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Is cyber secu­ri­ty a good career? That depends, but for those who are inter­est­ed in com­put­er sci­ence, this could be a reward­ing career not only for today, but espe­cial­ly for the future. Those who pur­sue the best cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree learn how to pro­tect inter­net data and solve cyber­crimes. Indi­vid­u­als in this field get to use prob­lem-solv­ing skills on a rou­tine basis. Those inter­est­ed in this career path have sev­er­al options for employ­ment. They may work in nation­al secu­ri­ty, finan­cial ser­vices or even man­u­fac­tur­ing, health­care, insur­ance, or retail. It’s pos­si­ble to take on roles like a cyber secu­ri­ty con­sul­tant, an infor­ma­tion secu­ri­ty ana­lyst, or an infor­ma­tion secu­ri­ty manager.

Any­body who works in cyber secu­ri­ty needs to have an edu­ca­tion before enter­ing the field. For a long time, there has been a place in the field for self-taught indi­vid­u­als, but as the mar­ket gets more com­pet­i­tive, that is chang­ing. Gen­er­al­ly today, infor­ma­tion secu­ri­ty ana­lysts must com­plete a min­i­mum of a bachelor’s degree to work in this field. Any­one who wants to enter the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty field may choose to com­plete a degree that specif­i­cal­ly relates to cyber secu­ri­ty. If you’re start­ing now, as a tra­di­tion­al col­lege stu­dent, the com­bi­na­tion of men­tor­ship, net­work­ing, and top-of-the-line equip­ment you get in an on-cam­pus pro­gram can’t be beat.

Methodology: Ranking the Best Cyber Security Undergraduate Degree Programs

For stu­dents who are look­ing for col­leges with cyber­se­cu­ri­ty majors, Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter sought out cyber­se­cu­ri­ty pro­grams based on their accred­i­ta­tion and rep­u­ta­tion for help­ing stu­dents get ahead. Pro­grams were ranked accord­ing to data gath­ered from IPEDS, Niche, and Col­lege Scorecard:

  • Alum­ni Salary
  • Cost
  • Grad­u­a­tion Rate
  • Job Place­ment
  • Rep­u­ta­tion

With these cri­te­ria, stu­dents can trust the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty major col­leges fea­tured by BDC to hit all of the major needs of the mod­ern student.

1. Virginia Tech

The Col­lege of Engi­neer­ing at Vir­ginia Tech offers a BS in Com­put­er Engi­neer­ing with a Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty spe­cial­ty minor. The course­work for this cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram includes net­work secu­ri­ty, infor­ma­tion secu­ri­ty, and com­put­er secu­ri­ty. VT’s under­grad­u­ate cyber­se­cu­ri­ty minor is among the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams in the state of Vir­ginia and nation­wide. Many stu­dents grad­u­ate from VT’s engineering/cyber secu­ri­ty pro­gram sit for the Cer­ti­fied Infor­ma­tion Sys­tems Secu­ri­ty Pro­fes­sion­al cer­ti­fi­ca­tion (CISSP).

Vir­ginia Tech was estab­lished in 1872 and cur­rent­ly holds the sta­tus as a land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion. With regard to enroll­ment, VT is Virginia’s 2nd largest school with a total enroll­ment that exceeds 33,000 students.

What We Like: Vir­ginia Tech is a (Vir­ginia Poly­tech­nic Insti­tute) is a State Uni­ver­si­ty and is a Nation­al Cen­ter of Aca­d­e­m­ic Excel­lence in Cyber Defense Research.

Degree: Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Minor (to add to BS in Com­put­er Engineering)

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

2. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Illi­nois at Urbana-Champaign’s Grainger Col­lege of Engi­neer­ing offers a BS in Com­put­er Engi­neer­ing degree pro­gram and a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS) in Com­put­er Sci­ence degree pro­gram. These best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams include the Illi­nois Cyber Secu­ri­ty Schol­ars Pro­gram (ICSSP), which offers schol­ar­ship oppor­tu­ni­ties. UI-UC’s cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram’s course­work includes Ther­mal Physics, Com­put­er Design, Data Struc­tures, and Cal­cu­lus. Degree grad­u­ates must com­plete a rig­or­ous course load of a min­i­mum of 27 cred­it units from the school’s required list.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Illi­nois at Urbana-Cham­paign is a pub­lic insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing that was estab­lished in 1867 under the Mor­rill Land Grant Act. UI-UC’s urban 6,000+ cam­pus is home to more than 50,000 stu­dents earn­ing degrees from the uni­ver­si­ty’s six­teen colleges/schools.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Illi­nois at Urbana-Cham­paign holds the dis­tinc­tion of being the flag­ship insti­tu­tion of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Illi­nois system.

