Best Affordable Online Cybersecurity Degrees: Lowest Rates (2027)

Network security, ethical hacking and digital forensics anchor this information networking and telecommunications degree, so you learn how traffic moves before you defend it. At $275.65 a credit for 120 credits, tuition comes to about $33,078. Fort Hays encourages internships and runs a Cybersecurity Club. Choose the B.S. if you'd rather skip the ten credits of a language other than English that the B.A. adds.

Application security, intrusion detection, auditing and disaster recovery make up the security core, which leans toward the audit and recovery side of the field. With 11 start dates a year and courses open around the clock, it suits people working odd shifts. You can transfer in up to 90 of the 120 credits, so an earlier associate degree could shrink the $278-a-credit bill a lot.

Budget for the $305 tuition plus a $50 per credit hour resource fee that covers textbooks and technology, so book costs don't surprise you later. Coursework lines up with the CompTIA Network+ and Security+ exams, and the plan runs about 38 months across 120 credits. Military members and veterans in the Heroes program pay $250 per credit hour. Accreditation here comes from DEAC, a national accreditor.

Threat Analysis, Malware Analysis, Radiofrequency Analysis and Information Security Management are named courses, with hands-on labs in both Windows and Linux. The coursework also prepares you for the CISSP exam. It's 180 quarter credits at $338 each, about $60,840, so the savings come from transfer: EOU accepts up to 135 credits, and an A.A.S. graduate can take the B.A.S. path.

Expect a software engineering degree more than a pure security one, because the Cybersecurity Engineering concentration sits inside a Computer Science major. CTU is recognized by the NSA and DHS as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. Each course runs five weeks at $340 a credit, so you finish a class quickly, but 183 credits make the road long. Choose it only if you want to write code.

Discounts decide the price here: $342 a credit is the standard rate, but alumni, associate degree graduates, veterans and their families pay $297, and service members pay $250. Credit for prior learning and military training also counts. The subject is evidence work, from malware to courtroom procedure, so it suits someone drawn to investigation. Plan on a one-time $150 graduation fee.

Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing, Information Security and Cybersecurity Body of Knowledge are named courses, and the plan requires cluster courses in both data security and network security. The program earned NSA Program of Study Validation in Fall 2022. New York residents pay $295 a credit; online students from other states pay $353. In the final semester you choose an internship or extra upper-level electives.

Think in courses, not credits: the degree is 40 courses at $1,062 each, taken in eight-week terms, so you can stack one class at a time around a job. You can also choose the general degree or a concentration in Data Analytics Fundamentals, Generative AI or Project Management Fundamentals. Labs use AI-enabled security tools, and the trade-off is that cybersecurity certifications like Security+ are yours to study for separately.

Five concentrations make this the most specialized low-cost bachelor's: General, Critical Infrastructure, Digital Forensics, Privacy and Surveillance, and Wireless and Mobile Security. Courses start monthly, the standard rate is $360 per credit, and military families pay $250. Weigh the 41.5% transfer completion rate and $86,275 median earnings against what you plan to borrow.

At $368 per credit, with the same rate for in-state and out-of-state students, 120 credits total $44,160 in tuition, and up to 90 transfer credits can cut that sharply. The cybersecurity emphasis sits inside a Management Information Systems degree, with Introduction to Cybersecurity, Secure System Administration and Digital Forensics.

The low price comes from a 50% distance education discount on the $470 per credit rate, which brings 54 quarter credits to $12,690. Courses run 10 weeks, four starts a year, with Forensic & Network Intrusion, Secure Cloud Architecture and Cyberlaws & Ethical Hacking before a 4.5-credit capstone. Free digital course materials cut book costs. The catch: taking any in-person class forfeits the discount, so stay fully online.

Cumberlands built this around the CISSP body of knowledge, so 31 credits at $355 each, $11,005 in all, buy exam-shaped coursework in cryptography, access control and disaster recovery planning. The NSA and DHS name it a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. It's written for people already working in IT, which means a help desk veteran moving into security fits better than a newcomer.

A Georgia Tech diploma for about $12,000 is the pitch, and the fine print matters: Georgia residents pay $373 a credit, other U.S. students $387, and a per-semester online fee applies. Plan on two to three years part time, with the ten courses mostly asynchronous. Applicants submit three references and essays, so it suits professionals with a track record, not someone padding a thin resume.

American National quotes one all-in figure, $23,016 for 56 credits, covering fees, textbooks and lab equipment, so there are fewer surprise charges later. Every term includes a 50-hour practicum, and electives line up with CISSP, CSSLP and forensic examiner topics. A year of work experience can earn up to 12 credits. It costs more than most here, but hands-on practice is built in.

Charleston's 36 credits at $446 total $16,056, and the degree reads more like a leadership program than a tool course, with Cyber Operations Management and Security and Information Data Analytics in the mix. You can finish in as few as five terms with a 2.0 GPA for direct entry. Choose it if you'll brief executives, and skip it if you want hours in a lab.

Monthly starts and eight-week courses mean you never wait long to begin, which helps if a job change just landed. The 36 credits cost $470 each plus an $85 technology fee per course, and eligible military families pay $250 per credit. Offensive Cybersecurity, Computer Forensics and Advanced Cybercrime Analysis anchor the plan. Admission accepts Security+ or two years of related work instead of an IT degree.

