Cybersecurity is one of the most growing fields in today’s day and age. With technology taking a steep growth, cybersecurity has become one of the major concerns of people and organizations. The ever-growing threats of cyberattacks have increased the demand for professionals who can handle and prevent such delicate situations. Industries like finance, insurance, banking, healthcare, and IT are actively looking for qualified cybersecurity professionals. Let’s look at some degree programs that can be useful.

Types of cyber security degrees

Certificate
These programs suit those who cannot invest a lot of time and money to enroll themselves in a full-time course. Students who have either finished their graduation or post-graduation are eligible for these certificate programs. Some of the subjects include ethical hacking, computer forensics, and infrastructure security.

Associate
There are some schools that give out AS (Associate of Science) degrees in cybersecurity. It takes about 2 years of commitment for a course like this, and it can be done either online or in person. You will learn computer networking, foundations, communication, and network security, database management systems. The eligibility for such a course is a high school diploma or a GED certificate.

Bachelor’s
You can pursue a BS degree in cybersecurity, which is a four-year course. If you choose to do this online, you may be able to finish the degree sooner. The usual curriculum would include subjects like scripting, security engineer, security architect, among others.

Master’s
You may pursue this degree either online or in person and takes about one to two years to finish it with minimum 30 credits. Some of the integral subjects in the course include risk management, enterprise architecture, information security assurance, and cybersecurity management. The eligibility for this kind of degree requires a bachelor’s degree, minimum GPA, some letter of recommendation, and a resume. Some institutes insist on the GRE examination too.

Ph.D.
Called a doctoral cybersecurity degree, this takes another 4-5 years to complete with 48-75 credits as a requirement. The highest level of degree you could achieve in this course and some of the topics you may cover would be software vulnerabilities and security, systems and application security advances, assurance controls and compliance management, etc. You need to have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in both bachelor’s and master’s degree.

Popular institutes for cyber security degree programs

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
According to the U.S. News College Compass rankings, this college ranks amongst the most popular colleges for cybersecurity courses. They follow a semester-based curriculum for the academic year, and their annual fee is close to $59,000.

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
Its academic calendar also follows a semester cycle, and it is one of the most popular and legendary establishments that was built in 1885. If you are looking to enroll here, the in-state fees are around $13,000; however, the out-of-state tuition and fees are about $34,000.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
It’s likely you’ve heard this name before, and rightly so. They are known for their curriculum and past legacy. They work on a 4-1-4 academic calendar for the year. The tuition and fees for the university are about $56,000.

University of California, Berkeley
Known to have a reputation score of about 4.9, they attract a lot of students each year. Situated in Berkeley, they have a semesterly enrollment of about 30,980 students. Their in-state tuition and fees are $14,500, and the out-of-state fee is around $44,200.

Stanford University, Stanford
Located in California’s Bay Area, Stanford is yet another popular choice for those interested in computer science and cybersecurity. They follow a quarter-based academic calendar, so apply accordingly. Their annual fee is about $56,200.