Degree: BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence or Com­put­er Engi­neer­ing — ICSSP

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

3. Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University’s Col­lege of Engi­neer­ing offers a cyber secu­ri­ty minor to each stu­dent study­ing for his or her Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence. This cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree minor allows stu­dents to select from three tracks as they pur­sue their bac­calau­re­ate degree. They include the Inter­dis­ci­pli­nary Track, the Tech­nol­o­gy Track, and the Engi­neer­ing Track. Degree can­di­dates study­ing for the minor must hold a min­i­mum Grade Point Aver­age (GPA) of 2.5 when apply­ing for admis­sion. A&M’s best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams per­mit stu­dents to choose a cyber secu­ri­ty pro­gram that best aligns with their career interests.

Texas A&M Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1871 as a pub­lic insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion focused on research. A&M holds the dis­tinc­tion of being a senior mil­i­tary school, a sea-grant, space-grant, and land-grant uni­ver­si­ty, which also rep­re­sents the wide vari­ety of research projects man­aged by the school. Texas A&M’s cam­pus serves near­ly 70,000 students.

What We Like: Texas A&M Uni­ver­si­ty’s main cam­pus (5,100+) is con­sid­ered one of the largest cam­pus­es in the country.

Degree: Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Minor (to add to BS)

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

4. Purdue University

Pur­due University’s Poly­tech­nic Insti­tute offers a BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree pro­gram that is con­sid­ered among the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams in the state of Indi­ana and across the coun­try. Pur­due University’s cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram has received accred­i­ta­tion from the Com­put­er Accred­i­ta­tion Com­mis­sion known as ABET – The Accred­i­ta­tion Board for Engi­neer­ing and Tech­nol­o­gy, Inc. Degree can­di­dates have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to par­tic­i­pate in cam­pus intern­ships and learn in indus­try-stan­dard laboratories.

Pur­due Uni­ver­si­ty was char­tered in 1869 and is a land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing. Pur­due Uni­ver­si­ty is orga­nized into ten colleges/schools which serve near­ly 45,000 stu­dents. US News and World Report rec­og­nizes Pur­due among the top inno­v­a­tive uni­ver­si­ties and the top twen­ty pub­lic schools in the country.

What We Like: Pur­due Uni­ver­si­ty is the alma mater of more than 20 Unit­ed State Astronauts.

Degree: BS in Cybersecurity

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

5. University of Maryland

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Maryland’s Clark School of Engi­neer­ing offers a BS in Com­put­er Engi­neer­ing with a con­cen­tra­tion in Cyber Secu­ri­ty degree pro­gram. The Uni­ver­si­ty of Maryland’s cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram requires the com­ple­tion of five class­es from a pool of course­work that cov­ers Secu­ri­ty, Net­works, Com­put­er Sys­tems, and a hands-on practicum approach. The Uni­ver­si­ty of Maryland’s best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams often work on (or par­al­lel) cyber secu­ri­ty work from the agen­cies and orga­ni­za­tions locat­ed in the DC metro area.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land was estab­lished in 1856 under the Mor­rill Land Grant Act. The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land is a mem­ber (and flag­ship) cam­pus of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Sys­tem. UMD’s sub­ur­ban cam­pus cov­ers more than 1,200 acres and ser­vices more than 41,000 students.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land holds the dis­tinc­tion of being the largest insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing in the state of Mary­land and the metro DC area.

Degree: BS in Com­put­er Engi­neer­ing — Cybersecurity

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

6. Northeastern University

North­east­ern University’s Khoury Col­lege of Com­put­er Sci­ences offers a BS or BA in Com­put­er Sci­ence with a spe­cial­ty minor in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty. Northeastern’s best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams cov­er course­work in the areas of sys­tems, net­works, com­put­er the­o­ries, soft­ware devel­op­ment, design, and lan­guage prin­ci­ples. The BA cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram ver­sion allows for a wider selec­tion of degree elec­tives. Both cyber secu­ri­ty degree pro­grams require a min­i­mum of 136 hours to graduate.

North­east­ern Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion that was estab­lished in 1898. The school’s main cam­pus is in Boston; how­ev­er, NU oper­ates satel­lite cam­pus­es across the coun­try and Cana­da. NU’s urban cam­pus is home to a most­ly res­i­den­tial stu­dent enroll­ment of more than 27,000.

What We Like: North­east­ern University’s first class­rooms were locat­ed in the YMCA on Hunt­ing­ton Avenue in Boston.

Degree: BS or BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence — Cybersecurity

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

7. Iowa State University

Iowa State Uni­ver­si­ty’s BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Engi­neer­ing degree pro­gram offers degree can­di­dates the oppor­tu­ni­ty to apply the skills they learned using real-world sit­u­a­tions. Iowa State’s cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree requires the com­ple­tion of 125 cred­it units to earn the degree. Course­work for Iowa State’s best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams includes Crit­i­cal Think­ing, Infor­ma­tion Lit­er­a­cy, Cal­cu­lus, Data Struc­tures, and Dig­i­tal Log­ic, to name a few.

