9 Fastest Online Cybersecurity Degree Bachelor’s Programs

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Pur­due Uni­ver­si­ty Glob­al is the #1 fastest cyber secu­ri­ty degree online.
• Fastest online degree pro­grams are designed to let you fin­ish your degree faster by trans­fer­ring pre­vi­ous cred­its and short­en­ing the dura­tion of cours­es.
• Online pro­grams pro­vide flex­i­bil­i­ty for those who need to bal­ance edu­ca­tion with work or per­son­al commitments.
• Top schools like Lib­er­ty Uni­ver­si­ty and Nor­wich Uni­ver­si­ty offer these accel­er­at­ed degrees, ensur­ing qual­i­ty education.

Do you want to put your career on the fast track in the field of Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty? Choos­ing an accel­er­at­ed cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree may be the answer. Many degree pro­grams offer the accel­er­at­ed option to help stu­dents fin­ish ear­li­er than the aver­age four-year college.

Our edi­tors first ranked accel­er­at­ed cyber­se­cu­ri­ty pro­grams in Sep­tem­ber 2022. This rank­ing was updat­ed in Feb­ru­ary 2024.

The demand for cyber secu­ri­ty pro­fes­sion­als is at an all-time high. Many indi­vid­u­als are vic­tims of cyber­crimes, and we don’t have enough experts in the field. You could make a real difference! 

Relat­ed Rank­ings and Valu­able Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Information: 

• 25 Best Bach­e­lor’s in Cyber Secu­ri­ty Degree Programs
• 15 Best Online Bach­e­lor’s in Cyber Security
• 10 Most Afford­able Online Bach­e­lor’s in Cyber Security
• What Can I Do with a Bach­e­lor’s in Cybersecurity?

Methodology: Ranking the Best Accelerated Cyber Security Degree Online

Speed is the crit­i­cal fac­tor in rank­ing the fastest online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degrees, and all of the pro­grams fea­tured offer ways to short­en the process for stu­dents. How­ev­er, speed isn’t every­thing; a fast degree isn’t worth a thing if employ­ers don’t trust it. That’s why Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter focused on accred­it­ed, rep­utable insti­tu­tions, ranked based on real cri­te­ria, using data from Niche, IPEDS, and Col­lege Scorecard.

1. Purdue University Global

Pur­due Uni­ver­si­ty Glob­al offers a BS degree in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty, the best cyber­se­cu­ri­ty online degree for speed. The accel­er­at­ed cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree online option pro­vides each stu­dent a way to com­plete their degree in less time. The Excel Track, as it is called, offers cours­es that are com­plet­ed in less than ten weeks. 

Degree at a Glance

Degree: BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Online
Cred­its Required: 180 cred­it hours
Course Length: 10-week cours­es
Tuition: $2,500 tuition rate per term
Time to Grad­u­ate: 4 years aver­age com­ple­tion
Accep­tance Rate: 69%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 82%
Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% online

Choose from 8 cyber­se­cu­ri­ty concentrations:

• CISSP cer­ti­fi­ca­tion preparation
• Cloud com­put­ing
• Data man­age­ment
• Pro­gram­ming and analytics
• Soft­ware devel­op­ment using C#
• Soft­ware devel­op­ment using Java
• Soft­ware devel­op­ment using Python
• Soft­ware devel­op­ment using web languages

The Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree pro­gram is designed for work­ing adults look­ing for a flex­i­ble class sched­ule. Cur­ricu­lum cours­es for the BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty include fun­da­men­tals of cyber secu­ri­ty, com­mu­ni­cat­ing effec­tive­ly in a vari­ety of pro­fes­sion­al con­texts, and mak­ing informed judg­ments in com­put­ing prac­tice based on legal and eth­i­cal principles.

Found­ed in 1869, Pur­due Uni­ver­si­ty Glob­al pre­pares stu­dents with the right skills, abil­i­ties, and under­stand­ing of the IT indus­try to become suc­cess­ful. The pro­gram is also one of the most afford­able degrees in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty. Some trans­fer cred­its are accept­able and Mil­i­tary per­son­nel may receive a dis­count­ed tuition rate.

2. Liberty University

Lib­er­ty Uni­ver­si­ty’s BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty is an accel­er­at­ed cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree online. The pro­gram allows stu­dents to trans­fer up to 75 per­cent of the 121-cred­it degree; each course is eight weeks long, allow­ing stu­dents to fin­ish school with­in three and a half years. 

Degree at a Glance

Degree: BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty
Cred­its Required: 121 cred­it hours
Course Length: 8‑week cours­es
Tuition: $390 per cred­it hour
Time to Grad­u­ate: 3 1/2 years
Accep­tance Rate: 99%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 39%
Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% online

This afford­able and flex­i­ble BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty fea­tures the fol­low­ing courses:

• CSIS 112 – Advanced Pro­gram­ming Using C++
• CSIS 355 – Net­work Archi­tec­ture and Protocols
• CSIS 461 – Tech­ni­cal Aspects of Com­put­er Security
• CSIS 463 – Mod­ern Cryptography

The Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty pro­gram pre­pares stu­dents with the train­ing and skills to notice secu­ri­ty threats, data breach­es, and how to han­dle the chal­lenges that come with being in a dig­i­tal world. The Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty BS degree is also one of the most afford­able degrees offered at Lib­er­ty University.

