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Cybersecurity

Online Bachelor’s Degree Program

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Ready to learn more about the bachelor's degree in cybersecurity?
40
Total Courses
$335
Cost per Credit
2.5 Years
Time to Completion With 2 Courses per Term
12-15 hours/week
Time Commitment
Upcoming Start Dates

Explore Cybersecurity

Cyber threats are growing rapidly within businesses and organizations across all sectors and the need for highly trained cyber security professionals is more critical than ever before. Designed to meet the needs of today’s businesses, and with a focus on hands-on experience and problem solving, Champlain’s nationally recognized online cybersecurity degree is the ideal program for those looking to advance their information security or digital forensics careers in this critical field. Delivering cutting-edge education and virtual hands-on learning application, a degree in cybersecurity from Champlain will make you stand out in the field and advance your career with skills in intrusion detection, ethical hacking, network security, digital forensics, computer security and database management.

Build Your Career Future

In a field that changes as rapidly as cybersecurity, with new technologies and best practices in network security constantly emerging, it’s essential that your bachelors degree in cybersecurity helps you build, adapt and grow your skillsets. Champlain’s online cybersecurity degree program emphasizes both core technical skills (including knowledge of over 31 key applications, platforms, and programming languages) and essential skills like critical thinking and problem-solving that you can immediately apply to your workplace and that will give you an adaptive edge as global digital environments become more complex.

Grow Your Cyber Network

With thousands of highly sought after CCO cybersecurity alums around the world, you'll be joining an elite group of networked industry leaders looking for new talent. Your practitioner faculty, program directors and advisors will also help you set yourself up for a successful career in cybersecurity.

A Nationally Recognized Leader in Cybersecurity

Logos for DHS, NSA, DC3

Champlain is a nationally recognized leader in cybersecurity and digital forensics education and home of the Senator Patrick Leahy Center for Digital Investigation & Cybersecurity. With a robust faculty of expert-practitioner instructors who have significant experience working for top organizations and are sought-after thought leaders in the field, we specialize in building agile cybersecurity and digital forensics programs that the meet mission-critical needs of today's businesses, nonprofit organizations, law enforcement, and state and federal governments.

Champlain has been designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the U.S. National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security since 2006, and Champlain cybersecurity programs have been named best in the nation by SC Magazine. Champlain is also designated as a National Center of Digital Forensics Academic Excellence by the Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) Air Force Office of Special Investigations - the fifth college in the nation, and the only private college in the country, to receive this distinction. 

Program Curriculum

Champlain's online cyber security course portfolio encompasses the critical skills needed by today's cybersecurity professionals. Graduates of the program are required to complete the following courses.

Professional Courses (60 credits)

General Education Courses (42 credits)

Technical Electives (12 credits)

General Electives (6 credits)

Note: Some of the courses in this program are available in 15-week terms only. Please contact your advisor for details.   

This course provides students with an understanding of the many different devices and technologies, from historical to emerging, that are required to design and build networks. In a broad survey of concepts and terminology, students will learn about topology, communications, protocols, and security, and to diagram basic networks to specification.

From day one, students in this course are problem solving, first in terms of algorithmic design and then as early as week two via programming in the latest version of Python, using PyCharm. Students begin by writing a program to have a conversation, having strings and numbers as input, and advance, by week seven, to building a working password saver program, capable of looking up, adding (and encrypting), and storing passwords.

This course, through guided research and hands-on learning experiences, provides students with an understanding of operating systems, including their core fundamental principles and how they work. Students are introduced to the three most popular operating systems for personal computers (Windows, OSX and Linux), and mobile operating systems, and learn about standard functions such as memory, process/thread, input/output, storage and device management.

Students are presented with the opportunity to expand and showcase their knowledge and abilities in this 15-week course where they are expected to work independently and develop a project related to their major.

Prerequisites

Must complete 90 credits in major before taking this course.

This course is a thorough review of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) which is used extensively in corporate enterprise networks and the Internet. The course will cover the structure of TCP/IP, its application to data networks, and security issues.

