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CybersecurityDegrees
Dakota State University campus — DSU campus picture facing Beadle Hall, Madison, South Dakota
DSU campus picture facing Beadle Hall, Madison, South Dakota. Campus photograph. · Photo: Jlgrabinger · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
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Dakota State University

Madison, SDPublic HLCDSU Online

NSA CAE-CD · 2004 - 2028NSA CAE-CO · 2012 - 2028NSA CAE-R · 2012 - 2030

Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota, offers cybersecurity degrees through its Beacom College of Computer & Cyber Sciences and other colleges: bachelor's degrees in Cyber Operations and Cyber and Network Security, a Cyber Leadership and Intelligence degree, a BBA specialization in Cybersecurity Management, master's degrees in Cyber Defense and Cyber Operations, and PhDs in Cyber Defense and Cyber Operations. Most are offered on campus and online; the PhDs are online with on-campus residencies.

Verified cybersecurity degrees

9 programs verified so far (5 bachelor's, 2 master's, 2 doctoral). The school may offer more cybersecurity programs than we have verified; certificates and associate degrees are not listed.

Dakota State University logo

Dakota State University

BBA — Cybersecurity Management Concentration

Bachelor'sBBAConcentrationBachelor of Business Administration
Format: Campus · Fully online
Location: Madison, SDSchool location, not a residency requirement
Attendance: Fully online as published (no separate campus-visit statement)
Duration: Duration not verified · 120 credits
Tuition: $373.80 per credit · All students — Online undergraduate, per credit hour · 2026-2027
Next deadline: No upcoming verified deadline
Accreditation and designation: School designated CAE-CD, CAE-CO, CAE-RNSA CAE designation of the institution, not accreditation
Specializations: Cybersecurity Management
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Dakota State University

Cyber and Network Security, BS

Bachelor'sBSDedicated degreeBachelor of Science
Format: Campus · Fully online · Hybrid · Full-time, Part-time
Location: Madison, SDSchool location, not a residency requirement
Attendance: Fully online as published (no separate campus-visit statement)
Duration: Duration not verified · 120 credits
Tuition: $373.80 per credit · All students — Online undergraduate, per credit hour · 2026-2027
Next deadline: No upcoming verified deadline
Accreditation and designation: School designated CAE-CD, CAE-CO, CAE-RNSA CAE designation of the institution, not accreditation
Specializations: Network Security
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Dakota State University logo

Dakota State University

Cyber Leadership and Intelligence, BS

Bachelor'sBSDedicated degreeBachelor of Science
Format: Campus · Online
Location: Madison, SDSchool location, not a residency requirement
Attendance: Online attendance requirements not verified
Duration: Duration not verified · 120 credits
Tuition: $373.80 per credit · All students — Online undergraduate, per credit hour · 2026-2027
Next deadline: No upcoming verified deadline
Accreditation and designation: School designated CAE-CD, CAE-CO, CAE-RNSA CAE designation of the institution, not accreditation
Specializations: Digital Forensics
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Dakota State University

Cyber Operations, BS

Bachelor'sBSDedicated degreeBachelor of Science
Format: Campus · Online
Location: Madison, SDSchool location, not a residency requirement
Attendance: Online attendance requirements not verified
Duration: Duration not verified · 120 credits
Tuition: $373.80 per credit · All students — Online undergraduate, per credit hour · 2026-2027
Next deadline: No upcoming verified deadline
Accreditation and designation: School designated CAE-CD, CAE-CO, CAE-RNSA CAE designation of the institution, not accreditation
Specializations: Cyber Operations
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Dakota State University

BS in Mathematics — Cryptography Concentration

Bachelor'sBSConcentrationBachelor of Science
Format: Campus · Fully online
Location: Madison, SDSchool location, not a residency requirement
Attendance: Fully online as published (no separate campus-visit statement)
Duration: Duration not verified · 120 credits
Tuition: $310 per credit · In-state — On-campus undergraduate, SD resident, per credit hour (tuition and fees) · 2026-2027
Next deadline: No upcoming verified deadline
Accreditation and designation: School designated CAE-CD, CAE-CO, CAE-RNSA CAE designation of the institution, not accreditation
Specializations: Cryptography
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Dakota State University

