2027 Best Cybersecurity Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Why Get a Cybersecurity Degree?

There are several reasons why you might want to consider an undergraduate degree in cybersecurity in 2027:

• Stand out in the job market: Over 90% of US cybersecurity job postings require or prefer candidates with a four-year degree.
• Talent gap: There are only 74 qualified cybersecurity workers for every 100 job openings in the US, leaving roughly half a million roles unfilled. Globally, the ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study estimates the gap is close to 4.8 million professionals.
• Salary potential: Information security analysts earn a median salary of $129,180 per year, roughly 2.5x the median for all US occupations. At the top end of the spectrum, the average CISO earns $321,000.
• Networking opportunities: Many of the best cybersecurity degree programs (e.g. Drexel and the University of Cincinnati) feature internships, co-ops or networking events. These offer brilliant opportunities to make valuable professional connections.
• Career options: A cybersecurity degree doesn’t lock you into one specific job for life. Nearly every sector needs defenders: 90% of IT and security leaders reported cyberattacks on their organization in the past year, which means there’s demand for cybersecurity pros in nearly every field and in several diverse roles.
• Industry growth: The BLS projects employment of information security analysts to grow 29% from 2024 to 2034, roughly 7x the average for all occupations. Budgets are growing too: Gartner forecasts a 12.5% rise in global cybersecurity spending.

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Coursework: What You’ll learn

The courses on offer can be a deciding factor in choosing the right cybersecurity program for you. But there are plenty of recurring themes you will encounter in most cybersecurity degree programs across the country. 

A typical 120-credit cybersecurity bachelor’s program is generally only 40-50% composed of dedicated cybersecurity courses. The rest consists of general education, math and science foundations, and IT/computing fundamentals.

This is an example program structure:

Year 1 – IT Foundations

Focus: Computing basics, math, and an intro to security concepts.

Fall Semester

• Introduction to Cybersecurity
• Introduction to Programming (Python, Java, or C++)
• Discrete Mathematics
• English Composition
• Social Sciences elective (Psychology, Sociology, or Economics)

Spring Semester

• Networking (Network fundamentals, TCP/IP, routing)
• Computer Architecture or Operating Systems Fundamentals
• Statistics / Probability
• Public Speaking or Communications
• Natural Science with Lab (Physics is most common)

Year 2 – Systems, Networks & Administration

Focus: Defending IT infrastructure.

Fall Semester

• Windows & Linux Administration
• Network Security
• Data Structures & Algorithms
• Calculus (required at some universities, optional at others)
• Humanities elective (Ethics, Philosophy, or History)

Spring Semester

• Operating Systems Security
• Database Systems (SQL, data modeling)
• Cyber Law, Policy, & Ethics
• System Analysis / IT Project Management
• Diversity / Global Studies course

Year 3 – Cybersecurity Core

Focus: Offensive and defensive skills, cryptography, and hands-on lab work.

Fall Semester

• Cryptography
• Penetration Testing & Ethical Hacking
• Secure Software Development / Secure Coding
• Security Lab I (virtualized cyber range, attack/defend exercises)
• General Education Elective

Spring Semester

• Digital Forensics
• Cloud Security
• Threat Intelligence
• Security Lab II (malware analysis basics, forensics imaging and analysis)
• General Education Elective

Year 4 – Specialization & Capstone

Focus: Concentration depth, real-world experience, and a culminating project.

Fall Semester

Concentration electives (typically choose two):

• Advanced Penetration Testing
• Reverse Engineering & Malware Analysis
• SCADA / Industrial Control Systems Security
• Mobile / IoT Security
• Cloud Architecture & DevSecOps
• AI & Machine Learning Security
• Technical Elective
• Capstone Project I

Spring Semester

• Concentration elective
• Technical Elective
• Internship or Security Operations Practicum
• Capstone Project II

Most programs end with a capstone project:

• Red-team/blue-team exercise
• Security architecture design
• Vulnerability assessment for a real organization
• Research project in digital forensics, malware, or GRC

Choosing a Cybersecurity Degree Program

Our top 25 ranking of the best cybersecurity schools (hopefully) serves as a valuable resource in your search for the right cybersecurity program. But picking the correct program for you is a completely personal choice.

And even then, there are other possibilities to consider. For instance, “cybersecurity” is a specialized field: you might want to consider if something more general, like computer science, better serves your needs. Or perhaps you may want to start your career with a bootcamp or AA in cybersecurity instead of a 4-year degree.

As an example, Georgia Tech offers a Computer Engineering degree, where you can opt into various cybersecurity “threads” (without it being a dedicated program). If you’re thinking about a cybersecurity career but want to keep multiple options open, something like this could be a wise choice. 