Prerequisites

CMIT-130

This course will introduce foundation subject matter and technologies that are critical to the multidisciplinary landscape of cybersecurity.

Prerequisites

Complete CMIT-130 and CMIT-135.

This exciting course introduces students to the myriad software tools and best practices for handling digital evidence. Labs utilize Champlain College Online's Forensic VDI and challenge students to begin building their skills, from creating a hash value for a forensic copy with X-Ways Forensics and FTK Imager, to examining evidence with The Sleuth Kit (TSK), Autopsy and/or EnCase.

Prerequisites

Complete CMIT-135 and CMIT-140

Through this course, students learn about what makes up an operating system and the various threats to that operating system and, by extension, the user. The focus of this course is on CentOS Linux and Windows Server.

Prerequisites

Complete CYBR-210.

In CYBR-260, students learn how to script with Python (through IDLE and PyCharm), keeping in sight that being able to program is not just about being able to program. It's also about understanding how programs are put together and how they work, what is possible, and how to control the system.

Prerequisites

Complete CMIT-135.

Cloud computing has become increasingly central to Information Security (IS) strategies both at the corporate and personal level. It unifies a variety of technologies to provide businesses a method to improve business efficiency and reduce costs. This course will cover concepts, protocols and implementation details for working with and implementing cloud technologies within an organization.

Prerequisites

Complete CMIT-130.

In this class, students take an intense look at networks and the ways that we provide appropriate controls and technology to provide security to them, while using Wireshark and NMAP as supporting tools.

Prerequisites

Complete NETW-215.

Mobile devices are convenient, portable, inexpensive, powerful and essential to a lot of people. Considering many people have their own smartphones, it makes sense for some businesses to make use of that by allowing employees to use their smartphones to connect to corporate infrastructure for communication functions. This introduces security issues. Smartphones and tablets are not the only areas where wireless technology introduces risk into the enterprise environment, not to mention putting individuals at risk. Bluetooth, 802.11 wireless networks and near field communications all have the potential to be harmful. This course will cover the risks and remediations associated with wireless technology.

Prerequisites

NETW-210, CYBR-210.

This is a course on how to find and exploit vulnerabilities in systems. While discussing the ethical and legal framework of these activities, students will use Google search techniques (a.k.a. Google Hacking), online applications, including Damn Vulnerable Web Application (DVWA), and Champlain’s virtual environments equipped with Kali Linux, Metasploitable, Nessus, Nexpose, NMAP, Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP), W3AF, Burp, and Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks (a.k.a. SATAN), among other tools.

Prerequisites

Take CMIT-135,WEBD-125 and WEBD-220 or CYBR-210

CYBR-320 covers strategies, techniques and technologies used in attacking and defending information systems, and how to design secure networks and protect against intrusion, malware and other hacker exploits. Students will use the Security Onion Linux distribution and the Security Onion toolkit and will perform some log analysis. However, the course has its bigger focus on best practices.

Prerequisites

CYBR-240, CFDI-240, CYBR-210.

In CYBR-410, students have a look on how the landscape of threats and defenses is evolving. Some of the tools used in the class are: Social Engineer's Toolkit (Kali Linux), Metasploitable, Low Orbit Ion Cannon (loic), hping3, TinyCA, and openSSL.

Prerequisites

CYBR-335, CYBR-210.

This introductory course to Wireless LANs focuses on the design, planning, implementation, operation, and troubleshooting of Wireless LANs. It covers a comprehensive overview of technologies, security, and design best practices with particular emphasis on hands-on skills.

Prerequisites

CMIT-130, CMIT-135

This course examines cybersecurity policy planning in an organizational context. The aim is to examine key procedures, such as security requirements analysis and risk assessments, to determine their roles in policy formation.

Prerequisites

CYBR-335

From storyboard to form creation, students walk through the steps to create a basic four to five-page website to specification in this course that introduces HTML5 and CSS. Hands-on assignments reinforce skills development and best practices in design: navigation, column layout, image editing and usage, fonts and tables.

