Unlock Your Career Potential
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See Courses & Program Info
View a complete list of program courses, program-specific and degree-level requirements, and more.
This program requires a total of 120 credits.
- 33 Required Major Credits: Review the required major courses outlined below or view the recommended course sequence to progress through this program.
- 41 General Education Credits: Review the options available to fulfill the 41 credits of general education coursework requirements for bachelor's degrees.
- 46 Minor & Elective Credits: Review a list of available academic minors or see the course catalog or Schedule of Classes to help you select elective courses.
Required Major Courses
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This program requires that you use a computer with the following:
- Microphone and speakers or headset with microphone or equivalent device(s)
- 5 GB (gigabytes) of free hard drive space
- 4 GB RAM or higher
- A high-speed internet connection
- Computer processor (Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64) running at speeds of at least 1 GHz
- Windows 8.1 or Mac OS X 10.6 or higher for an operating system (Linux operating systems can also be used but require more technical knowledge from the user.)
Note: The higher the processor speed of your computer (e.g., 2.4–3.4 GHz), the larger the amount of available memory (e.g., 4–12 GB), and the larger the amount of available hard drive space (e.g., 5–20 GB), the better your computer will perform and the smoother your experience will be.
Not ready to get started on this bachelor’s degree? You can pair a 15-credit minor in cybersecurity or computer science with another major at UMGC.
Develop Career-Ready Skills in Cyber Operations
Employers highly value the knowledge and skills that you cultivate in this program and can easily translate to almost any modern industry in a cyber role such as software developer or security software engineer. Program graduates develop crucial skills in project management, communication, teamwork, software development, software engineering, and cybersecurity. Our program directors refresh and update the curriculum regularly, with a focus on helping students achieve the following:
32%
Job Growth
Information security analysts’ employment rate is projected to grow 32 percent from 2022 to 2032, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | “Occupational Outlook Handbook” | Last Reviewed: April 30, 2024
1M+
Cyber Employees
The cybersecurity workforce comprised of more than 1 million people in 2024.
Source: CyberSeek | “Cybersecurity Supply/Demand Heat Map” | Last Reviewed: April 30, 2024
Practice Real-World Skills in Your Cyber Courses
Throughout your curriculum, your instructors will assign coursework that may help you prioritize real-world skills and experience. You will learn real-world skills in your classes at UMGC through our hands-on, project-based labs using our state-of-the-art virtual laboratory environment. Examples of specific projects for this program include:
- Use cyber industry standard tools to identify web application vulnerabilities.
- Use threat intelligence feeds and appropriate data sources to prepare for possible cyber attacks by state-sponsored cyber espionage groups.
- Use NSA-developed reverse engineering and malware analysis tools to identify indicators of compromise and malware infections in intelligence scenarios.
- Analyze and correlate log events to detect and mitigate cyber attacks.
- Configure and monitor a honeypot to identify sources of intrusion and other anomalous computer network activities.
FAQs
Get answers to questions that current and prospective students are asking about program admission, credibility, student organizations, and more.
An online bachelor's degree in cyber operations is a 120-credit that students can earn online to help them prepare for a career in cyber operations, software development, and cybersecurity. UMGC’s online bachelor's degree in cyber operations covers topics like programming languages, coding, cloud programming, software development, software engineering, communication, networks, and more. The program can help students prepare for a career path in a wide range of industries, including government; military; intelligence, counterintelligence, and homeland security; software and technology; and more. Possible roles include programmer, software developer, cybersecurity engineer, software engineer, and more.
UMGC's cyber operations degree is a 120-credit program with courses offered year-round. The time it will take you to complete your degree will depend on several factors, including your goals, how many transfer credits you have, your course load each term, and whether you are able to benefit from one or more of our fast paths to credit, including credit for prior learning and credit for military education and training.
Tuition rates for this online bachelor’s degree are very competitive and appear at the top of this page. We offer a low in-state rate for Maryland residents and a reduced tuition rate for military service members and their spouses and dependent children. We also offer scholarships for those who qualify, an interest-free monthly payment plan, and no-cost digital materials in place of most textbooks to help make online bachelor's degrees even more affordable.
You do not need any background or experience in cyber operations, software development, or other cyber or computer software fields to apply for and graduate with this online bachelor’s degree. As long as you meet our undergraduate admission requirements, you can enroll in this program.
You do not need any previous cyber, software development, or software engineering certifications to enroll in or complete this program.
Computing Club
The Computing Club provides a dynamic environment where members can work collaboratively, share innovative ideas, enhance their career-readiness, and gain marketable experience in their respective fields. It is available to graduate or undergraduate students, alumni, faculty, and staff members. Students and alumni can join the Computing Club group on CareerQuest.
Upsilon Pi Epsilon (Computing & Technology Disciplines)
Upsilon Pi Epsilon encourages the enhancement of knowledge in the computing and information science fields. Membership is by invitation only. It is available to undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduate membership is open to students majoring in one of the computing disciplines who have completed at least 45 credit hours towards their degree, including 30 or more credits at UMGC (in graded coursework) and at least 15 credits from information technology and computer science courses. Undergraduate students need to have a cumulative GPA of a 3.5 or higher and a GPA of 3.5 or higher in all coursework taken from the information technology and computer science courses. Graduate student membership is open to students pursuing a master's degree in cybersecurity management and policy, cybersecurity technology, data analytics, or digital forensics and cyber investigation; a master's degree in information technology with a specialization in database systems technology, informatics, information assurance, software engineering, or telecommunications management; or a legacy master's degree in cybersecurity. Graduate students must have completed at least 18 resident credits towards their degree at UMGC, with a cumulative GPA of a 3.5 or higher. For more information, please email upe@umgc.edu.