Thirty credits is a short finish line, and at $495.70 per credit including fees it lands near $14,871. Dakota State is a technical school at heart, so expect Malware Analysis and Threat Analysis rather than slide decks, plus a choice of technical or management specialization. Three starts a year keep timing flexible. Applicants need a computing bachelor's and a 3.0 GPA, which shuts out many career changers.

Marshall charges $534.75 per credit, which already folds in e-course delivery fees, so the number you see is close to the number you pay, apart from college fees. Pick Network Security, Application Security or Security Management, with Cyberwarfare as a standout course. The 2.75 GPA floor is easier than most. It also suits anyone eyeing a cybersecurity PhD, since the school presents it as that foundation.

Maine's e-tuition is $548 per credit with $107 in fees, and out-of-state students pay the same rate, so distance doesn't cost extra. You finish through a thesis or a capstone, which is useful if research or a doctorate is on your mind. Over 150 graduate assistantships offer stipends and tuition help. Entry requires a 3.0 GPA and IT experience, so it won't work for beginners.

The price is $550 per credit, and any academic background gets in, so a nurse or teacher can enter without prerequisites. Free access to VMware, Palo Alto and Cisco training academies adds practice with real network tools. Nine-credit graduate certificates can be finished in as few as two semesters.

Pick Albany if you want to begin whenever your schedule allows, since a new entry point opens every semester and admission asks only for a high school diploma or equivalent plus minimum ACCUPLACER scores. Tuition is $107 per credit and stops rising once you reach 15 credit hours in a semester. Operating system security and forensics sit beside the hacking courses.

The trade-off is 72 credits of coursework.

Information Security Fundamentals opens this plan, and four-credit courses in forensics, network defense and ethical hacking carry the lab work. Rome's college also offers a 57-credit diploma (IS12), so you can stop earlier and return for the degree later. It fits someone who learns by building and breaking things in labs and is fine arranging a proctor for those lab finals.

Out-of-state students get a real break here, because Fox Valley says out-of-state tuition does not apply to online classes. Everyone pays the same $157.45 a credit across 62 credits, plus about $210 for textbooks. Admission accepts GED, ACT or Accuplacer scores in place of a 2.75 GPA, and an academic skills assessment is required. Choose it if you live outside Wisconsin.

Sheridan's courses map to a long list of exams: CompTIA A+, Linux+, Cloud+, Security+ and CySA+, EC-Council Ethical Hacker, Microsoft MCSA and Cisco CCNA Security. An advisory group of IT professionals reviews the curriculum. You finish with a 2-credit capstone or a networking internship across 61 credits. Budget for lab and course fees, which sit on top of the $168 per credit rate.

Arkansas residents pay $120 a credit while everyone else pays $170, so this is a better deal for locals. SAU Tech also offers a Technical Certificate and a Certificate of Proficiency in Cybersecurity, which gives you shorter credentials to try first. OnlineU has rated the degree among the most affordable online cybersecurity programs in the country. Processing, technology and security fees are added to every credit.

Three campuses in Warner Robins, Macon and Milledgeville mean the occasional campus exam or hands-on lab is a short drive for central Georgia students. Admission needs a high school diploma or GED and you can apply at 16. Eligible students can have HOPE pay $107 per credit hour. Coursework includes network defense and implementing operating systems security, so it suits Georgia residents near those campuses.

Lanier asks for at least one proctored graded event per online course, and sitting it at Lanier or another Technical College System of Georgia campus costs nothing extra. Gainesville-area students can do that close to home, and the $107 per credit in-state rate holds up to 15 hours. Smaller Cybersecurity Fundamentals and Cybersecurity certificates give you a lighter way to test the field first.

Wiregrass lays out a 72-hour plan over six terms, and the catalog lists Online as a campus location beside Valdosta. Tuition tops out at $1,605 once you carry 15 or more hours, so loading up a semester does not raise the bill. A 58-hour diploma exists if you want a shorter exit. Plan on per-term fees and on double tuition if you live outside Georgia.

West Georgia teaches risk management through real-world examples and hands-on lab simulations, then adds computer forensics, network security and ethical hacking. Fall, spring and summer semesters give you three yearly entry points, and the LaGrange campus lists the degree as 100% online. Entry asks for a minimum 2.0 GPA. Fixed fees of $421 each semester come on top of tuition.

Eastern Iowa lets you join live Zoom sessions or work anytime through Canvas, in semesters from 4 to 16 weeks. As an EC-Council Academia Partner it gives you practice exams and testing centers for Linux+, AWS, Ethical Hacking Associate and Cyber Forensics Associate. The last term is an internship or personalized project. It is built for people who want certifications, though online students pay a $3 per credit fee.

Budget this one in two lines: 72 credits at $548.75, then a $117.70 delivery fee that non-resident students pay on computer science courses. Admission asks for a 3.0 GPA and a tech-oriented master's, and the part-time path stretches to seven years, so you can keep your job. Fall and spring starts help you plan, but the yearly trip to Madison is a fixed cost.

Two price tags sit on one program. With a master's you take 36 credits at $1,388; starting from a bachelor's means 72 credits at that same rate. Courses run online, in person or hybrid, and you finish with a dissertation defended orally. Bring a research statement, two writing samples and a B- in statistics. It suits master's holders who want a CAE-designated school behind the degree.

Do the praxis math first: the research phase alone is at least 24 credits at $1,750 each, before the six graduate courses that come ahead of it. Digital textbooks are included, so there's no separate book bill. Admission accepts a master's in business, IT or engineering, not only cybersecurity, so it suits a manager moving into analytics work.