Iowa State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1858 as a land-grant uni­ver­si­ty under the Mor­rill Land Grant Act. Iowa State is also a land-grant and space-grant insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion. The school’s urban cam­pus serves near­ly 34,000 earn­ing degrees from the university’s eight schools/colleges.

What We Like: Iowa State holds the dis­tinc­tion of being the first to accept the funds issued by the Mor­rill Land Grant Act in 1862.

Degree: BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Engineering

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

8. University of California, Davis

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Cal­i­for­nia Davis offers a cyber­se­cu­ri­ty BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence (or Com­put­er Sci­ence & Engi­neer­ing) with a vari­ety of aca­d­e­m­ic, infor­mal cyber secu­ri­ty tracks, mak­ing the degree pro­grams some of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams avail­able. The Secu­ri­ty & Cryp­tog­ra­phy cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree track pro­vides class­es in Com­put­er Secu­ri­ty (sev­er­al lev­els), Tech­nol­o­gy & Ethics, Net­works, Com­pu­ta­tion The­o­ry and the Design of Algo­rithm, to name a few.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Cal­i­for­nia Davis was estab­lished in 1905. UC Davis is the third-largest mem­ber school of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Cal­i­for­nia sys­tem. UC Davis’ sub­ur­ban cam­pus cov­ers more than 7,300 acres and is home to near­ly 40,000 stu­dents and a one-hun­dred-acre arboretum.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Cal­i­for­nia Davis is con­sid­ered a Pub­lic Ivy school.

Degree: BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence — Secu­ri­ty and Cryptography

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

9. University of Pittsburgh

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Pittsburgh’s School of Com­put­ing and Infor­ma­tion offers a BS in Infor­ma­tion Sci­ence (BSIS) with a con­cen­tra­tion in Net­works and Secu­ri­ty. Pitt’s cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram pre­pares stu­dents to build, repair, secure, and man­age net­work archi­tec­ture. As a rec­og­nized Nation­al Cen­ter of Aca­d­e­m­ic Excel­lence in Infor­ma­tion Assur­ance Edu­ca­tion, Pitt’s cyber secu­ri­ty offer­ings assure the stu­dent that the pro­gram is among the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams avail­able. Degree grad­u­ates must com­plete 120 cred­it units to graduate.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Pitts­burgh was estab­lished in 1787 as a pri­vate uni­ver­si­ty; how­ev­er, it became pub­lic in 1966. Pitt’s 100+ acre cam­pus is home to near­ly 29,000 stu­dents study­ing for an aca­d­e­m­ic degree offered by the university’s 17 colleges/schools.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Pitts­burgh is con­sis­tent­ly rec­og­nized among the top research uni­ver­si­ties in the coun­try and the world.

Degree: BS in Infor­ma­tion Sci­ence — Net­works and Security

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

10. George Mason University

The BS in Cyber Secu­ri­ty Engi­neer­ing from George Mason University’s Vol­ge­nau School of Engi­neer­ing offers a that pre­pares degree can­di­dates with reward­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties while reach­ing for a student’s career objec­tives. George Mason University’s Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS) degree pro­gram cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram focus­es on the tech­niques of cyber secu­ri­ty engi­neer­ing in build­ing and safe­guard­ing secu­ri­ty sys­tems at local, region­al, and nation­al lev­els. Mason’s best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams are regard­ed as the nation’s top programs.

George Mason Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1949 as a pub­lic insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion ded­i­cat­ed to research. The school oper­ates sev­er­al cam­pus­es in Vir­ginia and anoth­er in South Korea. Mason’s most­ly sub­ur­ban cam­pus­es are home to more than 24,000 stu­dents study­ing for degrees pro­vid­ed by the school’s eleven schools/colleges.

What We Like: George Mason Uni­ver­si­ty’s stu­dent to fac­ul­ty ratio is 17 to 1.

Degree: BS in Cyber Secu­ri­ty Engineering

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

11. Arizona State University

Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty offers two of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams avail­able. ASU offers a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS) degree pro­gram in Applied Com­put­ing (Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Focused) or Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Engi­neer­ing (BSE) degree pro­gram with a con­cen­tra­tion in cyber­se­cu­ri­ty. The Applied Com­put­ing cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree offers degree can­di­dates glob­al expe­ri­ences with over 200 inter­na­tion­al pro­grams from which to choose. The BSE pro­gram offers accel­er­at­ed options. Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty has part­nered with universities/colleges across the coun­try that facil­i­tates the ease in which a stu­dent can transfer.

Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1885. ASU is often rec­og­nized among the coun­try’s top insti­tu­tions of high­er edu­ca­tion ded­i­cat­ed to research and the top inno­v­a­tive school by US News.

What We Like: Ari­zona State Uni­ver­si­ty is con­sid­ered to have one of the largest stu­dent enroll­ments across the Unit­ed States, near­ly 90,000 under­grad­u­ates and 20,000+ grad­u­ate students.

Degree: BS in Applied Com­put­ing (Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty) or BSE in Com­put­er Sys­tems Engi­neer­ing (Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty)

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

12. Towson University

Tow­son Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence with a Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty spe­cial­ty track. Towson’s cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram is accred­it­ed by the ABET — The Accred­i­ta­tion Board for Engi­neer­ing and Tech­nol­o­gy, Inc. The cyber secu­ri­ty course­work for Towson’s best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams includes Data Struc­tures, Soft­ware Engi­neer­ing, Pro­gram­ming Lan­guage, and Dis­crete Math­e­mat­ics, among oth­ers. Stu­dents must meet take at least 30 cred­it units at Tow­son University.

Tow­son Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1866 as a pub­lic insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion ded­i­cat­ed to edu­cat­ing teach­ers. Tow­son Uni­ver­si­ty is a mem­ber cam­pus of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land sys­tem. The school’s 325+acre sub­ur­ban cam­pus is home to more than 22,000 stu­dents study­ing for vary­ing degrees offered by eight colleges/schools.

What We Like: There are more than 750+ inter­na­tion­al stu­dents who hail from near­ly one-hun­dred countries/nations.

Degree: BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence — Secu­ri­ty Track

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

13. George Washington University

George Wash­ing­ton Uni­ver­si­ty’s cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree com­ple­tion pro­gram pre­pares stu­dents for reward­ing careers using vir­tu­al envi­ron­ments and hand’s on lab work. GWU’s cyber secu­ri­ty bac­calau­re­ate cyber­se­cu­ri­ty pro­grams are rec­og­nized among the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams avail­able. GWU’s cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree is gen­er­al­ly com­plet­ed in about 24 months. The class­es are either on the week­end or in the evening, mak­ing the pro­gram avail­able to work­ing learners.

George Wash­ing­ton Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished as an act of the US Con­gress in 1821. GWU oper­ates an urban and sub­ur­ban cam­pus that ser­vices more than 27,000 stu­dents study­ing from the university’s four­teen colleges/schools. George Wash­ing­ton Uni­ver­si­ty is the largest school locat­ed with­in the Dis­trict of Columbia.

What We Like: George Wash­ing­ton Uni­ver­si­ty is rec­og­nized con­sis­tent­ly as one of the most polit­i­cal schools in the country.

Degree: Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Bach­e­lor’s Completion

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

14. Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester Insti­tute of Tech­nol­o­gy offers a BS in Com­put­ing Secu­ri­ty in a cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram. Dur­ing this pro­gram, stu­dents learn about dig­i­tal foren­sics, cyber ana­lyt­ics, data and soft­ware secu­ri­ty, and even strength­en their math and pro­gram­ming skills. Once a stu­dent earns their bach­e­lor’s degree, he or she may con­tin­ue on to earn a mas­ter’s in com­put­ing secu­ri­ty or a cyber secu­ri­ty advanced cer­tifi­cate. On aver­age, a per­son in this field makes over $70,000 per year, which means a degree from Rochester Insti­tute of Tech­nol­o­gy in cyber secu­ri­ty has a high ROI.

Rochester Insti­tute of Tech­nol­o­gy is a pri­vate­ly owned edu­ca­tion­al insti­tu­tion found­ed in 1829. It did­n’t, how­ev­er, award its first bach­e­lor’s degree until 1955. It was­n’t until 2001 when the Rochester Insti­tute of Tech­nol­o­gy start­ed offer­ing com­put­er sci­ence degrees, which was when the Golisano Col­lege of Com­put­ing and Infor­ma­tion Sci­ence opened. Stu­dents who decide on this school may cheer for the orange and white tigers through­out their entire program.

What We Like: RIT has one of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams because it has a grad­u­a­tion rate of 97 percent.

Degree: BS in Com­put­ing Security

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

15. Mississippi State University

Mis­sis­sip­pi State Uni­ver­si­ty offers an Infor­ma­tion Assur­ance Pro­fes­sion­al Cer­tifi­cate, which a stu­dent may obtain once they receive a bach­e­lor of sci­ence degree in a com­put­er sci­ence-relat­ed field. Unlike a cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram, the course only con­sists of a few cours­es but strength­ens a stu­den­t’s infor­ma­tion base regard­ing cyber secu­ri­ty and infor­ma­tion assur­ance. Pupils enhance their prob­lem-solv­ing skills and gain the abil­i­ty to safe­guard businesses.

