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Applications to the online Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity program are reviewed on a rolling basis; apply at any time! However, priority is given to applications that are received by these deadlines:
To be eligible for admission to the Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity program you must complete the prerequisite courses and satisfy the CSU and transfer requirements listed below.
The following courses are required for admission (i.e. students cannot be admitted without successfully completing the courses):
The following courses* are encouraged, but not required, to be completed prior to admission:
*Applicants are encouraged to complete the above courses prior to admission. These courses will not be offered as part of the BS in Cybersecurity program, and applicants admitted to the program missing any of the courses above will need to complete them in order to earn their degree at ÌÇÐÄÔ´´. Admitted students should contact one of the BS in Cybersecurity advisors to help develop a plan to complete the courses.
The following courses are prerequisites that will be included in our program. Students have the option to take these courses at ÌÇÐÄÔ´´ or at their local community college. Additionally, if you hold certain CompTIA or CISCO certifications, you may qualify for Credit for Prior Learning (CPL). To find out which courses are transferable from your community college and which certifications are eligible for CPL, please refer to our .
Set up an appointment with your enrollment specialist to learn how you can take advantage of the BS in Cybersecurity program.

Sujeith Ordonez, M.A.
Senior Outreach & Recruitment Specialist
ÌÇÐÄÔ´´ Extended Learning
sordonez@csusm.edu
(760) 750-8454

Complete the online BS in Cybersecurity program in just four semesters with guaranteed class availability, ensuring no delays in your education. The program requires 78 units at $545 per unit, with tuition discounts available for active-duty military personnel.
Invest In Your Future: A Look at Your Educational Journey's Cost Breakdown
| Semester | Units | Subtotal* |
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester 1 | 18 | $9,810 |
| Spring Semester 1 | 18 | $9,810 |
| Summer Semester 1 | 12 | $6,540 |
| Fall Semester 2 | 15 | $8,175 |
| Spring Semester 2 | 15 | $8,175 |
| Total | 78 | $42,510 |
*Not all university semester fees are included in this table—see the comprehensive breakdown of Extended Learning fees. Semester tuition subtotals are based on a sample program sequence. All quoted tuition rates are based on previous academic years and are subject to change without notice.
This program has a set schedule of courses that you are expected to follow as part of your online cohort.
Introduces the core areas in the field of cybersecurity including but not limited to cyber attacks, cyber defense, risk, vulnerabilities, threats, CIA, DoS, DDoS, social engineering (e.g., phishing, hacking), principles of secure design, and defensive coding, security measures and mitigation in the computer system and network. Covers cybersecurity law and ethics. Provides students with tools and skills in reporting on current events in cybersecurity.
Units: 3
Introduces scripting languages (e.g., Python) in cybersecurity that automate processes, write scripts, and customize tools. Covers data types, strings, tuples, lists, dictionaries, branching, iteration, control structures, and abstraction through functions, classes, and recursive functions of a scripting language. Teaches design, code, test, and debug scripting language programs in different attacks and defense applications.
Units: 3
Survey of ethical issues commonly encountered by engineers. Explores professional ethics of engineering, roles and responsibilities of engineers, and social impact of engineering.
Units: 3
Provides fundamental knowledge in computer hardware and computer information systems. Focuses on introducing computer hardware components such as motherboard, processors, memory, as well as system and software components such as operating systems, database management systems, networking, e-commerce, ethics and security.
Units: 3
Introduces fundamental end-user skills and tools in Linux, designed for students with little or no command-line Linux or UNIX experience. Covers command line, Linux tools, shell, system utilities, filesystem structure, access control, automation and scripting. Emphasizes command line to run shell tools, and to automate services and tasks.
Units: 3
Teaches how people interact with different computing systems, and how human factors play a significant role in the area of phishing, access control, and authentication. Examines browser security, privacy policy, social media privacy, online tracking, censorship, cybersecurity user education, and wearable, and brain-computer interface security. Covers core aspects of usable privacy and security principles and practices, methodologies, technologies, and user studies carried out by educators and researchers in the field. Provides future security designers with the tools and skills to develop better security and privacy solutions.
Units: 3
Teaches low-level programming. Introduces data types, functions, control structures, machine representation of instructions, machine addressing, stack operations, subroutines, memory allocation and management. Emphasizes hands-on learning.
Units: 3
Examines security issues arising from the use of computers, with emphasis on system security, software security, and web security. Considers security requirements from a system perspective that impacts the design, implementation of software and web applications. Investigates popular software attacks such as buffer overflow, race condition, format strings, as well as web-based attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site request forgery, cross-site scripting, and their countermeasures. Emphasizes hands-on learning to enhance understanding of computer security issues and solutions.