Whatever programs you consider, you’ll want to focus on the following criteria:

Cost

It can be daunting to see a headline tuition figure of “$83,456”. But it’s worth noting that financial aid options are nearly always available. Some colleges, like the Rochester Institute of Technology, award aid to all freshmen.

That said tuition is worth paying attention to as rates can vary widely: there’s a difference of more than 1,000% between the highest ($296,352) and lowest tuition fees ($22,125) in our rankings. 

Look into whether you can access any discounted resident rates (typically at public universities), and bear in mind that some states have reciprocal agreements with neighboring states that could bring the cost down, too. For example, at the University of North Dakota, the tuition cost of a cybersecurity degree is around $20,000 cheaper for a Minnesota resident than it is for a general US citizen. 

You should also consider other relevant cost-of-living expenses: housing and food costs $16,752 per year at SUNY Albany, versus $9,312 at Wisconsin-Stout.

Program Material

No two cybersecurity degrees are the same. So finding out exactly what you’ll be doing as part of the program can be massively useful in making your final decision.

There several core courses that you’ll find in most cybersecurity programs (like Computer Networks, System Administration, Cyber Law & Ethics).

But outside of that, you’ll find a significant amount of variation. For instance, the defense and forensics concentration at the University of Arizona includes courses that are especially valuable for someone pursuing a military career: OSINT, digital espionage, information warfare, etc.

Meanwhile, the University of Alabama in Huntsville is heavy on math and would suit someone who wants a more academic kind of program. No concentration/focus is inherently better: it’s about what interests you, and what will help you to achieve your career goals.

Having said that, courses in relevant topics like AI are generally a good indication that a program has kept up to date with changes in the field. Hands-on learning is also generally the sign of a good program that will equip you with genuine, applicable cybersecurity skills.

Accreditation

School accreditation is a good “backstop” check to make sure you’re looking at a legitimate institution. Any reputable college will be accredited by its relevant regional body (e.g., SACSCOC, MSCHE). 

But accreditations can also certify subject-specific expertise and program quality: the Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) designation is a really helpful standard when considering your options in the field of computing and cybersecurity. With three different subtypes (CAE-CD for cyber defense, CAE-R for research, and CAE-O for cyber operations), it is a simple way of comparing the strengths of different schools. 

ABET accreditation is also helpful as a marker of quality, and generally indicates a more STEM-focused cybersecurity curriculum.

Graduate Outcomes

Our main piece of advice to anyone researching a degree in cybersecurity is to try to find actual graduate experiences and outcomes. 

Forums like Reddit are great for finding details and opinions about a program that might not be publicly advertised. In some cases, members of the faculty may even reply there. Here’s a particularly insightful discussion about cybersecurity at the University of North Texas:

But even with forums, you’re still dealing with opinions. And at every college in America, the experience of two different people can vary wildly. If you can find it, then graduate outcomes data is massively useful.

A cybersecurity degree is a huge investment in yourself. And unfortunately, not every program is especially successful in advancing your career prospects. When available, figures like the employment rate provide objective evidence about the benefits of a particular program.

For instance, the SANS Technology Institute earned such a high spot on our rankings in part because of its 91% employment rate within 6 months for job-seeking graduates, with an average starting salary of $120,000.

SANS advertises these figures directly from its cybersecurity degree page. But in many cases, you’ll have to find the schoolwide data, and then locate the specific program you’re interested in studying.

For example, the University of Cincinnati has a 96% “successful outcome” rate from its College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services (which runs the cybersecurity program). But you can only find that by going to the general graduate outcomes page and navigating to the relevant college.

Time Commitment

Just like other Bachelor’s programs, a cybersecurity degree will typically take around 4 years to complete. If you’re attending full-time in a traditional, on-campus institution, that’s the kind of timeline you can expect.

However, you may be able to acquire your Bachelor’s degree more quickly. Online programs will generally allow you to move at your own pace, so faster learners might be able to finish in a shorter amount of time (conversely, busy professionals can stretch out their studies beyond 4 years). Lots of online and campus programs also allow you to count existing qualifications and certifications toward your credit total, which can significantly reduce the time it takes to finish the degree.

The number of credits required can also affect the length of a cybersecurity degree. The majority of programs will require 120 credits for completion, but some institutions will need you to gain a few more (the Stevens Institute of Technology requires 134 credits, the highest of the top 25 programs). 

Cybersecurity Career Options

While a cybersecurity degree doesn’t guarantee a specific job, there are more than 500,000 open cybersecurity positions in the US. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Information Security Analysts earn a median salary of $129,180 per year.