When a stu­dent takes an inter­est in the “crim­son and blue,” they ben­e­fit from a high accep­tance rate of 88 per­cent. In-state stu­dents ben­e­fit from a low tuition rate for one of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams as well. Mis­sis­sip­pi State Uni­ver­si­ty is the largest uni­ver­si­ty in Mis­sis­sip­pi in terms of enroll­ment. It’s a pub­lic research facil­i­ty that encour­ages stu­dents to live by the mot­to, “For knowl­edge and wis­dom.” This col­lege has a long his­to­ry dat­ing back to 1844.

What We Like: Accord­ing to the Bureau of Labor Sta­tis­tics, the medi­an salary for an infor­ma­tion secu­ri­ty ana­lyst is near­ly $100,000 per year, giv­ing MSU’s low-tuition pro­gram a high ROI.

Degree: Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Cer­tifi­cate — add to BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence or Com­put­er Engineering

Inter­est­ed? Learn more about the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s here!

16. Misericordia University

Stu­dents who opt for Mis­eri­cor­dia Uni­ver­si­ty ben­e­fit from a cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree, in par­tic­u­lar, a BS in Infor­ma­tion Tech­nol­o­gy Secu­ri­ty. The pro­gram empha­sizes six main areas of inter­est regard­ing cyber secu­ri­ty, includ­ing secu­ri­ty man­age­ment and cryp­tog­ra­phy. Stu­dents learn how to assist after a secu­ri­ty breach. It ranks as of one of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams. The ROI of this degree pro­gram from Mis­eri­cor­dia Uni­ver­si­ty is high, con­sid­er­ing the aver­age annu­al wage for an infor­ma­tion secu­ri­ty ana­lyst in the state of Penn­syl­va­nia is over $97,000 with the nation­al aver­age being even higher.

Mis­eri­cor­dia Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate, Catholic col­lege that was the first four-year uni­ver­si­ty in Luzerne Coun­ty. It opened its doors in 1924 and has remained true to its ini­tial goal of being a broad-based, lib­er­al arts insti­tu­tion. Stu­dents who decide to become a Cougar ben­e­fit from a low stu­dent-to-teacher ratio.

What We Like: Mis­eri­cor­dia has a high accep­tance rate of over 80 per­cent, along with a grad­u­a­tion rate of over 60 per­cent. Plus, more than 80 per­cent of stu­dents are eli­gi­ble for finan­cial aid.

Degree: BS in IT Security

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17. University of Nebraska at Omaha

Stu­dents who choose the Uni­ver­si­ty of Nebras­ka at Oma­ha may opt to earn a cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree, par­tic­u­lar­ly their bach­e­lor’s degree in cyber secu­ri­ty. The pro­gram focus­es on secure infor­ma­tion sys­tems, includ­ing the design, devel­op­ment, and imple­men­ta­tion of them. Stu­dents gain an under­stand­ing of the impor­tance of cyber secu­ri­ty in an Inter­net-dri­ven world and how it impacts soci­ety. Stu­dents earn cred­its relat­ed to math­e­mat­ics and take cours­es specif­i­cal­ly focused on cyber security.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Nebras­ka is the state’s old­est uni­ver­si­ty. It’s a pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty with one of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams. Once a stu­dent starts sup­port­ing scar­let and cream, they ben­e­fit from a school that’s been around since the mid-1800s. The col­lege’s fall accep­tance rate was 80 per­cent, so a major­i­ty of stu­dents who want­ed to become Corn­huskers earn that priv­i­lege when they enroll in one of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate programs.

What We Like: In-state stu­dents ben­e­fit from UNO’s low tuition rate while also stu­dents ben­e­fit from a high ROI for this degree program.

Degree: BS in Cybersecurity

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18. Cedarville University

One of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams is from Cedarville Uni­ver­si­ty in Cedarville, OH. Cedarville offers a BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence with a con­cen­tra­tion on cyber oper­a­tions. This cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pre­pares some­one for a career pro­tect­ing indi­vid­u­als or busi­ness­es from cyber threats. Stu­dents learn how to gath­er infor­ma­tion and exploit the root of the prob­lem. Addi­tion­al­ly, a stu­dent in this pro­gram learns how to imple­ment pro­tec­tion against cyber threats. A pupil learns about cryp­tog­ra­phy and how to write pro­grams for secure software.

This cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram is from a Chris­t­ian school found­ed in 1887. It ranked as num­ber 12 in the cat­e­go­ry of region­al col­leges in the Mid­west. This pri­vate Bap­tist school encour­ages stu­dents to live by the mot­to, “For the Crown and Covenant of Christ; For the Word of God.” More than 70 per­cent of pupils who apply get to become yel­low jackets.