Units: 3
Covers subjects related to networking fundamentals including TCP/IP and OSI models, network applications, protocols and IP addressing. Focuses on concepts, principles and technologies that enable the integration of information and networking systems for support of various Internet activities.
Units: 3
Exposure to fundamental discrete mathematical skills and knowledge: basic logic and applications in computer science, methods of proof, functions, relations, set, basic counting techniques, graphs, trees, and applications in computer science.
Units: 3
Introduces basic concepts of probability theory such as sample space, discrete, and continuous probability models, counting principles, random variables, conditional probability, discrete probability distributions, normal probability distribution, joint and marginal distributions. Subjects in statistics include types of data, measures of central tendency and variations, visualizing data, tests for normality, sampling distribution, central limit theorem, hypothesis tests for means and proportions, correlation, and regression. May include computer software such as Excel, Minitab, or courseware.
Units: 3
Teaches how hackers hack devices, networks, and systems, to help future security professionals and designers develop better security and privacy solutions. Explores the ethics of hacking and cracking to breach computer software or an entire computer security system. Covers different hacking tools, techniques, and methodologies such as scanning tools, snippers, TCP/IP vulnerabilities, and password cracking, spoofing, session hijacking, hacking network devices, trojan horses, denial of service attacks, mail vulnerabilities, web application vulnerabilities, cracking mobile devices, and countermeasure.
Units: 3
Teaches the fundamental concepts and design techniques for improving software security. Examines common software vulnerabilities, secure design and coding principles, software security standards and tools, secure testing, and secure software development lifecycle. Analyzes specific software security topics, including reverse engineering, vulnerability discovery, patching and hardening, exploit generation, etc. Provides future security engineers with the skills to develop secure software by applying software secure design principles, tools, and techniques.
Units: 3
Covers fundamental to advanced-level algorithm and data structure concepts. Introduces data structures such as stacks, queues, linear lists, trees, and sets. Includes pointers recursion, and implementation and analysis of sorting and searching algorithms. Focuses on abstract data types such as dictionary, priority queues, matrices, and relations, the foundation of recursive algorithms, complexity analysis, complexity classes, sorting and searching, computability and undecidability, problem-solving strategies, heuristic search, modeling and components of database systems, and graphics software systems.
Units: 3
Introduces the fundamental and practical knowledge of cryptography and its applications. Covers diverse topics on cryptography including historical ciphers, symmetric and public-key cryptology, hash functions, digital signatures, certificates, key exchange and management, authentication, public-key infrastructure and advanced use of cryptography in emerging fields. Focuses on both theoretical and practical applications of cryptography in security domains.
Units: 3
Introduces students to network communication security. Covers network packet sniffing and spoofing, network attack and defense from different network layers. Examines network attacks such as ARP spoofing, ICMP redirection, Man-in-the-Middle attack, TCP FYN flooding, TCP session hijacking, DNS cache poisoning, Heartbleed attack against SSL/TLS, reverse SSH tunnel as well as their countermeasures and defense. Zero trust network and modern network intrusion detection will also be introduced.
Units: 3
Explores the principles and practices of computer forensics including digital investigations, data, and file recovery methods. Teaches computer forensic tools via hands-on computer-based exercises. Provides students with tools and techniques for presenting legal and testimonial forensics evidence to court proceedings and the legal justice system.
Units: 3
Introduces the fundamental principles of cyber defense and teaches a variety of hands-on cyber defense security skills. Teaches defensive mechanisms of common threats and vulnerabilities, system, network, and device exploitation. Provides future security professionals with the tools to develop better defense mechanisms to protect systems and networks from future cyberattacks.
Units: 3
Covers a broad introduction to the key ideas of artificial intelligence that are used in the cybersecurity domain. Introduces the basics of artificial intelligence algorithms, methods, and tools for malware detection, vulnerability detection, and emerging threat detection. Provides tools and skills to future security professionals to understand artificial intelligence and develop better cybersecurity solutions utilizing state-of-the-art artificial intelligence models.
Units: 3
Examines external and internal security threats in highly connected enterprises from both a policy-based and technical approach. Investigates security risks to the core business relative to mobility, people, data, processes, facilities, and technologies. Covers the application of computer and network security principles to ensure enterprise infrastructure, system, service and information assets security in both cloud and internal environment.
Units: 3
Provides cybersecurity majors with culminating experience emphasizing integration of knowledge acquired in previous courses. Applies the students’ understanding of security principles, methodologies, technical skills as well as problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills into a real-world project. Requires projects on performing security analysis of systems, networks, software and services, as well as devising and implementing security solutions to satisfy different requirements.
