Best Online Bachelor’s of Homeland Security Degree Programs for 2024

Badge for BEST ONLINE BACHELOR'S IN HOMELAND SECURITY

By Dr. James Barham

Published: Jul 2, 2021
Updated: Nov 22, 2023

Key Takeaways

The best online homeland security programs are regionally accredited and assist students in becoming trained professionals as they work hard in their online degree program.
Homeland security degrees can prepare students for various career paths and jobs, such as border patrol agents, transportation security officers, disaster service analysts, and other law enforcement careers.
Online homeland security degrees teach students critical thinking and communication skills which will help them protect their country against various threats and aid them in assisting the country in preparing for and overcoming natural disasters.

Top 10 Online Bachelor's Degrees in Homeland Security Programs

Sam Houston State University
University of New Haven
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Texas Southern University
Eastern Kentucky University
Wichita State University
Mercer University
St. Petersburg College
National University
Mississippi College

University of Akron
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Mercer University
Texas Southern University
Wichita State University
Liberty University
Sam Houston State University
Campbell University
Southern New Hampshire University
Elon University

Liberty University 99%
Texas Southern University 97%
Keiser University 97%
Southern New Hampshire University 96%
State University of New York at Canton 95%
Wichita State University 95%
Austin Peay State University 94%
University of New Haven 91%
Campbell University 89%
Mercy College 86%

Excelsior University 23 to 1
St. Petersburg College 22 to 1
Southern New Hampshire University 22 to 1
Wichita State University 20 to 1
Sam Houston State University 20 to 1
Jacksonville State University 19 to 1
University of Maryland Global Campus 19 to 1
University of New Haven 19 to 1
Texas Southern University 18 to 1
Liberty University 18 to 1

University of New Haven $44,184
Elon University $42,241
Mercer University $39,708
Campbell University $39,230
Saint Leo University $27,050
Utica University $24,308
Keiser University $23,248
Liberty University $22,511
Mercy College $21,358
Mississippi College $21,098

Keiser University $30,032
Utica University $26,158
Elon University $19,494
Southern New Hampshire University $18,900
Saint Leo University $18,436
University of New Haven $18,360
Mercy College $17,478
National University $15,912
Mercer University $15,531
Campbell University $14,417

Clayton State University
Excelsior University
Campbell University
Idaho State University
Elon University
University of Maryland Global Campus
State University of New York at Canton
Saint Leo University
University of Akron
Utica University

Excelsior University
State University of New York at Canton
Utica University
Clayton State University
University of Maryland Global Campus
Austin Peay State University
Keiser University
St. Petersburg College
Mercy College
Saint Leo University

Mississippi College 40%
Clayton State University 56%
Eastern Kentucky University 64%
Elon University 74%
Mercer University 75%
Jacksonville State University 78%
Saint Leo University 80%
Utica University 81%
University of Akron 83%
Sam Houston State University 85%

University of Alaska Fairbanks 11 to 1
Elon University 11 to 1
Utica University 11 to 1
Mississippi College 13 to 1
Mercer University 13 to 1
Campbell University 13 to 1
Idaho State University 13 to 1
Austin Peay State University 14 to 1
Keiser University 15 to 1
Mercy College 15 to 1

St. Petersburg College $1,943
Clayton State University $4,064
Sam Houston State University $5,856
Idaho State University $5,928
Austin Peay State University $6,816
Wichita State University $6,848
Texas Southern University $6,941
State University of New York at Canton $7,070
University of Maryland Global Campus $7,488
University of Alaska Fairbanks $7,659

Clayton State University $5,513
Wichita State University $5,544
Sam Houston State University $5,765
Texas Southern University $6,858
Liberty University $7,893
University of Akron $7,958
Austin Peay State University $8,226
Idaho State University $8,601
University of Maryland Global Campus $9,252
Jacksonville State University $9,840

Table of Contents

Featured Programs

Homeland Security Degrees

Find top-ranked online bachelor’s in homeland security degree programs to prepare students to keep the nation and its people safe in the areas of cybersecurity, information technology, immigration, travel security, and emergency management.

online college student watching a lecture online

Why would I get a bachelor’s in homeland security?

