Best Online Cybersecurity Degrees (2027)

The aftermath is the appeal here: pulling evidence off an infected machine and explaining it to a court. Courses like Malware Forensics, Operating System Forensics and Law of Searching and Seizing Digital Evidence end in a Digital Forensic Practicum. Seven-week terms let you take one class at a time. The focus is narrow, so it's a weaker choice for general network defense work.

WGU rewards people already working in IT who can test out of what they know. Tuition is a flat $4,425 per six-month term, so every course you pass quickly saves money. Coursework covers Python, penetration testing and digital forensics, and the certification list includes CompTIA Security+. There are no live classes or weekly deadlines, so you need your own routine to keep moving.

Franklin is made for the adult who already holds college credit and wants to finish. You can bring in up to 94 of the 124 credits, start in any of 8 terms a year, and lock your first-term rate with the Tuition Guarantee. The 4-credit team capstone can't be transferred, so everyone completes it here. The public course list is short, so ask admissions how deep the security content goes.

Wilmington gives working adults the clearest exam roadmap on this list: coursework is aimed at A+, Network+, Linux+, Security+, CISA and CISSP. Technical labs are led by practicing security professionals, and a Digital Forensics concentration tilts the degree toward investigation. CISA and CISSP expect job experience, so treat those as later goals. New classes begin every 8 weeks, which keeps the wait short.

Norwich trades the usual CompTIA path for Hack The Box, a hands-on platform where you earn practical credentials like Certified Penetration Testing Specialist and Certified Defensive Security Analyst. You also choose between Computer Forensics and Vulnerability Management or Information Warfare and Security Management. It rewards military or technical veterans who can transfer up to 90 credits. If employers near you ask for Security+, ask how the courses cover it.

Grantham builds from the systems up. Linux Administration and Virtualization come before Cryptography and Cloud Computing Security, and the Network+ and Security+ aligned courses include lab exercises. Most courses start monthly and the school includes a laptop, so you can begin almost any time. The accreditor is national (DEAC), so check how a future graduate school or transfer college treats these credits first.

UMGC pairs the degree with a Virtual Security Lab, an award-winning cybersecurity competition team and courses lined up with CompTIA Security+, PenTest+ and CySA+. A capstone, CMIT 495, ties the work together. It fits students who want to test skills against other students nationwide. The same school offers Cyber Operations and Cybersecurity Management and Policy, so compare course lists before enrolling in this one.

SNHU lets you shape a general degree with optional concentrations: Data Analytics Fundamentals for log-heavy detection work, Generative AI for the AI side of attacks and defense, or Project Management Fundamentals for team lead roles. Coursework uses labs and AI-enabled security tools in eight-week terms, at $1,062 per course. No certification exam is named, so plan your own Security+ study if you want one.

Excelsior's courses include Cyber Attacks and Defenses, Security Focused Risk Management and Large Scale Cybercrime and Terrorism, and a Cyber Operations concentration leans toward response work. The program prepares you for seven named exams, including Security+, CEH and CHFI, so ask which course feeds which one. Online study is asynchronous with 8-week starts. Hands-on lab sessions exist only in the hybrid option, held in St. Petersburg, Florida.

A strong value among bachelor's degrees: $295 per credit for New York residents, an NSA program validation few online options can match, and labs that lean practical. Survey of Cybersecurity and Cybersecurity Body of Knowledge ground the early courses before the ethical hacking class. Canton's 38% overall graduation rate says to arrange support early.

Three tracks, Information Security, Cyber-Physical Systems and Policy, let you aim this ten-course degree at software security, industrial systems or government work. Courses are mostly asynchronous, with optional live office hours and group-project meetings, so a full-time job fits. Admissions is the hurdle: three references, essays and a resume, though no GRE is needed. Expect two to three years part time, with starts only in August and January.

The finish line here is a research thesis, not a practical exam, which suits examiners who want to explain evidence in writing as well as collect it. Coursework covers Malware Analysis, Mobile Device Analysis, Operating System Analysis and Digital Forensics and Encryption. You take one or two courses per 7-week term. The credit total runs 30 to 36, so ask Champlain which number applies to you.

Coursework follows the CISSP body of knowledge: Access Control, Cryptography, Security Architecture and Design, Operations Security, and Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning, finishing with the ISOL 699 Info Security Project. At $355 a credit, the 31 credits come to $11,005. The school says it's meant for people already working in IT, so career changers with no technical background will feel the gap.

The CISSP certification is included in tuition, and a separate preparation course points toward the EC-Council Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator exam. Courses range from Secure Network Design and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition to Cyberlaw, ending in the CYS-6339 capstone. Eight-week terms and six starts a year keep it to 12 months. Budget extra for the $100 lab and $125 technology fees each term on top of $21,420.

This one leans technical and hands-on: Offensive Security, Network Security Monitoring and Intrusion Detection, Malware and Threat Analysis, Digital Forensics and Incident Response. You pick a technical specialization or a security management and compliance one, and the NSA's CAE-CD designation helps with federal work. Applicants need a computing bachelor's and a 3.0 GPA, so career changers from other fields should look elsewhere. Starts are fall, spring and summer.

A governance-flavored degree: Network and Communication Security, Global Cybersecurity, Information Assurance and Security Policy and Compliance, with General and Information Assurance concentrations and coursework pointing toward the ISC2 CCSP. Classes are asynchronous and start every 8 weeks, no programming background is required, and 15 transfer credits are accepted. Course materials cost extra on top of the $715 per credit.