Units: 3
Introduces the core areas in the field of cybersecurity including but not limited to cyber attacks, cyber defense, risk, vulnerabilities, threats, CIA, DoS, DDoS, social engineering (e.g., phishing, hacking), principles of secure design, and defensive coding, security measures and mitigation in the computer system and network. Covers cybersecurity law and ethics. Provides students with tools and skills in reporting on current events in cybersecurity.
Units: 3
Introduces scripting languages (e.g., Python) in cybersecurity that automate processes, write scripts, and customize tools. Covers data types, strings, tuples, lists, dictionaries, branching, iteration, control structures, and abstraction through functions, classes, and recursive functions of a scripting language. Teaches design, code, test, and debug scripting language programs in different attacks and defense applications.
Units: 3
Introduces fundamental end-user skills and tools in Linux, designed for students with little or no command-line Linux or UNIX experience. Covers command line, Linux tools, shell, system utilities, filesystem structure, access control, automation and scripting. Emphasizes command line to run shell tools, and to automate services and tasks.
Units: 3
Provides fundamental knowledge in computer hardware and computer information systems. Focuses on introducing computer hardware components such as motherboard, processors, memory, as well as system and software components such as operating systems, database management systems, networking, e-commerce, ethics and security.
Units: 3
Covers subjects related to networking fundamentals including TCP/IP and OSI models, network applications, protocols and IP addressing. Focuses on concepts, principles and technologies that enable the integration of information and networking systems for support of various Internet activities.
Units: 3
Explores the principles and practices of computer forensics including digital investigations, data, and file recovery methods. Teaches computer forensic tools via hands-on computer-based exercises. Provides students with tools and techniques for presenting legal and testimonial forensics evidence to court proceedings and the legal justice system.
Units: 3
Introduces basic concepts of probability theory such as sample space, discrete, and continuous probability models, counting principles, random variables, conditional probability, discrete probability distributions, normal probability distribution, joint and marginal distributions. Subjects in statistics include types of data, measures of central tendency and variations, visualizing data, tests for normality, sampling distribution, central limit theorem, hypothesis tests for means and proportions, correlation, and regression. May include computer software such as Excel, Minitab, or courseware.
Units: 3
Teaches how hackers hack devices, networks, and systems, to help future security professionals and designers develop better security and privacy solutions. Explores the ethics of hacking and cracking to breach computer software or an entire computer security system. Covers different hacking tools, techniques, and methodologies such as scanning tools, snippers, TCP/IP vulnerabilities, and password cracking, spoofing, session hijacking, hacking network devices, trojan horses, denial of service attacks, mail vulnerabilities, web application vulnerabilities, cracking mobile devices, and countermeasure.
Units: 3
Survey of ethical issues commonly encountered by engineers. Explores professional ethics of engineering, roles and responsibilities of engineers, and social impact of engineering.
Units: 3
Reviews cybersecurity in today’s world. Uses case studies to analyze the broad impact of cybersecurity. Explores cybersecurity-related issues in the areas of technology, privacy, and law. Uses current and historical cybersecurity events to provide context for and application of fundamental cybersecurity concepts such as confidentiality, integrity, availability, threat, vulnerability, and controls.
Units: 2
Overview of the key topics in organizational behaviors and leadership seeking to explain people’s behavior and experiences in various types of organizations, as well as how to effectively lead people to accomplish shared goals. Explores how research and knowledge of these topics can be applied in managing information systems and security related projects specifically, and in organizations more generally. Issues in contractual negotiations and effective communication inside organizations will also be addressed.
Units: 2
Overviews the fundamental principles and components of information systems. Introduces the concepts and topics of Information Technology Security and Risk Management at the organizational level. Studies incentives and the requirements for information security, the integration of security into the systems design process, and life cycle of information security management.
Units: 2
Explores the development of constitutional doctrines regarding personal freedoms protected from government intrusion. Using excerpts of Supreme Court opinions as the primary readings, students examine such topics as the incorporation of Bill of Rights protections against state and local governments, the constitutional rights of criminal suspects, the right to privacy, and freedom of expression. Throughout the course, students will explore the political aspects of Supreme Court decision-making and the impacts of the Court’s decisions.
Units: 3
Schedules are subject to change.
Introduces the fundamental principles of cyber defense and teaches a variety of hands-on cyber defense security skills. Teaches defensive mechanisms of common threats and vulnerabilities, system, network, and device exploitation. Provides future security professionals with the tools to develop better defense mechanisms to protect systems and networks from future cyberattacks.