NETW-255 is a lab-based course designed to introduce system administration in both Windows Server and Linux Server operating systems. Students learn how to install both Linux and Windows Operating systems, configure an Active Directory domain, learn common domain administration tasks, apply user and file management, experience application installation and configuration, and integrate the two operating systems to work together simulating a real-life work scenario.

Prerequisites

Complete CMIT-130 and CMIT-140..

Choose One of the following courses

Project Management is the formal application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project-based activities to meet organizational requirements. Project management is accomplished through the use of processes such as Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. Project managers can divide projects into these phases to provide better management control with appropriate links to the ongoing operations of the organization. Collectively, these phases, known as the project life cycle, form the foundation for the practice of project management and are guided by the Body of Knowledge from the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Project schedules allow managers, team members, and stakeholders to track progress, set and manage expectations, communicate, control costs, and collaborate. Tasks and deliverables can be monitored and controlled to ensure timely delivery-and if any delays do occur, project managers can easily gauge their impact and make the necessary adjustments. Central to the schedule is a detailed understanding of the project budget, and working to control costs and manage stakeholder expectations.

Prerequisites

Take MGMT-260

In addition to the following requirements, students must also complete 3 Credits of a General Education Elective (Any ARTS, COMM, CRIT, ECON, ENGL, HIST, MATH, PHIL, PSYC, SCIE, SOCI, MKCM 120, CRIM except CRIM-225)

 

Written Communication
Complete the following two courses:

This course introduces students to the foundational concepts needed to communicate effectively in writing for academic study and professional development. Students will also learn to read critically to evaluate an author's message. Students will be introduced to rhetorical modes and their role in the development of written communication. Students will also learn how to use revision strategies to create written communication that meets its intended purpose for its intended audience

This course builds on students' proficiency in the writing process and rhetorical modes to introduce the use of sources in written communication. Students will practice information literacy as they learn to determine information needs from sources, develop effective search strategies, and incorporate sources in written communication, legally and ethically.

Prerequisites

Complete ENGL-100

Oral Communication
Complete the following course:

Starting with a frame of human communication as a dynamic system of interactions in which people make choices that impact their relationships, other people, and themselves, students will define theory-informed communication concepts and processes, and critically examine how they apply to everyday life across a variety of contexts. Students will reflect on how the theory, concepts and processes apply to their own lives in becoming competent communicators who are knowledgeable, skilled, and versatile.

Collaboration
Complete the following course:

This course draws on fundamental concepts of contemporary group communication research to help students identify and develop strategies to communicate effectively in small groups and teams for the cooperative purpose of advancing common goals. Students will draw on listening and responding strategies learned in COMM-130 Interpersonal Communication and apply them to communicating as a leader or member of a small group. They will also learn how to recognize and manage the types of conflicts that can arise in small groups. Prerequisite: COMM-130 Interpersonal Communication

Prerequisites

Complete COMM-130

Inquiry & Analysis
Complete the following course:

Students will learn and apply critical inquiry skills to analyze persuasive communication created by others and to develop persuasive communication/arguments of their own to solve problems in professional, civic, social, and personal contexts. Specifically, students will learn to recognize fallacies in logic; apply inductive and deductive reasoning strategies to the interpretation and development of persuasive communication; evaluate the validity of sources; and develop logically sound persuasive communication. Students will explore the roles of self-awareness, empathy, and ethics in the context of critical inquiry and the development of arguments.

Prerequisites

Complete ENGL-110.

Technology Literacy
Complete one of the following courses, unless your program requires a specific course:

This course is an historical overview, and examination of the evolution of digital, film, and print media, and their functions. Students will identify and analyze contemporary problems of the media such as the legal, social, economic and psychological implications of their relationships with society. They also will examine the ways in which marketing and PR professionals utilize the mass media channels to reach their intended target audiences.