Few master's degrees in this field bundle as much into one price: five industry certifications at no extra cost and a course named Governance, Risk, and Compliance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Pace is yours, but the 46% graduation rate rewards people who can manage themselves without class meetings.

The breadth of federal recognition is the case for it: ODU holds NSA designations in Cyber Defense, Cyber Operations and Cyber Research, per the school. Eight-week courses, six starts a year and a capstone replace the thesis. Virginia residents pay $20,160 for the 30 credits, slightly more than the out-of-state $19,860.

UMGC pairs a very large public online university with NSA and DC3 designations for its cybersecurity programs. Median earnings of $130,314 for graduates in this field, per federal data, are a useful yardstick against the $20,820 tuition. Technology is the hands-on pick, while Management and Policy suits future program leads.

Choose this when you want technology, human factors and law in one degree instead of a purely technical track. Remote labs cover hands-on work, and you can add a graduate certificate in Cybersecurity. Tuition is $20,850, or $18,000 at the flat degree rate for students who finish quickly.

Fox Valley is built for working adults who want to start soon: three entry points a year (spring, summer and fall 2027) and a choice of part-time or full-time pace. The 62 credits come with an $11,000 tuition-and-fees estimate, and the coursework centers on fraud detection, risk assessment, technical reporting and server applications. Admission asks for a 2.75 GPA or a prior degree.

Albany suits Georgia residents who want a plain, low-cost route into network defense. The 72 credits at $107 each work out to about $7,704 in tuition before mandatory fees, and you can enter any semester. Core courses include Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing, Computer Forensics, and Network Defense and Countermeasures. A shorter 58-credit diploma sits beside the degree, so you can stop earlier if a job offer comes first.

Central Georgia Tech pairs a 60-credit degree with an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense designation that runs through 2028, a credential federal hiring managers recognize. Coursework covers ethical hacking, forensics and operating systems security. Georgia residents pay $107 a credit (about $6,420 across the degree before fees), and out-of-state students pay double. Some online classes may ask you to come to campus for exams or labs.

SAU Tech is the pick when you want to practice against live attacks from your kitchen table. Its Cyber Range virtual lab, run through a CyberBit partnership, has you simulate real-world cyberattacks. Coursework prepares you for Security+, Network+ and Linux administration exams. Courses are advertised at $579 per three-credit class, though extra per-credit fees apply, so ask an advisor for the full-degree total.

CCBC fits students who want a firewall-and-intrusion-detection foundation and a clear certification path. Courses include Introduction to Firewalls, Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems and Advanced Linux Administration, and the work maps to CompTIA Security+, Linux+ and Cisco CCNA. Classes run in seven-week sessions, either live on video or on your own schedule. Finishing in two years takes 30 credits a year. An employer advisory board of Baltimore-area tech firms shapes the courses.

Southeast Minnesota's Cybersecurity and Network Administration degree leans toward the administrator's side of security: cloud security, device hardening, intrusion prevention and firewalls. It lines up with ten industry certifications from CompTIA, Cisco and Microsoft, and it follows the NSA and Homeland Security curriculum used for Cyber Defense designation, though the college doesn't claim the designation itself. About $13,206 in tuition and fees across 60 credits, taught fully online.

Georgia Northwestern is a good match for Georgia, Alabama or Tennessee residents, who all pay the same $107 per credit with no online surcharge. Across 72 credits you'll take Information Security Fundamentals, Network Security, Forensics and Ethical Hacking. The catch is proctoring: lab finals in four CIST courses must be done in person on campus or with an instructor-approved proctor, so confirm you live near an option.

California Institute of Applied Technology teaches in five-week courses, one subject at a time, and ships at-home lab kits for hands-on practice. This 64-credit associate degree is an IT generalist track (Cybersecurity Fundamentals, Network Fundamentals, Azure and AWS) that prepares you for up to seven certifications, including Security+. Challenge exams can turn existing certifications into credit. At $660 a credit the price is steep, so use those challenge exams.

St. Petersburg College is for Florida residents who want certification prep baked in. Students can sit for CompTIA A+ and Security+, EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker, and Cisco CCNA CyberOps. The NSA has validated this associate degree for Cyber Defense through academic year 2029. SPC estimates the full program at $10,148 for Floridians, but out-of-state tuition is $386.90 per credit, more than triple the in-state rate, so nonresidents should look elsewhere.

Georgia Military College runs on quarters, with new terms starting October 13 and January 6, and it's built as a launch pad to a bachelor's: transfer agreements move credits to dozens of four-year schools. Beyond Cyber Information Security I, which includes web-based virtual security labs, the plan leans on Networking I, Data Structures I and programming. Estimated annual cost is $8,640 including books. Finishing in about 1.5 years is possible.

Pick this if you want to specialize at the doctoral level: you choose data privacy, management or technical fields, so a privacy officer and a malware researcher end up with different dissertations. Starts come in fall and spring, and the timeline runs from three years full time to seven part time. The trade-off is three on-campus research seminars in Madison every year, which is real travel.

Choose this applied doctorate if your goal is solving a problem from your own workplace using data analytics, with no campus trips at all. Six graduate courses come first, then a research praxis you write and defend. That praxis phase carries at least 24 credit hours at $1,750 each, so budget for the long, independent stretch. Neither GRE nor GMAT is asked.

A Doctor of Science with a dissertation and oral defense, taught by a school the NSA and Department of Homeland Security designate a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education. Applicants with a master's need only 36 credits, while a bachelor's holder takes 72. Expect to show a B- in a college statistics course, and bring a research statement and two writing samples.