Bachelor's Degree in Applied Cybersecurity (BACS)

Bachelor'sBSDedicated degreeDegree completionOnlineOn campus

Overview

A bachelor's completion program: students transfer 70 credits and complete 50 credits at SANS.edu over about two years, earning 9 GIAC certifications, completing a field experience practicum (virtual internship) and portfolio practicums. Courses are offered 100% online or in person; total SANS.edu program cost is $41,650.

Official program name: Bachelor's Degree in Applied Cybersecurity (BACS)
Awarded degree: Bachelor of Science · major: Applied Cybersecurity
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Degree level: Bachelor's
Cybersecurity focus: Dedicated cybersecurity degreeThe degree itself is in cybersecurity or a closely related security field (information security, information assurance, cyber operations, digital forensics…).
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
School: SANS Technology Institute
Location: North Bethesda, MDFor the online option this is where the school is located — not a residency requirement, and not a guarantee that you may enroll from your state.
Specializations: None mapped from official curriculum evidence
Orientation: Technical
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Required credits: 120 credits total (70 transfer + 50 at SANS.edu)
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Duration: 2 years at SANS.edu (50 credits) (after 70 transfer credits)A minimum under the stated conditions, not a typical length.
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Start terms: Monthly
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Entry pathway

Degree completion program. Requires prior college credits or an associate degree; you finish the remaining credits.

Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Prior college credits: Required70 credits — 70 transferable college credits (accredited institutions or approved alternatives such as Sophia Learning, StraighterLine, CLEP, JST, AP)
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Why this program is listed

Dedicated bachelor's completion degree in applied cybersecurity; requires 70 transfer credits.

Degree title names cybersecurity; the 50 SANS.edu credits are security courses such as Security Essentials, Incident Handling and Hacker Exploits, Windows Forensic Analysis and Intrusion Detection In-Depth, each paired with a GIAC certification.

Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

We list cybersecurity bachelor's, master's and research doctorates at institutionally accredited US schools — dedicated degrees and formal concentrations, never certificates or electives-only degrees. Eligibility rules

Format and attendance

Formats, online delivery, campus visits, internships and class schedule are shown separately, each only as the school states it.

Formats offered: Online · On campus
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Online delivery: Fully onlineAll coursework is online and the institution states no required campus attendance for the online option.
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Campus visits (online option): Campus visits: not verified
Class schedule (online option): Mixed (live + self-paced)
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Internship: Internship / practicum required
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Study intensity: Not verified

Attendance requirements as published

Live online sessions Optional
Live Online option: scheduled interactive online courses with SANS instructors
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Orientation Required
New Student Orientation before first course registration
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Internship: online coursework is combined with a required internship or practicum, usually arranged near where you live. Check how the school supports placement for online students.

Curriculum

Two course blocks plus three upper-division specialization electives chosen from cyber defense, penetration testing, security leadership, digital forensics and incident response, cloud security and industrial control systems security.
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Internship

BACS 4499 / BACS 4001 Field Experience Practicum (virtual internship).
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Certifications included

Students earn 9 GIAC certifications; certification tests serve as course exams and are included in tuition.
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Accelerated options

BACS graduates admitted to the master's program can bring 18 credits into the 36-credit master's program.
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Preparing for a certification exam is not the same as earning the certification. We list a certification as included only when the school says the exam or credential is part of the program. Degrees vs certifications

Admissions

Required, optional, waived and not-required items are shown exactly as the school states them. Anything not listed is not verified — not “not required”.

Technical preparation

Work experience: Not requiredNo prior technical experience required
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Résumé / CV: RequiredResume
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Application fee: Required$75 — $75 application fee
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Transcripts: RequiredOfficial transcripts
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Other requirement: RequiredAptitude assessment
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Tests

Entrance and English-language test policy: not verified. We publish this only when the institution states it on an official page.

We do not publish acceptance rates or estimate admission chances.

Start dates and deadlines

Dates are shown with the term the school printed. A past date is marked passed and is never carried into a new cycle.

Application deadline
Apply by the 15th of any month
The school does not print a year with this date.
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Year not printed

Tuition and fees

Each amount keeps its student category, academic year and basis. Per-credit, per-term and whole-program figures are not comparable with each other, and tuition is not the full cost of attendance.

Category	Amount	Basis and year
All students — Total SANS.edu program cost (50 credits)	$41,650	entire programSource: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Other published fees

Application fee: $75 entire programMandatory
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Scholarships and funding

Awards published by the school for this program or for its level. Loans must be repaid and are not scholarships; service scholarships require government service after graduation. Scholarships & funding guide

Employer education benefits Employer assistance
Eligibility: Tuition is eligible for most employer-sponsored education benefit programs.
Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

School-wide awards are listed because they apply at this degree level; eligibility conditions apply.

Accreditation, ABET and CAE

Three different things: the school's institutional accreditation, ABET accreditation of this exact program, and the school's NSA CAE designation.

Institutional accreditation

Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) — accreditedSource: ope.ed.gov · verified October 10, 2026

ABET program accreditation

This program does not appear in ABET's accredited-program database. ABET accreditation is program-specific and optional; the school's other programs or its institutional accreditation do not imply it.

NSA CAE designation (school)

CAE in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) · 2022 - 2027Validated program(s) of study: Master of Science in Information Security Engineering (POS-CD)Source: maps.caecommunity.org · verified October 11, 2026

A CAE designation belongs to the institution and its validated program of study; it is not accreditation and does not certify every degree. Accreditation & CAE explained

State authorization (online students)

Not verified — check the school's state authorization page before applying from outside Maryland.

International applicants

International students can study fully online; programs are non-residential, so SANS.edu does not issue I-20 forms or sponsor F-1 visas.Source: sans.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Sources and verification

Every fact on this page comes from the official pages and directories below. Last verified October 11, 2026.

NCAE-C institution directory (National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity) — Source, verified October 11, 2026
DAPIP — MSCHE institutional accreditation record (data files downloaded 2026-10-10) — U.S. Department of Education dataset (IPEDS / DAPIP), verified October 10, 2026
sans.edu/admissions/graduate — Official admissions page, verified October 11, 2026
sans.edu/admissions/tuition — Official tuition and fees page, verified October 11, 2026
sans.edu/admissions/undergraduate — Official admissions page, verified October 11, 2026
sans.edu/cyber-security-programs/bachelors-degree — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026

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Cybersecurity Degrees is independent and not affiliated with SANS Technology Institute. Information is collected from official pages and directories and can change; confirm requirements, costs and deadlines with the school.