This course explores the complex and evolving relationship between human beings and technology. Through a multi-disciplinary approach that draws on fields such as sociology, psychology, philosophy, and history, students will examine the ways in which technology has shaped human culture, identity, and values, as well as how humans have influenced and continue to influence the development, adoption and use of technology.

Quantitative Literacy
Complete one of the following courses:

Mathematical reasoning, when applied to everyday and professional lives, has two dimensions: logic for deterministic situations and probabilities for non-deterministic situations. This course aims to help students develop these mathematical reasoning skills.

This course introduces students to basic statistics for data literacy. With a focus on exploring real-world data, students will interpret numerical information and utilize the tools necessary to complete the entire statistical process: designing a study; gathering, organizing, and analyzing sample data; and making inferences about a population. Students will demonstrate data-driven decision-making and effective communication of numerical data.

Scientific Literacy: Natural Sciences
Complete one of the following courses, note that two of the courses are 4 credits and two are 3 credits

Introduces students to the biochemistry and physiology of nutrition and exercise. Emphasis will be placed on human body systems such as musculoskeletal, digestive, respiratory and circulatory, and their relationship to nutrition and fitness. Students will also study the biochemistry of energy conversion as it relates to exercise physiology. Laboratory sessions are designed to reinforce, by a hands-on approach, the principles discussed in lecture. Course includes two laboratory hours per week.

Students learn the biology, genetics, chemistry, and physics involved in the forensic investigation of crimes. A wide range of topics are studied including DNA, entomology, fingerprinting, trace evidence, serology (blood, saliva, and semen), blood spatter, and chemical analysis of drugs, alcohol, and other compounds. Students apply their new knowledge of forensic science through the use of case studies and laboratories. This course includes two laboratory hours per week.

Students will develop the ability to apply scientific methods to understand the natural world, to identify scientific aspects of daily life, and to evaluate the quality of scientific information based on its source and the methods used for its generation.

In this course, students will gain an introduction to classical mechanics and learn about motion, force, energy, and momentum. The course covers vectors, scalars, and coordinate systems, as well as kinematics in one and two dimensions, Newton's Laws of Motion, circular motion, and kinetic energy and work. Students also learn about potential energy and energy conservation, collision theory, rotational motion, moment of inertia, torque, rotational dynamics, and angular momentum.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Global/Cultural Understanding
Complete the following course:

This course will introduce students to major streams of social justice thought, including historical social justice movements, theoretical problems having to do with social equality, personal freedom, marginalization, and stigmatization, and the ways in which civic and professional communities respond to these issues.

Arts & Humanities
Complete any two of the following courses, unless your program requires a specific course(s):

With pressure and release, a window opens and closes, recording light on a sensor. The simple action captures the instinct, judgement, and skill of the person behind the lens. This class will begin a study of the art and craft of photography. Students will develop their vision and their understanding of how to achieve it. Solid skills will be learned and many doors will be opened.

A survey of the continuing change experienced in art since the 15th century. Students will examine how an image is achieved as well as the significance of the subject represented. Individual inquiry concerning the nature of art is encouraged.

Students learn to appreciate films through the critical analysis of various elements of mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound. The course introduces the conventions of classical Hollywood cinema, considers the work of one major director (auteur), and surveys selected international and independent films. Students view and discuss films each week.

Students in the course will explore the cultural history of the music genre broadly referred to as rock. Students will explore the social, economic and political contexts that are influenced by and that influenced each style in the United States. By listening, watching, reflecting upon, discussing and writing, students will explore how music takes on meaning, personally, and culturally. Topics and themes include the relationships between and among gospel, country, funk, folk, disco, rap and hip hop; the role of business and technology in those relationships, and political or transgressive elements of rock music.

Students will apply communication theory and research to address the particular challenges to communicating effectively in organizations. Students will learn how to identify organizational communication problems, analyze those problems, and generate effective solutions. Students will examine the relationship between organizational structure and specific communicative practices, and how communication practices by organizational members establish, maintain, or change organizational culture. They will also learn how to anticipate communication deficiencies in organizations, and use communication as a means to facilitate organizational development and innovation.