Cyber Defense, MS

Master'sMSDedicated degreeMaster of Science
Format: Campus · Fully online · Full-time, Part-time
Location: Madison, SDSchool location, not a residency requirement
Attendance: Fully online as published (no separate campus-visit statement)
Duration: 1-1.5 years full-time; 2-3 years part-time (full-time, 2-3 classes at a time) · 30 credits
Tuition: $495.70 per credit · All students — Online master's, per credit (tuition and fees) · 2026-2027
Next deadline: No upcoming verified deadline
Accreditation and designation: School designated CAE-CD, CAE-CO, CAE-RNSA CAE designation of the institution, not accreditation
Specializations: Cyber Defense · Governance, Risk & Compliance · Incident Response
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Dakota State University logo

Dakota State University

Cyber Operations, MS

Master'sMSDedicated degreeMaster of Science
Format: Campus · Fully online · Full-time, Part-time
Location: Madison, SDSchool location, not a residency requirement
Attendance: Fully online as published (no separate campus-visit statement)
Duration: Full-time students can usually complete the program in two years; must be completed within five years (full-time) · 30 credits
Tuition: $495.70 per credit · All students — Online master's, per credit (tuition and fees) · 2026-2027
Next deadline: No upcoming verified deadline
Accreditation and designation: School designated CAE-CD, CAE-CO, CAE-RNSA CAE designation of the institution, not accreditation
Specializations: Cyber Operations
View program
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Dakota State University

Cyber Defense, Ph.D.

Research doctoratePhDDedicated degreeDoctor of Philosophy
Format: Online + campus visits
Location: Madison, SDSchool location, not a residency requirement
Attendance: Campus visits required
Duration: Coursework about 4 years full-time or 5 years part-time; dissertation phase about 1-2 years · 72 credits
Tuition: $548.75 per credit · All students — Online PhD, per credit (tuition and fees) · 2026-2027
Next deadline: No upcoming verified deadline
Accreditation and designation: School designated CAE-CD, CAE-CO, CAE-RNSA CAE designation of the institution, not accreditation
Specializations: Cyber Defense · Privacy & Data Protection
View program
Dakota State University logo

Dakota State University

Cyber Operations, Ph.D.

Research doctoratePhDDedicated degreeDoctor of Philosophy
Format: Online + campus visits
Location: Madison, SDSchool location, not a residency requirement
Attendance: Campus visits required
Duration: Coursework 2-3 years full-time or 3-4 years part-time; dissertation phase at least 1.5 years · 61 credits
Tuition: $548.75 per credit · All students — Online PhD, per credit (tuition and fees) · 2026-2027
Next deadline: No upcoming verified deadline
Accreditation and designation: School designated CAE-CD, CAE-CO, CAE-RNSA CAE designation of the institution, not accreditation
Specializations: Cyber Operations
View program

Accreditation

  • Higher Learning Commission (HLC)

    Institutional accreditation — accredited · since January 1, 1961 · next review 08/31/2029

    Recognized by: U.S. Department of Education

    Source: ope.ed.gov · verified October 10, 2026

ABET program accreditation

None of this school's listed cybersecurity programs appears in ABET's accredited-program database. ABET accreditation is optional and program-specific; its absence does not make a program ineligible here.

Institutional accreditation covers the institution. It does not mean every program is ABET-accredited — ABET accredits individual programs, and we show it only for the program ABET lists.

NSA Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE)

CAE designations are awarded by the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity program (NSA, with CISA and partners) to an institution and its validated program of study. A designation is not accreditation and does not apply automatically to every degree.

  • CAE in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD)

    Designation period: 2004 - 2028 · Designation for institutions whose validated program of study meets the NCAE-C cyber defense criteria.

    Validated program(s) of study listed in the directory: B.S. in Cyber Operations (POS-CO); Masters of Science in Cyber Defense (POS-CD)

    Source: maps.caecommunity.org · verified October 11, 2026

  • CAE in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO)

    Designation period: 2012 - 2028 · Designation for institutions with a validated, deeply technical cyber operations program of study.

    Validated program(s) of study listed in the directory: B.S. in Cyber Operations (POS-CO); Masters of Science in Cyber Defense (POS-CD)

    Source: maps.caecommunity.org · verified October 11, 2026

  • CAE in Cyber Research (CAE-R)

    Designation period: 2012 - 2030 · Designation for institutions with a cybersecurity research program meeting the NCAE-C research criteria (typically doctoral-granting).