A bachelor’s degree in homeland security is an ideal degree for those with an interest in defending the public safety and securing America against both internal and external threats. Homeland security programs equip students for careers with government agencies, border and homeland security, and various security systems, just to name a few.

Homeland security professionals work to protect public safety and have various career opportunities open to them. While homeland security careers can be challenging, workers typically find a high level of purpose as they protect their country and its interests.

What skills will I acquire while getting a bachelor’s in homeland security?

Students will gain skills in risk management, ethical decision-making, and communication skills that they can apply in real-world situations. Additionally, students gain the ability to carry out crisis communication and a threat assessment. They will also be equipped to promote disaster resilience in themselves and others.

Students should expect to leave their online bachelor’s degree in homeland security with a solid understanding of security systems and the problem solving skills necessary to handle emergency responses with high level of composure and agility.

What kinds of courses are required in an online homeland security degree?

Subject matter varies by program, but students will likely take courses in national security, emergency planning, counterterrorism, infrastructure protection, and disaster management. Many programs also require homeland security capstone projects.

Because homeland security online degrees might vary in terms of the curriculum taught, prospective students must make sure that they research the bachelor’s degrees they are interested in ahead of time. There might be different homeland security concentrations available depending on the program. Concentrations include emergency preparedness, information security, security and emergency management, and international security.

How long does it take to get a bachelor’s in homeland security degree online?

Online and on-campus programs are available, and most students will complete this 120 credit hour degree undergraduate program in four years. In this ranking, only regionally accredited online bachelor’s in homeland security programs are listed. Because these online programs have regional accreditation, students should expect a high caliber education.

While the typical time to completion for this degree is four years, this can be shortened if homeland security students transfer credits that they earned either while pursuing their high school degree or during their working years in between high school and college. If a student has any homeland security certifications, this could shorten the time to completion even more.

What can I do with a bachelor’s in homeland security?

Graduates will work to keep the nation and its people safe in the areas of cybersecurity, information technology, immigration, travel security, and emergency management. A bachelor of science in homeland security will prepare students to help their nation as it struggles with natural disasters, security threats, and domestic terrorism.

Homeland security jobs can be very rewarding. Future emergency management directors, police officers, workers of government agencies, and many other professions will get a leg up in their career by investing time and money into a bachelor’s degree.

Learn more about how to major in criminal justice.

How do we determine the best online homeland security bachelor's degree programs?

Methodology

Pursuing your degree online doesn’t mean you need to settle for an inferior school. Today, most universities and colleges offer online degrees, and many respected schools are seeing significant growth in their numbers of online students.

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why influence — i.e., the academic impact of faculty and alumni associated with a school — gets at the heart of what is truly best in education. The combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers is the best indicator of academic excellence. For our online degree rankings, we focus on the academic influence of faculty and alumni in the specific disciplines we’re ranking.

If you are serious about finding the best online colleges, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching, and whether their graduates themselves are advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence. Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Influence, as measured by our InfluenceRanking engine, provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

college student pulling a book from the shelves in the library

25 Best Online Bachelor’s in Homeland Security Degree Programs

Career Outlook for Students with Homeland Security Degree

Go to Degree Finder tool

Homeland Security

Degree Level: Bachelor's

Location: The U.S. (Private Schools)
Avg. Starting Salary*: $43,314
Avg. Salary after 4 Years*: $53,722
* denotes ‘annually’

Career Salaries

Career	Job Growth	Avg. Salary
Managers, All Other	3.35%	$106,040
Emergency Management Directors	3.39%	$86,794
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	3.12%	$84,600
Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary	2.42%	$70,208
Postsecondary Teachers, All Other	3.61%	$68,169
First-Line Supervisors of Protective Service Workers, All Other	3.27%	$60,423
First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers	-3.86%	$52,264