What We Like: A stu­dent ben­e­fits from a high ROI of a bach­e­lor’s degree in cyber secu­ri­ty from Cedarville Uni­ver­si­ty, con­sid­er­ing the aver­age soft­ware devel­op­er makes over $100,000 per year.

Degree: BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence — Cyber Operations

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19. Regis University

Reg­is Uni­ver­si­ty offers one of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­grams. Stu­dents who earn this degree can par­take in keep­ing sen­si­tive infor­ma­tion safe. Pupils devel­op crit­i­cal think­ing skills and learn how to solve cyber secu­ri­ty prob­lems. A pupil in this pro­gram takes cours­es relat­ed to infor­ma­tion sys­tems, soft­ware engi­neer­ing, and infor­ma­tion tech­nol­o­gy as well as com­put­er sci­ence. Addi­tion­al­ly, stu­dents in one of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams like this one from Reg­is Uni­ver­si­ty ben­e­fit from a high ROI.

This school opened in 1887 and has remained a strong, pri­vate col­lege in Den­ver ever since. In fact, it ranks as num­ber 23 in the cat­e­go­ry of region­al uni­ver­si­ties in the West. The school encour­ages stu­dents to live by the mot­to, “Men and Women in Ser­vice of Others.”

What We Like: Indi­vid­u­als with cyber­se­cu­ri­ty skills are high­ly in need, con­sid­er­ing there will be more than three mil­lion cyber secu­ri­ty jobs that need to be ful­filled by 2021.

Degree: BS in Cybersecurity

20. DePaul University

DePaul Uni­ver­si­ty’s BS in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty is one of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams in the Mid­west. Stu­dents who com­plete this cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree learn about com­put­er foren­sics and how to assess risks. They receive edu­ca­tion about the secu­ri­ty require­ments of a busi­ness as well as how to imple­ment cours­es of action to pro­tect sen­si­tive infor­ma­tion using mul­ti-lev­el fire­wall pro­tec­tion. All the stu­dents in this cyber secu­ri­ty pro­gram ben­e­fit from a high ROI.

Stu­dents can ben­e­fit from attend­ing in-per­son class­es or online cours­es through DePaul Uni­ver­si­ty in Chica­go, IL. This pri­vate edu­ca­tion­al insti­tu­tion arose in 1898 and con­tin­ued to grow. The school strives to edu­cate stu­dents through the mot­to of, “Viam Sapi­en­ti­ae Mon­stra­bo Tibi,” which means “I Will Show You the Way of Wis­dom.” Stu­dents who enroll in their cyber secu­ri­ty pro­gram rep­re­sent the roy­al blue and scar­let Blue Demons.

What We Like: In 1998, DePaul became the Catholic col­lege with the high­est enroll­ment in the country.

Degree: BS in Cybersecurity

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21. Thomas Edison State University

Thomas Edi­son State Uni­ver­si­ty pro­vides stu­dents with one of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams avail­able. It’s an inno­v­a­tive course that pre­pares stu­dents for the real world of cyber secu­ri­ty. In Thomas Edi­son State Uni­ver­si­ty’s cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram, a stu­dent learns about infor­ma­tion assets and how to pro­tect them. Stu­dents learn to design and imple­ment secu­ri­ty pro­grams and also how to man­age them. A vital com­po­nent of a pupil’s edu­ca­tion in cyber secu­ri­ty con­sists of learn­ing the legal and eth­i­cal issues asso­ci­at­ed with cyber security.

Thomas Edi­son State Uni­ver­si­ty opened its doors in 1972. Since then, it’s shift­ed to main­ly online pro­grams. The school’s staff firm­ly believes in “Eru­di­tio Per­pet­ua Vitae,” which trans­lates to “Learn­ing Through­out Life.” Stu­dents who rep­re­sent bur­gundy and beige are encour­aged to con­tin­ue their learn­ing for life.

What We Like: Both in-state and out-of-state stu­dents ben­e­fit from a low tuition rate at Thomas Edi­son State University.

Degree: BS in Cybersecurity

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22. University of Texas at San Antonio

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at San Anto­nio pro­vides stu­dents with one of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams. UT San Anto­nio’s BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence focus­es on cyber defense and secu­ri­ty. It edu­cates stu­dents about soft­ware reverse engi­neer­ing in addi­tion to com­put­er pro­gram­ming lan­guage. Stu­dents learn about com­put­ers, the Cloud, and even cell phone pro­tec­tion. Part of the course focus­es on ethics, dig­i­tal foren­sics, and cryptography.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas ranks as num­ber 56 in the coun­try in terms of nation­al uni­ver­si­ties. It arose in 1883 and now has the eighth-high­est num­ber of stu­dents in enrolled at a sin­gle cam­pus. Although the school has a tough accep­tance rate, stu­dents receive a high-qual­i­ty edu­ca­tion that pre­pares them for well for a career.

