Accreditation, ABET and CAE for Cybersecurity Degrees
“Accredited cybersecurity program” can mean three different things. We record each one separately, from the official source, and never let one stand in for another.
1. Institutional accreditation
The whole college or university is accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or CHEA. It matters for federal financial aid, credit transfer and how employers and graduate schools view the degree. Every school in this directory has it; we check the Department of Education's accreditation database (DAPIP).
- Higher Learning Commission (HLC) — 49 listed schools
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) — 46 listed schools
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) — 31 listed schools
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) — 9 listed schools
- New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) — 9 listed schools
- WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) — 5 listed schools
- Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) — 1 listed school
2. ABET program accreditation
ABET's Computing Accreditation Commission accredits individual programs, including cybersecurity bachelor's degrees, against published criteria. It is program-specific and optional: an accredited university does not make every program ABET-accredited, and ABET listings say nothing about whether a program is online.
33 listed programs appear in ABET's database. See ABET-accredited programs
3. NSA CAE designation
The National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) program, managed by NSA with CISA and other partners, designates institutions whose validated program of study meets its criteria: Cyber Defense (CAE-CD), Cyber Operations (CAE-CO) or Cyber Research (CAE-R). It is a designation, not accreditation, and not a blanket government endorsement of every degree.
- CAE in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD): 107 listed schools
- CAE in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO): 12 listed schools
- CAE in Cyber Research (CAE-R): 53 listed schools
How we verify each one
- Institutional accreditation comes from the DAPIP data files published by the U.S. Department of Education. A school without a current institutional accreditation from a recognized accreditor is not listed.
- ABET comes from ABET's public accredited-program database. We attach it to a program only when ABET lists that program at that school, by name and degree level; campus limitations ABET publishes are shown with it.
- CAE designations come from the official NCAE-C institution directory, with the designation type and the award period it publishes. A period that has ended is shown as ended, never as current. Validated programs of study in the directory can be certificates or associate degrees; they never make a program eligible on their own.
Neither ABET accreditation nor a CAE designation is required to be listed here — many strong cybersecurity programs have neither. Use the filters on any listing page to narrow to them. Read the full guide.