Average Career Salaries

Bottom 10%	Median	Top 10%
$54,298	$85,290	$131,174

Promising Job Markets

State	Cost of Living	Avg. Salary
#2 Delaware	2% higher than average	$111,386
#3 Illinois	7% higher than average	$100,006
#4 California	26% higher than average	$132,892
#5 Colorado	3% higher than average	$105,546
#6 New Jersey	13% higher than average	$115,147
#7 Texas	10% higher than average	$90,571
#8 Ohio	14% higher than average	$85,991
#9 New York	5% higher than average	$103,333
#10 Washington	7% higher than average	$104,328
#11 Virginia	5% higher than average	$92,636
#12 Michigan	15% higher than average	$82,628
#13 Minnesota	4% higher than average	$92,115
#14 Pennsylvania	5% higher than average	$89,561
#15 Missouri	16% higher than average	$78,556
#16 Wisconsin	7% higher than average	$85,506
#17 Florida	6% higher than average	$83,767
#18 Idaho	7% higher than average	$81,961
#19 Arizona	5% higher than average	$84,199
#20 North Carolina	11% higher than average	$76,722
#21 New Mexico	7% higher than average	$79,585
#22 Iowa	9% higher than average	$77,649
#23 Nebraska	6% higher than average	$79,718
#24 Louisiana	9% higher than average	$76,196
#25 Utah	4% higher than average	$80,661
#26 Massachusetts	24% higher than average	$103,860
#27 Alabama	13% higher than average	$72,428
#28 Maryland	18% higher than average	$98,548
#29 Georgia	13% higher than average	$72,565
#30 Kansas	9% higher than average	$76,118
#31 North Dakota	average	$83,651
#32 Oklahoma	13% higher than average	$72,144
#33 West Virginia	11% higher than average	$73,849
#34 South Carolina	8% higher than average	$75,194
#35 Connecticut	18% higher than average	$96,481
#36 District of Columbia	49% higher than average	$121,307
#37 Oregon	11% higher than average	$88,478
#38 Alaska	23% higher than average	$96,795
#39 South Dakota	7% higher than average	$71,920
#40 Rhode Island	20% higher than average	$92,062
#41 New Hampshire	13% higher than average	$86,354
#42 Kentucky	14% higher than average	$65,301
#43 Vermont	13% higher than average	$85,170
#44 Nevada	5% higher than average	$78,099
#45 Hawaii	40% higher than average	$103,492
#46 Tennessee	14% higher than average	$62,832
#47 Wyoming	2% higher than average	$71,152
#48 Arkansas	16% higher than average	$60,799
#49 Montana	3% higher than average	$69,480
#50 Indiana	11% higher than average	$61,572
#51 Mississippi	18% higher than average	$56,260
#52 Maine	9% higher than average	$74,043

Top Industries

Industry	Avg. Salary
Managers, All Other	$106,040
Emergency Management Directors	$86,794
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$84,600
Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary	$70,208
Postsecondary Teachers, All Other	$68,169
First-Line Supervisors of Protective Service Workers, All Other	$60,423
First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers	$52,264

Data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Department of Education College Scorecard, The Department of Education NCES, and The Council for Community and Economic Research.

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.

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.

Do you have a question about this topic? Ask it here

Best Online Bachelor’s of Homeland Security Degree Programs for 2024

Key Takeaways

Top 10 Online Bachelor's Degrees in Homeland Security Programs

Featured Programs

Homeland Security Degrees

Why would I get a bachelor’s in homeland security?

What skills will I acquire while getting a bachelor’s in homeland security?

What kinds of courses are required in an online homeland security degree?

How long does it take to get a bachelor’s in homeland security degree online?

What can I do with a bachelor’s in homeland security?

25 Best Online Bachelor’s in Homeland Security Degree Programs

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Sam Houston State University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at University of New Haven

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at University of Alaska Fairbanks

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Texas Southern University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Eastern Kentucky University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Wichita State University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Mercer University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at St. Petersburg College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at National University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Mississippi College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Mercy College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Austin Peay State University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Liberty University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Southern New Hampshire University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Keiser University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Jacksonville State University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Utica University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at University of Akron

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Saint Leo University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at State University of New York at Canton

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at University of Maryland Global Campus

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Elon University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Idaho State University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Campbell University

Online Degrees

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Homeland Security degree at Clayton State University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Students with Homeland Security Degree

Homeland Security

Degree Level: Bachelor's

Career Salaries

Average Career Salaries

Promising Job Markets

Top Industries

Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

What can I expect from an online college course?+