What We Like: Stu­dents in the cyber secu­ri­ty pro­gram from the Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas in San Anto­nio ben­e­fit from a mod­er­ate­ly priced tuition and high ROI.

Degree: BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence — Cyber Operations

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23. University of Texas at El Paso

The BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence pro­gram from the Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at El Paso focus­es on secure cyber sys­tems. As one of the best secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams, it edu­cates stu­dents about soft­ware engi­neer­ing and pro­gram­ming. Stu­dents who enroll in this cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram from the Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas ben­e­fit from a mod­er­ate­ly priced edu­ca­tion and a high ROI.

The Carnegie Foun­da­tion ranks this par­tic­u­lar cam­pus as one of the top schools in the Unit­ed States for its research. It began in 1914 and remained a school that stress­es the impor­tance of fos­ter­ing inno­va­tion in pupils. Main­ly, the school focus­es on sci­ence and human­i­ty, as not­ed by its motto.

What We Like: UTEP is des­ig­nat­ed as a His­pan­ic-Serv­ing Insti­tu­tion and plays a key role in prepar­ing Lat­inx and His­pan­ic stu­dents for STEM careers.

Degree: BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence — Secure Cyber Systems

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24. University of New Haven

The Uni­ver­si­ty of New Haven offers one of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams, which focus­es on cyber oper­a­tions. Stu­dents learn to deter­mine com­put­ing prob­lems in this cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram. The cours­es revolve around design­ing pro­grams that stress the impor­tance of cyber security.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of New Haven has an accep­tance rate of over 80 per­cent. It opened in 1920 and now ranks in the top 40 schools for vet­er­ans. It’s a pri­vate insti­tu­tion that touts about being a leader in expe­ri­en­tial edu­ca­tion. Pupils become Charg­ers once they enter into this school.

What We Like: A UHN cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree has a high ROI, as proven by the fact that most careers in cyber secu­ri­ty earn a stu­dent over $100,000 per year.

Degree: BS in Com­put­er Sci­ence — Cyber Operations

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25. Dakota State University

Stu­dents may choose to com­plete one of the best cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate pro­grams with Dako­ta State Uni­ver­si­ty’s BS in Cyber Oper­a­tions. This cyber secu­ri­ty under­grad­u­ate degree focus­es on how to con­duct research to catch cyber crim­i­nals, such as those involved in data breach­es. Dur­ing the course, stu­dents learn about hack­ing and mal­ware while also gain­ing insight into the minds of hackers.

Dako­ta State Uni­ver­si­ty is a pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty that opened in the late 1800s. Today, it gained per­mis­sion through state leg­is­la­ture to spe­cial­ize in com­put­er man­age­ment. Stu­dents who rep­re­sent yel­low and reflex blue are encour­aged to embrace innovation.

What We Like: Both in-state and out-of-state stu­dents in a BS in cyber oper­a­tions from Dako­ta State Uni­ver­si­ty ben­e­fit from low tuition costs.

Degree: BS in Cyber Operations

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Is Cyber Security a Good Career?

The Bureau of Labor Sta­tis­tics (BLS) antic­i­pates the num­ber of jobs for infor­ma­tion secu­ri­ty ana­lysts will grow by 32 per­cent by 2028. This is much faster than aver­age. Cer­tain areas have a high­er num­ber of oppor­tu­ni­ties in this field. For instance, states like Cal­i­for­nia, Texas, and Vir­ginia have the largest num­ber of opportunities.

As of May 2018, the BLS reports more than 100,000 indi­vid­u­als were infor­ma­tion secu­ri­ty ana­lysts. Those who held these posi­tions made an aver­age of $47.28 per hour, which is the same as $98,350 annu­al­ly. The high­est earn­ers made much more than this. In fact, the top 90 per­cent of earn­ers made more than $156,580 annu­al­ly. Not to men­tion, infor­ma­tion secu­ri­ty ana­lysts aren’t the only posi­tions for those who earn an under­grad­u­ate degree in cyber security.

What’s the Difference Between Computer Science and Cyber Security?

It’s impor­tant to under­stand com­put­er sci­ence vs cyber secu­ri­ty degree to under­stand if this is a ben­e­fi­cial career path. Com­put­er sci­ence is the study of com­put­ers. It con­sists of aspects of com­put­ing like hard­ware and soft­ware, as well as infor­ma­tion pro­cess­ing. Those who pur­sue a degree in this field study both data struc­tures and algo­rithms in addi­tion to mod­el­ing data.