A Bachelor’s in cybersecurity opens up a wide range of potential career paths, including:

• Security Analyst: Security analysts are on the front line of cybersecurity, monitoring and triaging threats as they come in. Many programs (e.g. Stevenson) teach you how to use industry-standard tools like Splunk and Wireshark, and recruiters commonly hire new graduates to the role.
• Penetration Tester: Penetration testers are part of the cybersecurity “red team.” They proactively probe an organization’s defenses and seek out vulnerabilities. Although you’ll often need certifications and/or experience, CyberSeek analysis has found that 0% of penetration tester job listings request education higher than a Bachelor’s degree.
• Security Engineer: As an engineer, you’ll be designing and implementing defensive systems as opposed to just monitoring them. It requires a deep understanding of cyber threats, and may call for skills in programming. However, the actual responsibilities vary significantly from role-to-role. Security Engineer is comfortably the most common cybersecurity role listed on job sites (46,271 listings in a 12-month period), encompassing a broad range of duties and seniority.
• Security Consultant: Security consultants get called in to assess an organization’s overall security posture. If you go down this route, you’ll generally be working for a cybersecurity agency, as opposed to in-house. Around 90% of organizations prefer outsourced or hybrid models when building a Security Operations Center, so agencies are not short of work.
• Cryptographer: Cryptography is all about building new encryption systems. It’s some of the most technical, math-based work in all of cybersecurity, and sometimes requires a Master’s degree or even PhD.
• Computer Forensics Investigator: If you go down the computer forensics route, you’ll be working with or adjacent to law enforcement. It’s all about recovering evidence from digital devices. An open role with ITC Federal, which supports the work of the DOJ, is currently hiring graduates without requiring any further experience (although you do need to have familiarity with relevant tools and practices).
• Security Software Developer: Security software developers typically build dedicated cybersecurity-focused applications and programs. Alternatively, they may be brought onto more general development teams to help ensure secure coding practices are being followed at build time. In either case, the technical requirements often go beyond what’s taught on a standard cybersecurity degree. If secure development is your goal, you might want to consider Computer Science with a Cybersecurity concentration, e.g. at the University of Maryland.
• Security Code Auditor: Someone hired to review code security, without being actively involved in initial development, would generally be classed as a security code auditor. As with consultancy, it’s often an agency-based role. And even though you aren’t coding from scratch yourself, you’ll need excellent programming fluency.
• Security Architect: Security architects map out an organization’s whole cybersecurity setup. It’s typically a senior role, but you can work toward it by choosing programs with a strong focus on governance, e.g. the BS in Cybersecurity and Risk Management at the University of Texas at Dallas.
• Security Manager: Security managers have day-to-day oversight of cybersecurity operations. As with becoming a security architect, you’ll usually need to have experience as well as a degree before you can secure such a role, but you can pick programs and/or courses that set you on the right track.

A cybersecurity degree can also set you on the path to eventually becoming a CISO (Chief Information Security Officer), although significant further experience and study are generally necessary. One active listing requests 15+ years of experience, and that is relatively typical.

None of these cybersecurity roles lock you into one specific industry. The manufacturing (27.7%) and finance (27%) sectors accounted for the majority of attacks in 2025, but there were also significant intrusions against professional services, energy, transportation, retail, healthcare and government. If you’re working in-house, your role might look very different depending on what line of work your employer is in. And agency work can offer day-to-day variety across different industries.

Finally, if you ultimately decide that cybersecurity isn’t for you, the degree still gives you a sufficient technical foundation for things like IT roles, tech sales, or technical writing. With a little extra work (e.g. certificates), you may be able to pivot into AI/software development.

Cybersecurity Degree Admission Requirements

Admission requirements for a cybersecurity bachelor’s degree vary by institution. 

But across the programs we reviewed, you’ll need a high school diploma, typically with a GPA of 2.0 (less selective) to 3.0 (more selective). SAT or ACT scores may also be relevant, although that is increasingly unusual.

Most schools also ask for some kind of personal statement. You may be able to skip this with certain online-first programs, which are more likely to automatically accept anyone with the minimum academic requirements.

Methodology

To bring you the top cybersecurity bachelor’s degree programs, we used a weighted scoring system.

• The biggest factor (25%) was whether or not the program focuses on hands-on practice. We gave high marks to programs that prepared students for real-world cybersecurity work.
• Another major factor (20%) was the relevance of the curriculum. Specifically, we rewarded programs that teach students skills and tools that are relevant to cybersecurity (and those that employers want to see).
• Affordability made up 20% of our scoring system. Specifically, we evaluated whether or not the program’s tuition was competitive compared to similar programs in the area.
• We rewarded programs with impressive academic quality (15%). Schools with a stellar reputation in the security field (and those that tend to help students get hired after graduation) got higher scores.
• Material focus made up 10% of our rankings score. We rewarded programs that focus on cybersecurity throughout the coursework (as opposed to being a more general IT degree that only teaches cybersecurity towards the end of the program).
• We also factored in admissions, though it carried less weight (10%). Schools with low barriers to entry and flexible online options received some credit, but not to the exclusion of more selective and/or traditional schools.