Units: 3
Examines security issues arising from the use of computers, with emphasis on system security, software security, and web security. Considers security requirements from a system perspective that impacts the design, implementation of software and web applications. Investigates popular software attacks such as buffer overflow, race condition, format strings, as well as web-based attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site request forgery, cross-site scripting, and their countermeasures. Emphasizes hands-on learning to enhance understanding of computer security issues and solutions.
Units: 3
Teaches low-level programming. Introduces data types, functions, control structures, machine representation of instructions, machine addressing, stack operations, subroutines, memory allocation and management. Emphasizes hands-on learning.
Units: 3
Teaches how people interact with different computing systems, and how human factors play a significant role in the area of phishing, access control, and authentication. Examines browser security, privacy policy, social media privacy, online tracking, censorship, cybersecurity user education, and wearable, and brain-computer interface security. Covers core aspects of usable privacy and security principles and practices, methodologies, technologies, and user studies carried out by educators and researchers in the field. Provides future security designers with the tools and skills to develop better security and privacy solutions.
Units: 3
Examines variety of quantitative models, including financial, economic and business models, to analyze real managerial problems for technology assessment and investment that affect all types of institutions. Introduces the concept of risk and risk management and discusses up-to-date methods for both qualitative and quantitative risk analysis. Focuses on training future information technology or security managers to make better risk decisions.
Units: 3
Covers fundamental to advanced-level algorithm and data structure concepts. Introduces data structures such as stacks, queues, linear lists, trees, and sets. Includes pointers recursion, and implementation and analysis of sorting and searching algorithms. Focuses on abstract data types such as dictionary, priority queues, matrices, and relations, the foundation of recursive algorithms, complexity analysis, complexity classes, sorting and searching, computability and undecidability, problem-solving strategies, heuristic search, modeling and components of database systems, and graphics software systems.
Units: 3
Exposure to fundamental discrete mathematical skills and knowledge: basic logic and applications in computer science, methods of proof, functions, relations, set, basic counting techniques, graphs, trees, and applications in computer science.
Units: 3
Introduces students to network communication security. Covers network packet sniffing and spoofing, network attack and defense from different network layers. Examines network attacks such as ARP spoofing, ICMP redirection, Man-in-the-Middle attack, TCP FYN flooding, TCP session hijacking, DNS cache poisoning, Heartbleed attack against SSL/TLS, reverse SSH tunnel as well as their countermeasures and defense. Zero trust network and modern network intrusion detection will also be introduced.
Units: 3
Teaches the fundamental concepts and design techniques for improving software security. Examines common software vulnerabilities, secure design and coding principles, software security standards and tools, secure testing, and secure software development lifecycle. Analyzes specific software security topics, including reverse engineering, vulnerability discovery, patching and hardening, exploit generation, etc. Provides future security engineers with the skills to develop secure software by applying software secure design principles, tools, and techniques.
Units: 3
Introduces the fundamental and practical knowledge of cryptography and its applications. Covers diverse topics on cryptography including historical ciphers, symmetric and public-key cryptology, hash functions, digital signatures, certificates, key exchange and management, authentication, public-key infrastructure and advanced use of cryptography in emerging fields. Focuses on both theoretical and practical applications of cryptography in security domains.
Units: 3
An overview of the current security of most commercial operating systems and examines the fundamental concerns of security in modern operating systems. Analysis of the operating systems model for computer system security criteria as it pertains to overall system vulnerability is covered. Based upon the security requirements and general architecture of secure operating systems publically available security enhanced operating systems are examined and evaluated.
Units: 3
Examines external and internal security threats in highly connected enterprises from both a policy-based and technical approach. Investigates security risks to the core business relative to mobility, people, data, processes, facilities, and technologies. Covers the application of computer and network security principles to ensure enterprise infrastructure, system, service and information assets security in both cloud and internal environment.
Units: 3
Provides cybersecurity majors with culminating experience emphasizing integration of knowledge acquired in previous courses. Applies the students’ understanding of security principles, methodologies, technical skills as well as problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills into a real-world project. Requires projects on performing security analysis of systems, networks, software and services, as well as devising and implementing security solutions to satisfy different requirements.
Units: 3
Covers a broad introduction to the key ideas of artificial intelligence that are used in the cybersecurity domain. Introduces the basics of artificial intelligence algorithms, methods, and tools for malware detection, vulnerability detection, and emerging threat detection. Provides tools and skills to future security professionals to understand artificial intelligence and develop better cybersecurity solutions utilizing state-of-the-art artificial intelligence models.
Units: 3