Found­ed in 1971 by Jer­ry Fal­well, the uni­ver­si­ty offers tuition dis­counts to first respon­ders and Mil­i­tary Personnel.

3. Norwich University

Nor­wich Uni­ver­si­ty’s BS in Cyber Secu­ri­ty pre­pares each prospec­tive stu­dent in the fun­da­men­tals of cyber­se­cu­ri­ty edu­ca­tion with skilled-based instruc­tion. The pro­gram is an accel­er­at­ed cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree online; with up to nine­ty trans­fer cred­its accepted.

Degree at a Glance

Degree: BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty
Cred­its Required: 30 to 120 cred­it hours; Trans­fer up to 90 cred­its
Start Dates: Mul­ti­ple start dates per year
Tuition: $375 per cred­it hour; $250 per cred­it hour for active mil­i­tary
Time to Grad­u­ate: 18 months
Accep­tance Rate: 87%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 60%
Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% online

Con­cen­tra­tions in the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree are: 

• Com­put­er Foren­sics and Vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty Management
• Infor­ma­tion War­fare and Secu­ri­ty Management

The cur­ricu­lum pro­vides project-based cours­es that strength­en stu­dents’ crit­i­cal think­ing, research and analy­sis, and com­mu­ni­ca­tion skills.

Found­ed in 1819, Nor­wich Uni­ver­si­ty offers a vari­ety of degree options and cer­tifi­cates for stu­dents. The pro­grams at Nor­wich Uni­ver­si­ty are designed for work­ing adults who desire the flex­i­bil­i­ty that online degrees offer. Nor­wich Uni­ver­si­ty’s vir­tu­al learn­ing plat­form brings inno­va­tion and inspi­ra­tion to a new lev­el for stu­dents to expe­ri­ence in their week­ly course discussions.

4. Old Dominion University

Old Domin­ion Uni­ver­si­ty’s BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty is one of the best accel­er­at­ed cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree online options; with up to nine­ty trans­fer cred­its accept­ed, the degree can be com­plet­ed in as lit­tle as two years. The cyber secu­ri­ty pro­gram pro­vides a ver­sa­tile option to work­ing stu­dents as well, allow­ing stu­dents to log in when they can. 

Degree at a Glance

Degree: Bach­e­lor’s of Sci­ence in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Degree Com­ple­tion
Cred­its Required: 120 cred­its; a min­i­mum of 30 hours required at ODU; Trans­fer up to 90 cred­its
Tuition: $393 per cred­it hour
Time to Grad­u­ate: as lit­tle as 2 years
Accep­tance Rate: 96%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 52%
Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% online; Some class­es are deliv­ered live with reg­u­lar online meet­ing times.

The cours­es in the pro­gram include: 

• Com­put­er Science
• Mod­el­ing and Sim­u­la­tion Engineering
• Infor­ma­tion Technology
• Crim­i­nal Justice

The Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty at ODU is a low tuition option for most students.

The Uni­ver­si­ty also ranks at #6 as one of the Best Online Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Bach­e­lor’s degrees, accord­ing to onlinecolleges.net. Those who are and have served in the mil­i­tary are eli­gi­ble for a tuition dis­count at Old Domin­ion University.

5. Grand Canyon University

Grand Canyon Uni­ver­si­ty’s BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree pro­vides stu­dents with a con­ve­nient and flex­i­ble sched­ule to earn their bach­e­lor’s degree. The accel­er­at­ed cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree online pro­gram can also apply up to nine­ty trans­fer cred­its, giv­ing the stu­dent a chance to fin­ish their pro­gram in half the time than oth­er colleges. 

Degree at a Glance

Degree: Accel­er­at­ed BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty
Cred­its Required: 120 cred­it hours; Up to 90 cred­its can be trans­ferred in, only 84 can be low­er divi­sion
Course Length: 7 weeks
Tuition: $485 per cred­it hour
Time to Grad­u­ate: in less than 2 years
Accep­tance Rate: 83%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 47%
Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% online

The Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty, offered by the Col­lege of Sci­ence, Engi­neer­ing and Tech­nol­o­gy, pre­pares stu­dents with ana­lyt­i­cal skills, a strong work eth­ic, and Crit­i­cal think­ing. Stud­ies include:

• Intro­duc­tion to Com­put­er Science
• Algo­rithms and Dis­crete Mathematics
• Cyber Foren­sics

GCU is known to have an afford­able tuition cost as well.

6. Southern New Hampshire University

The Bach­e­lor’s degree in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty at South­ern New Hamp­shire Uni­ver­si­ty offers stu­dents a com­put­er sci­ence cur­ricu­lum who choose to advance their careers in the dig­i­tal tech­nol­o­gy world. Accel­er­at­ed cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree online pro­grams are per­fect for work­ing stu­dents who need a flex­i­ble class schedule. 