Prerequisites

Complete COMM-130

Specific application of common tools for writing in the working world. Students will be instructed in rhetorical strategies of professional writing including style, report formats, editing, document design, and integration of visual aids. Students will complete a semester-long writing project; oral and written reports associated with the process of problem-solving within the project will be included.

Prerequisites

ENGL-112 or COR-125

Students will learn how to create conditions for successful conflict engagement, a necessary skill for any professional. The course focuses on the foundational capacities to remain calm and connected with oneself and others. In this state students can access helpful ideas and responses and be their best selves regardless of environment. Improving facility for conflict creates stronger relationships and reduces fear. By the end of the course, students will understand that disagreement and difference can become a source of personal and interpersonal growth.

Ethics refers to accepted standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do in various contexts, typically in relation to rights, obligations/duties, benefits to society, fairness, consequences, and virtues. In this course, students will explore both theoretical and practical dimensions of ethics in order to 1) define ethics and identify ethical positions and principles, 2) critically reflect on how ethics impacts individual and collective responsibility, decision-making, and action, and 3) apply ethics to the personal, civic, and professional contexts.

Prerequisites

ENGL-110

This course introduces students to the fundamental elements of technical writing (clear, concise, and targeted)that are common among seven forms of technical communication: email correspondence, editing,employment communication, proposals, long, formal reports,oral communication, and inventions. Through peer reviews and writing workshops, students develop the ability to write and edit text that precisely targets its audience. This course emphasizes deepening and broadening students' writing, speaking, and thinking abilities in a non-lecture-based, hands-on, discussion-centered classroom.

Prerequisites

ENGL-112 or COR-125

Social Sciences
Complete any two of the following courses, unless your program requires a specific course(s):

Provides a comprehensive analysis of the fundamentals of substantive criminal law. Students will learn the essential elements of crimes and the rationale underlying criminal law. The nature of jurisdiction, the criminal act, the criminal state of mind and matters affecting responsibility for criminal conduct are included.

This course focuses on the rules and procedures governing how the American criminal justice system must process individuals suspected, accused, and convicted of law violations.

This course provides students with a broad overview of the history, theory, and fundamentals of criminal investigation. Students are introduced to the basic responsibilities of investigators and protocols for report writing, evidence collection, and preparation of cases for trial. They also learn specific investigative techniques for different types of crimes, such as crimes involving violence and property, terrorism, and hate crimes, and, where appropriate, compare investigative protocols from other legal cultures.

Prerequisites

Take CRIM-120, CRIM-121.

Principles of Economics introduces the fundamental concepts of economics - the study of how people manage resources, and how they react to scarcity. This course focuses on both microeconomics (the behavior of consumers and companies) and macroeconomics (large-scale economic factors such as employment and interest rates), so that you'll gain a broad understanding of how a modern market economy functions, how decisions in business settings are informed by economics, and how economics applies to your everyday life.

Students will study important themes in the social history of the United States since the Civil War. This course allows students to expand their critical thinking skills through an examination of primary and secondary sources. Themes might include: the evolving status of women; the immigrant experience; the concept of the American dream; the paradox of freedom vs. slavery; the minority experience; the tensions between social classes. Students will be evaluated primarily on writing assignments.

In this course, students will explore broad, foundational knowledge in psychology, including its history, major theorists and a survey of psychology subfields such as developmental, cognitive and social psychology. Students will also describe and assess the role of ethics and social responsibility in the study and application of psychological theory and practices.

In this class, students will explore how social relationships, groups, societies and culture develop and change over time. From a sociological theory foundation and employing the sociological imagination, students will examine the impact of social structures, institutions, and systems on individual lives. Students will apply sociological research methods to investigate sociological phenomena in their own lives.

