What do you learn in a bachelor's in cybersecurity?

Do you like solving challenges and want to use your passion for the greater good? Then a career in cybersecurity might be the right fit for you.

Discover what you can learn in a bachelor's in cybersecurity degree program and how you can use it to help businesses fight cybercrime.

What to expect from a cybersecurity bachelor's program

The core focus of a bachelor's in cybersecurity program is to help students learn to identify, evaluate, and mitigate the risks and threats associated with using modern technology in a business context.

Cybersecurity degree programs often have the goal of helping you develop an awareness of cybercrime, understand how it affects the business landscape, and acquire the technical skills to address it proactively.

A bachelor's degree in cybersecurity can take you about eight semesters to complete, though some programs may allow you to move faster.

The average credit load for this type of degree is 120 hours or 180 quarter units over the course of four school years. You can expect to spend the same amount of time to acquire this degree as most any other bachelor's degree.

What do you learn in a bachelor's in cybersecurity? You may take courses in criminal justice, computer science, network security, database systems, and infrastructure defense.

You may also need to complete a capstone project to fulfill graduation requirements.

Bachelor's in cybersecurity curriculum

A bachelor's in cybersecurity is an integrative program that can offer you foundational knowledge via key courses like:

• Principles of cybersecurity: This course helps students understand the key terminology and issues surrounding cybersecurity as well as provides foundational concepts in determining reasonable levels of protection needed for information assets and developing response tactics for security incidents.
• Network security: This course provides students with a deep-dive into the principles, theories, tools, and techniques governing securing networked systems, including internet protocol (IP) and email security, authentication, intruders, malware, web security, firewalls, and network management software.
• Linux/Unix administration: This course offers students an overview of the Linux and Unix operating systems and their functionalities, including administration, file systems, access permission, utilities, and network configurations, as well as providing students with hands-on programming and lab exercises.

Coursework that leads to a bachelor's in cybersecurity degree is often more technical in nature to ensure you can build and deploy secure information technology (IT) systems. However, some programs do make room for business-focused courses in case you wish to land a managerial role.

Specializations and concentrations

Some specializations that a bachelor's in cybersecurity program may offer students include:

• Criminal justice: Students can learn how current cybercrime threats and laws affect the business landscape.
• Network security: Students can discover the risks and vulnerabilities of using networked devices in the business environment and how to secure them properly.
• Project management: Students can learn how to initiate, plan, and budget for cybersecurity projects and effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams.

The institution you choose can determine which concentrations you can pursue with your degree, so it's a good idea to check course availability before you enroll in a program.

Graduation requirements for a cybersecurity bachelor's degree

Many cybersecurity programs require students to complete a number of hours of upper-level coursework, one of which is their capstone project. This often entails having you apply what you have learned in the program to a business problem in the real world. You may work with an actual business team or tackle a hypothetical scenario.

Either way, you may need to do the work to develop security policies and practices, identify and manage risks and threats, create a cyber defense plan, and successfully detect and thwart hacking attempts to showcase your cybersecurity knowledge.

Explore bachelor's degrees in cybersecurity

Ready to begin your journey toward an in-demand career in cybersecurity? Then check out edX's bachelor's in cybersecurity programs and get started today.