Degree at a Glance

Degree: Fast BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty
Cred­its Required: 120 cred­it hours; Up to 90 cred­its can be trans­ferred in
Course Length: 8 week terms
Tuition: $330 per cred­it hour
Time to Grad­u­ate: in as lit­tle as 2 years
Accep­tance Rate: 92%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 39%
Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% online; no set class times

Con­cen­tra­tions available:

• Data Ana­lyt­ics Fundamentals
• Project Man­age­ment Fundamentals

For stu­dents who take infor­ma­tion tech­nol­o­gy cours­es, SNHU is a great place to get the edu­ca­tion need­ed to start your IT career. SNHU Grad­u­ates of the BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty pro­gram will have a high­er chance of find­ing work that offers a 32% pro­ject­ed job growth than in oth­er occu­pa­tions. Accord­ing to their web­site, the career salary of a cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree grad­u­ate is $112,000.

7. Franklin University

Franklin Uni­ver­si­ty offers an accel­er­at­ed cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree online pro­gram to stu­dents who desire to learn more about the infor­ma­tion tech­nol­o­gy world. The BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty pro­vides knowl­edge of com­put­er sci­ence, an under­stand­ing of prob­lem-solv­ing and analy­sis, and com­mu­ni­ca­tion skills. 

Degree at a Glance

Degree: Online BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty
Cred­its Required: 124 cred­it hours; Up to 94 cred­its can be trans­ferred in
Course Length: 6 and 12-week cours­es
Tuition: $398 per cred­it hour
Time to Grad­u­ate: in as lit­tle as 2 years
Accep­tance Rate: 100%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 38%
Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% online

Franklin Uni­ver­si­ty is also an afford­able Uni­ver­si­ty for most stu­dents; how­ev­er, finan­cial aid is also avail­able to those eligible.

Franklin Uni­ver­si­ty pro­vides cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degrees that are nation­al­ly rec­og­nized by the NSA and Home­land Secu­ri­ty of Defense. Oth­er cyber­se­cu­ri­ty or IT pro­grams at Franklin Uni­ver­si­ty are Crim­i­nal Jus­tice Admin­is­tra­tion, Com­put­er Sci­ence, Web devel­op­ment, and Emer­gency Man­age­ment and Home­land Security.

8. Maryville University

Maryville Uni­ver­si­ty offers an accel­er­at­ed cyber secu­ri­ty online degree pro­gram that is avail­able on-cam­pus as well. The online BS in cyber­se­cu­ri­ty pro­gram pro­vides three types of edu­ca­tion­al tracks for stu­dents to choose from; the offen­sive track, the defen­sive track, and the gen­er­al track. No mat­ter which one a stu­dent decides on, each one will impact where they see the future of their career. 

Degree at a Glance

Degree: Online BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty
Cred­its Required: 128 cred­it hours with trans­fer cred­its accept­ed up to 90
Course Length: 8‑week cours­es
Tuition: $410 per semes­ter
Time to Grad­u­ate: in as lit­tle as 2.5 years with trans­ferred cred­its
Accep­tance Rate: 92%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 71%
Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% online; no cam­pus vis­its are required

Maryville Uni­ver­si­ty’s cyber secu­ri­ty degrees pre­pare grad­u­ates in the IT field by pro­vid­ing train­ing and research using project-based learn­ing in real-world sit­u­a­tions. The col­lege also offers low tuition rates as well. Some schol­ar­ship oppor­tu­ni­ties may be avail­able to eli­gi­ble students.

9. Mercy College

Mer­cy Col­lege offers a BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty that is avail­able online or on cam­pus. The degree teach­es stu­dents about how to pre­pare for the infor­ma­tion tech­nol­o­gy field. This accel­er­at­ed cyber secu­ri­ty degree online offers stu­dents an under­stand­ing of data breach­es and ter­ror attacks that affect our dig­i­tal society. 

Degree at a Glance

Degree: Dual Online BS/MS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty
Cred­its Required: 120 cred­it hours
Tuition: $862 (less than 12 cred­its)
Time to Grad­u­ate: 5‑year com­bined BS/MS
Accep­tance Rate: 86%
Grad­u­a­tion Rate: 61%
Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% online with­out set class times

The degree is com­bined as a unique BS/MS cyber secu­ri­ty five-year pro­gram that pre­pares grad­u­ates with careers in lead­er­ship and busi­ness in the IT work­place. The NSA and DHS are affil­i­ates and spon­sor the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree pro­gram at Mer­cy Uni­ver­si­ty. Tuition costs at Mer­cy are also afford­able to most stu­dents. There are, how­ev­er, sev­er­al schol­ar­ships and finan­cial aid avail­able for eli­gi­ble students.

Mer­cy offers a vari­ety of oth­er degrees; how­ev­er, the cyber secu­ri­ty degree is one that many stu­dents choose for their path to success.

Frequently Asked Questions