Best Online Associate in Cybersecurity

Best Online Associate in Cybersecurity

Find top-ranked online associate in cybersecurity degree programs to help students continue their education and apply their credits toward a bachelor’s degree, or they can enter the workforce as network administrators, cybersecurity analysts, or computer forensics specialists.

Top 10 Online Associate in Cybersecurity Degrees

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Key Takeaways

  • The associate degree in cybersecurity is an affordable way to get started on your college education. The typical associate degree will take about two years to complete.

  • Many community colleges and two-year schools offer both traditional and online degree programs for students pursuing their associate degree in cybersecurity.

  • Earning an online associate degree in cybersecurity can prepare you for a variety of entry level jobs in your field. Many students also continue into a bachelor’s degree program in cybersecurity or a related area.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Cybersecurity Degrees

Why get an associate in cybersecurity?

The cyber security associates degree can prepare prospective students for entry level careers in cybersecurity, surveillance, law enforcement, Homeland security and more. Online associate cybersecurity degrees are a particularly popular option for working cybersecurity professionals with an interest in updating their skills or advancing in their careers.

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What will I learn while getting an associate in cybersecurity?

Introductory classes will explore the technological aspects of cybersecurity, such as telecommunication, network fundamentals, information systems security, ethical hacking and how to identify potential cyber threats.

Students pursuing their cyber security associate degree at community colleges will typically take both general education courses and core courses in cybersecurity such as System administration fundamentals, security software, computer networks, computer hardware and more. Students earning their associate degrees in technical college programs may be able to bypass general education courses in favor of a more narrowly focused cyber security program.

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How long does it take to get an associate in cybersecurity?

Most cybersecurity associate’s degree programs are available both online and on campus. The typical associate-level degree in cybersecurity takes about 60 credit hours, or roughly two years, to complete.

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What can I do with an associate in cybersecurity?

Those who earn their associate in cybersecurity can continue their education and apply their credits toward a bachelor’s program in cybersecurity, or they can enter the workforce as network administrators, information security analysts, or computer forensics specialists.

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Learn more about how to major in computer science.

Best Online Associate in Cybersecurity Degree Programs

Information Security Analysts Salaries by Percentile in the U.S.

The following graph depicts the average salaries of Information Security Analysts for each percentile in the U.S.

Source: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

SVG Attribution: Wikipedia

Total Employed: 157220
10%
15%
50%
15%
10%
bell-curve
6152079400102600131340165920
10th Percentile25th Percentile75th Percentile90th Percentile

25 Best Online Associate in Cybersecurity Degree Programs

  1. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $9K

    Acceptance

    65%

    Graduation

    38%

    Student body

    4K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1160/22

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Information Technology

    Concentrations

    • Computing Technology
    • Network and Cybersecurity
    • Network and System Administration
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  2. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $40K

    Acceptance

    91%

    Graduation

    70%

    Student body

    4K

    Online Degrees

    AS in Cybersecurity And Networking
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  3. #3

    St. Petersburg College

    St. Petersburg , FL

    Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    36%

    Student body

    17K

    Online Degrees

    AS in Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  4. #4

    Central Texas College

    Killeen , TX

    Tuition + fees

    $4K

    Graduation

    18%

    Student body

    7K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Cyberdefense-Information Assurance
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  5. Tuition + fees

    $6K

    Graduation

    25%

    Student body

    <1K

    Online Degrees

    AS in Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: None Reported
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  6. Tuition + fees

    $9K

    Graduation

    28%

    Student body

    7K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Information Assurance And Cybersecurity

    Concentrations

    • Digital Forensics
    • Networking
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  7. Tuition + fees

    $7K

    Graduation

    16%

    Student body

    10K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  8. #8

    LeTourneau University

    Longview , TX

    Tuition + fees

    $33K

    Acceptance

    54%

    Graduation

    64%

    Student body

    2K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1220/25

    Online Degrees

    AS in Cyber Security
    • Required Credits: 64
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  9. Tuition + fees

    $4K

    Graduation

    33%

    Student body

    8K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 60-61
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  10. #10

    Saint Leo University

    Saint Leo , FL

    Tuition + fees

    $26K

    Acceptance

    71%

    Graduation

    46%

    Student body

    9K

    Online Degrees

    AA in Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  11. Tuition + fees

    $6K

    Graduation

    33%

    Student body

    32K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 65
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  12. Tuition + fees

    $4K

    Graduation

    23%

    Student body

    6K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Computer Information Technology

    Concentrations

    • Networking
    • Cyber Defense
    • Programming
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  13. #13

    Gwinnett Technical College

    Lawrenceville , GA

    Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    34%

    Student body

    5K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Technology

    Concentrations

    • Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 72
    • Completion time: 24 months
    • Format: Online
  14. #14

    Montreat College

    Montreat , NC

    Tuition + fees

    $29K

    Acceptance

    90%

    Graduation

    29%

    Student body

    <1K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1025/20

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Associate Of Science Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  15. Tuition + fees

    $5K

    Graduation

    33%

    Student body

    3K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Information Systems Technology

    Concentrations

    • Cybersecurity And Network Administration Specialization
    • Required Credits: 67
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  16. #16

    Davenport University

    Grand Rapids , MI

    Tuition + fees

    $21K

    Acceptance

    98%

    Graduation

    48%

    Student body

    4K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Cyber Defense
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  17. Tuition + fees

    $2K

    Graduation

    17%

    Student body

    11K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Programmer/Cyber Security Analyst
    • Required Credits: 62-65
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  18. Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    22%

    Student body

    2K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Technology

    Concentrations

    • Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 24 months
    • Format: Online
  19. Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    40%

    Student body

    2K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Technology

    Concentrations

    • Cyber Forensic Technology
    • Required Credits: 62
    • Completion time: 24 months
    • Format: Online
  20. Tuition + fees

    $30K

    Acceptance

    85%

    Graduation

    42%

    Student body

    3K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1065/20

    Online Degrees

    AS in Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  21. Tuition + fees

    $6K

    Graduation

    30%

    Student body

    4K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Networking and Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 64
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  22. #22

    Nash Community College

    Rocky Mount , NC

    Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    30%

    Student body

    2K

    Online Degrees

    AAT in Information Technology

    Concentrations

    • Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 74
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  23. Tuition + fees

    $1K

    Graduation

    27%

    Student body

    3K

    Online Degrees

    AS in Cyber Security Technology
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  24. #24

    Coastline Community College

    Fountain Valley , CA

    Tuition + fees

    $1K

    Graduation

    25%

    Student body

    4K

    Online Degrees

    AS in Computer Networking

    Concentrations

    • Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  25. #25

    Rose State College

    Midwest City , OK

    Tuition + fees

    $5K

    Graduation

    20%

    Student body

    4K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Cybersecurity
    • Required Credits: 69
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
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Online Cybersecurity Programs Looking for You

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Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.

No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?

If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.

In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.

Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.

Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.

In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.

Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).

While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.

Resources for Online College-Bound Students

Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.

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