Additional Program Details

Graduates of the cybersecurity bachelor's online degree program will demonstrate the following industry-specific skills, knowledge, and competencies:

  • Evaluate the computer network and information security needs of an organization.
  • Assess cybersecurity risk management policies to effectively protect an organization's critical information and assets.
  • Measure the performance of security systems within an enterprise-level information system.
  • Troubleshoot, maintain, and update an enterprise-level information security system.
  • Implement continuous network monitoring and provide real-time security solutions.
  • Formulate, update, and communicate short- and long-term organizational cybersecurity policies and strategies.
  • Acrylic Wifi
  • Android x86 Emulator
  • Burp
  • CentOS Linux
  • CSS
  • Damn Vulnerable Web Application (DVWA)
  • Google Hacking
  • Hping3
  • HTML5
  • IDLE
  • Linux Server
  • Low Orbit Ion Cannon (loic)
  • Metsploitable
  • Nessus
  • Netsh
  • Nexpose
  • NMAP
  • Open SSL
  • PyCharm
  • Python
  • Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks (SATAN)
  • Security Onion
  • Social Engineer's Toolkit (Kali Linux)
  • TinyCA
  • Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Suite
  • VMware
  • W3AF
  • Windows Server
  • Wireless LANs
  • Wireshark
  • Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP)

Students who have earned the CISSP Certification are eligible for transfer credits toward this degree. Please speak to an admission representative or your academic advisor for details. 

Champlain College Online's computer science faculty, led by Department Chair Richard Pickering, are expert practitioners in the field. Their industry expertise ensures that our curriculum is aligned with the needs of employers, and reflects the skills today’s IT systems professionals need for success. Classes led by our seasoned experts will give you real-world insight into the world of information technology, and create a rich community of career-focused learning.

Tuition & Costs

Online Undergraduate Tuition Fall '23 - Summer '25

$335 per credit
$1,005* per course
$290** per credit for Champlain alumni or associate degree graduates from any college or university
$250 per credit for military service members (family members see truED tuition)
$150 One-time graduation fee

*Based on a 3-credit course; cost will vary if course is a different number of credits

** Starts Summer 2024, not retroactive 

See the undergraduate cost of attendance and fees here

Affordability and Paying For Your Education

We provide a number of options to make your online education affordable, including preferred tuition for alumni, associate degree graduates, community college graduates, and military.

What Can You Do With a Degree in Cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity careers are expected to grow 33% between 2020 and 2030, significantly higher than the average growth for all fields, as a result of increase cyber threats across all industries. The median annual salary for information security professionals is over $103,590.*

The strong demand for cybersecurity talent means that job opportunities are available in virtually every field and sector, including cyber incidence response, cyber risk and strategic analysis, vulnerability detection and assessment, and more. There is also a particular need for cyber professionals in the federal government, which has designated cybersecurity as a mission-critical function.

*Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2020; job titles: cyberdegrees.org, 2020

Top Jobs for Bachelor's in Cybersecurity Graduates

  • Incident Responder
  • Security Administrator
  • Vulnerability Assessor
  • Penetration Tester
  • Security Analyst
Cyber security online bachelor's degree graduate working on computer

Why Champlain

Career Growth

"Not having a bachelor's degree was restricting my career. I had been lucky to get in the door with some great companies without one, but there was only so high up I could go. Getting my degree opened up new opportunities for me in the cybersecurity field."

Shannon Brewster Bachelor's Degree in Cybersecurity
Regional Leader, AT&T Cybersecurity Consulting, Information Assurance, CISSP
Shannon Brewster, Bachelor's Degree in Cybersecurity

Academic Excellence and Recognition

New England Commission of Higher Education Logo

Regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education

Military Friendly Designation, Silver Badge 2024-2025

Designated as a Military Friendly School for our commitment to the military community

Tech Guide logo/badge

Ranked among the best by Tech Guide for game design and computer science

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Named the among the best schools with accelerated bachelor's degrees by Intelligent.com

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Learn what you can expect from our online bachelor's in cybersecurity program.

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