    Validated program(s) of study listed in the directory: B.S. in Cyber Operations (POS-CO); Masters of Science in Cyber Defense (POS-CD)

    Source: maps.caecommunity.org · verified October 11, 2026

The school states: “The BS in Cyber Operations is designated CAE-CO; the MS in Cyber Defense is designated CAE-CD.” Source: dsu.edu · verified October 11, 2026

The NCAE-C directory lists this school with a CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program and a DoD Cyber Service Academy program. Both carry service obligations and citizenship requirements — see how they work. Source: maps.caecommunity.org · verified October 11, 2026

Cybersecurity labs, centers and teams

As described on the school's own pages.
  • Research centerMadison Cyber Labs (MadLabs)40,000-square-foot research facility on campus; focus areas include cybersecurity, digital forensics, cyber defense, AI, reverse engineering and malicious digital artifacts.Source: dsu.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Online student services

Services the university publishes for online students. Availability can depend on program and enrollment status.

Online student services: not verified. We publish this only when the institution states it on an official page.

Scholarships and funding

School-wide awards, service scholarships and rates as published. Program pages list awards specific to a program.

  • CyberCorps Scholarship Program Service scholarship

    100% tuition and fees; $25,000 (undergraduate) to $34,000 (graduate) stipend; $6,000 for professional development and books; paid summer internship · Renewable for up to three years.

    Eligibility: U.S. citizens, at least 18, full-time on-campus students in a cybersecurity or computer science degree program, 60+ undergraduate credit hours, 3.25 cumulative GPA. Undergraduate Cyber Operations, Cyber and Network Security or Computer Science; graduate MSCS or MSCD.

    Obligation: Work for a government agency one year for every year of participation; preferred placement in Federal Executive Branch agencies.

    Source: dsu.edu · verified October 11, 2026

  • Cyber Service Academy (DoD CSA) Service scholarship

    Stipend $29,000 (undergraduate) or $34,000 (graduate) annually; all tuition and fees; computer, books and professional development allowances; summer internships · Renewable for up to 5 years.

    Eligibility: U.S. citizens, 18 or older, full-time; undergraduates with 60+ credits; minimum GPA 3.2 (undergraduate) or 3.5 (graduate). Programs include Cyber Operations (BS), Cyber Defense (MS), Cyber Operations and Cyber Defense (PhD). On-campus and online students are eligible.

    Obligation: Full-time job within a Department of Defense agency.

    Deadline: Set annually by the Department of Defense.

    Source: dsu.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Offerings we reviewed but do not list

This directory lists cybersecurity bachelor's, master's and PhD programs. These offerings were checked against official pages and fall outside that scope (certificates, associate degrees, electives-only degrees…).
  • Cyber and Network Security, AS (Associate of Science)Associate degree.Source: dsu.edu · verified October 11, 2026
  • Data Privacy, MS (Master of Science)Privacy governance and compliance degree; DSU itself contrasts it with the technical MS in Cyber Defense.Source: dsu.edu · verified October 11, 2026
  • Computer Science, BS (Bachelor of Science)General CS degree; specializations are Software Engineering and AI/ML, no cybersecurity specialization.Source: dsu.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Institution

Official name
Dakota State University
Control
Public
Source: nces.ed.gov · verified October 10, 2026
Main location
820 N Washington Ave, Madison, SD 57042-1799
Source: nces.ed.gov · verified October 10, 2026
Students enrolled exclusively in distance education
2,019 of 3,508 students (Fall 2023)
Source: nces.ed.gov · verified October 10, 2026

Sources

Last verified October 11, 2026. Program facts and their sources are on each program page.
  1. dsu.edu/academics/leadership-opportunities/cybercorps.html — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026
  2. dsu.edu/academics/leadership-opportunities/cysp-scholarship.html — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026
  3. dsu.edu/programs/computer-science-bs.html — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026
  4. dsu.edu/programs/cyber-and-network-security-as.html — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026
  5. dsu.edu/programs/cyber-operations-bs.html — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026
  6. dsu.edu/programs/MSDP/index.html — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026
  7. dsu.edu/programs/phdco/phdco-timelines-requirements.html — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026
  8. dsu.edu/research/madison-cyber-labs/index.html — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026
  9. NCAE-C institution directory (National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity) — Source, verified October 11, 2026
  10. IPEDS 2024–25 Institutional Characteristics (HD2024), via College Navigator — U.S. Department of Education dataset (IPEDS / DAPIP), verified October 10, 2026
  11. IPEDS Fall 2023 enrollment by distance-education status (EF2023A_DIST) — U.S. Department of Education dataset (IPEDS / DAPIP), verified October 10, 2026
  12. DAPIP — HLC institutional accreditation record (data files downloaded 2026-10-10) — U.S. Department of Education dataset (IPEDS / DAPIP), verified October 10, 2026

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