On the oth­er hand, when a per­son com­pares a com­put­er sci­ence vs cyber secu­ri­ty degree, it’s impor­tant to know that cyber secu­ri­ty is the han­dling of sen­si­tive infor­ma­tion on a com­put­er net­work. Stu­dents learn how to pro­tect both per­son­al and busi­ness data. Cyber secu­ri­ty deals with pro­tect­ing sys­tems, pro­grams, oper­at­ing sys­tems, and net­works from vul­ner­a­bil­i­ties and cyber attacks. A pupil in a cyber secu­ri­ty pro­gram learns about mal­ware and hack­ing and may take cours­es relat­ed to encryp­tion, pen­e­tra­tion test­ing, risk man­age­ment, eth­i­cal hack­ing, inci­dent response, vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty assess­ment, and dig­i­tal investigations.

In gen­er­al, a com­put­er sci­ence degree is a much broad­er dis­ci­pline. Many com­put­er sci­ence gen­er­al edu­ca­tion cours­es will apply to cyber secu­ri­ty. The cred­it hours you earn in com­put­er sci­ence will allow you to trans­fer cred­its into a high­er degree as well. Once a per­son com­pletes this degree, he or she has more options for career paths besides work­ing in cyber secu­ri­ty. How­ev­er, it’s still pos­si­ble to obtain a job in cyber secu­ri­ty, like cyber­se­cu­ri­ty man­age­ment, with a com­put­er sci­ence degree.

What Will I Learn in a Cyber Security Degree Program?

Although cyber secu­ri­ty degree require­ments vary from pro­gram to pro­gram, stu­dents in any pro­gram learn about fire­walls and how to stop hack­ers. Addi­tion­al­ly, stu­dents learn about virus­es, hack­ers, and mal­ware. A pupil in a cyber secu­ri­ty pro­gram learns how to safe­guard sen­si­tive mate­r­i­al from cyber crim­i­nals to pro­tect sen­si­tive mate­r­i­al, includ­ing finan­cial information.

Dur­ing their edu­ca­tion in cyber secu­ri­ty, indi­vid­u­als learn about the pro­to­cols tak­en dur­ing a data breach. These indi­vid­u­als also learn how to repair the dam­age caused by the breach.

Stu­dents gain an under­stand­ing of encryp­tion and solv­ing cyber crimes. This is all part of the dig­i­tal foren­sics aspect of a cyber secu­ri­ty degree. Stu­dents in a cyber degree pro­gram learn how to trou­bleshoot hard­ware and com­put­er pro­grams. Often, the cyber secu­ri­ty degree require­ments also con­sist of ethics and laws.

In almost all bach­e­lor of sci­ence in cyber­se­cu­ri­ty pro­grams, you will have to meet cer­tain pre­req­ui­site require­ments, and fin­ish with a cap­stone project to prove what you have learned.

Do I Need a Degree to Work in Cyber Security?

How­ev­er, it’s also pos­si­ble to com­plete an under­grad­u­ate degree pro­gram in com­put­er sci­ence, pro­gram­ming, or infor­ma­tion assur­ance. These career paths are ver­sa­tile and allow the indi­vid­ual to work in oth­er fields besides cyber secu­ri­ty. Indi­vid­u­als who choose to earn a bachelor’s degree can expect to take four years to com­plete their pro­gram if they enroll full time. How­ev­er, stu­dents may opt for an accel­er­at­ed cyber secu­ri­ty uni­ver­si­ty pro­grams, which takes less time. Either way, a bachelor’s degree makes more mon­ey. The best cyber­se­cu­ri­ty pro­gram is the one that works for your goals and needs.

Although a bachelor’s degree is the least amount of edu­ca­tion a per­son can have and still enter this field, some employ­ers may want prospec­tive employ­ees to have at least a master’s degree. For instance, a high-pro­file job with the Nation­al Secu­ri­ty Agency would require more edu­ca­tion than just a cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s degree. To obtain a master’s, a per­son must com­plete a cyber secu­ri­ty bach­e­lor degree first and then a master’s degree. The master’s degree tends to take an addi­tion­al three years. Keep in mind, earn­ing poten­tial for cyber secu­ri­ty pro­fes­sion­als who have a grad­u­ate degree is higher.

Once a stu­dent meets the bare min­i­mum for cyber secu­ri­ty edu­ca­tion require­ments, he or she may also decide to take a cer­tifi­cate pro­gram to fur­ther his or her knowl­edge. Some­times, employ­ers pre­fer that an employ­ee has a pro­fes­sion­al cer­ti­fi­ca­tion. One option is the Cer­ti­fied Infor­ma­tion Sys­tems Secu­ri­ty Pro­fes­sion­al (CISSP) cer­ti­fi­ca­tion. Pass­ing a cer­ti­fi­ca­tion exam can raise your career oppor­tu­ni­ties and pay as well.

Relat­ed Rankings: 

15 Best Online Bach­e­lor’s in Cyber Security

10 Fastest Online Bach­e­lor’s in Cyber Security

10 Most Afford­able Online Bach­e­lor’s in Cyber Security