A program scoring well in all of these metrics will be a reasonably priced, well-respected degree that sets you up to succeed in the real world of cybersecurity.

(If you’re looking specifically for an online degree, our dedicated ranking for online cybersecurity programs gives more weight to program timelines and flexibility.)

Expert Q&A: An Insider’s Take on the Cybersecurity Bachelor’s Degree

Answers from Marisa Tranchitella Foltz, MS Ed, a human risk management specialist whose career started with an undergraduate degree in cybersecurity.

---

Was your cybersecurity degree worth it?

For me, absolutely. A bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity helped launch my career, one I’m still enjoying almost 10 years later. A formal degree helped me stand out among applicants without one. In my experience, a degree gives you skills, hands-on experience, and industry connections that help you get hired. It also gave me the in-depth knowledge to obtain the coveted cybersecurity certificate from ISC2, the Certificate in Governance, Risk and Compliance (CGRC).

That said, there are many factors to consider when deciding if a 4-year degree is for you: time commitment, cost, learning strengths and weaknesses, and the weight of the formal degree. If you haven’t been an especially strong traditional student, a university degree might not be the best option for you. And if you prefer to roll up your sleeves and get your hands on technology, a bootcamp or apprentice-style work-study option might be best.

There are different returns on investment for different options. The ROI on a university degree will take longer to make an impact, but once it does, the impact may be greater compared to someone who just did a bootcamp, earned some certificates, and started at an entry-level job faster.

How valuable are internships and co-ops?

Having the opportunity to test-drive different jobs, roles, and companies with the safety net of an internship or co-op is a great way to discover your professional interests. My personal co-op experience completely changed my career trajectory after just one job. I was exposed to the type of work I fell in love with, and changed my plan from being a computer forensic analyst to a human risk management specialist. I also learned I disliked working for large corporations without a mission that spoke to me.

Co-ops aren’t internships. They’re 6-month, paid, entry-level engagements with real companies, built directly into the degree program. At Drexel, students can accumulate up to 18 months of real work experience before they have a diploma in hand, and many get hired full-time by a previous co-op employer after graduation. I did.

Should I specialize during my bachelor’s, or stay a generalist?

Most cybersecurity professionals end up in some kind of specialization, but not everyone starts out that way. I started out as a generic analyst (aka a jack of most trades and master of none). It wasn’t until a few years after graduating and working full-time that I oriented myself toward a specialization: human-focused cybersecurity, often referred to as Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC).

You may want to consider narrowing your focus more than I did. Spending time in specialized courses can work in your favor if you know where you want to end up. Even during my bachelor’s, I knew I didn’t want to be working with hardware, servers, or networks, so I avoided those classes and picked more governance-focused courses. I still received a general cybersecurity education, but where I had the freedom to pick electives, I opted for governance.

One caveat: don’t skip the foundations. I personally never cared for the core IT and networking courses, but they’re essential to complete before moving on to the more fun ones. Even if you don’t end up being a systems engineer or security engineer, a solid theoretical understanding is important for your cybersecurity career.

Once you’re in the field, what does the career path actually look like?

Career paths typically go one of two directions: management or specialization. The management track leads from manager to director to VP, eventually reaching the CISO. For people like me, who are not interested in managing people or dealing with upper management politics, the specialization track leads to senior or principal analyst and engineer roles.

One important thing to keep in mind: analyst and engineer titles aren’t standardized. I worked as an analyst focused on the human risk side (writing policies, running training, managing compliance). A colleague with the same title ran the vulnerability management program and worked directly with systems engineers. Same title, very different jobs.

As for the long-term outlook, ISC2’s 2025 Cybersecurity Workforce Report found that pressure from budget and personnel cuts has started to level out. As AI continues to change how we do business, new risks and threats will likely keep demand high. That said, AI will reshape some roles more than others. SOC analyst work, for example, may not entirely go away, but how it functions most certainly will change.

How much should accreditation factor into my decision?

School accreditation is a good backstop check to make sure you’re looking at a legitimate institution. Any reputable cybersecurity bachelor’s program will be accredited by its relevant regional body (SACSCOC, MSCHE, and so on).

Beyond that, the Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) designation is a helpful standard when evaluating cybersecurity programs specifically. There are three subtypes: CAE-CD for cyber defense, CAE-R for research, and CAE-O for cyber operation. ABET accreditation is also a useful marker of quality and generally indicates a more STEM-focused curriculum.

Just keep in mind that accreditations aren’t one and done. Universities have to continually prove compliance, and standards can change. For example, a program can earn ABET accreditation but lose it at the next renewal. If accreditation matters to you, investigate the current status of any program you’re considering and ask someone in the recruitment office when their accreditation was last renewed.