 4 to 16 weeks, standard or accelerated, so shorter sessions can speed up your finish. At $230 a credit plus a $3 per credit online fee, the 62 credits stay well under typical private-school pricing. You can join live Zoom classes or work through Canvas anytime, and the NSA Cyber Defense designation runs through 2028.

Monthly starts and eight-week courses mean you rarely wait to begin, and Hardening Operating Systems is among the technical courses along the way. Standard tuition is $360 a credit, or $250 with the Preferred Military Rate for active-duty, Guard and Reserve families. Civilians should budget about $21,600 for the full 60-credit degree.

You take one seven-week course at a time at $250 a credit, so the 60 credits total roughly $15,000 and take under two years. Defense in Depth, Vulnerability Assessment and Testing, and Networks and Infrastructure make up the security core, and the credits roll into Immaculata's B.S.

This reads more like a network administrator degree with security attached than a security-first program. Coursework covers operating systems, advanced networking, programming and scripting, client-server architecture, and information security. Up to 30 credits can come from prior learning, so a working IT technician could finish much faster than two years. Choose a cyber-titled degree if pure defense is the goal.