Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity Degree
CPTC’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity (BAS-C) degree has been designed to meet the needs of students who want to become cybersecurity practitioners. Graduates would be candidates for positions as an Information System Security Officer, Penetration Tester, or Security Analyst.
In the BAS-C program, the approach to learning cybersecurity uses hands on tools in a realistic, practical context. Students will graduate with a practical understanding of cybersecurity concepts as well as experience with a current set of tools.
This degree is offered in a hybrid format with weekend meetings to accommodate working adults.
Program Length
A typical full-time student will complete the program in an estimate of 18 months. Half-time students should anticipate completion in an estimated 36 months. Full time students should plan to dedicate 45 hours per week to the program.
Admission Dates
Summer, fall, winter, and spring quarters.
Program Outcomes
• Assess the cyber risk of an information system and recommend mitigation.
• Analyze identified malicious activity in order to mitigate effects and recommend security improvements.
• Create a cybersecurity vulnerability assessment of a small to medium business.
• Evaluate the security practices of an application/ IT project development team at any point in the system lifecycle.
• Implement security software or hardware.
• Research offensive and defensive cybersecurity trends and tools.
• Evaluate cloud security in public, private, and hybrid environments.
Completion Requirements
Prerequisite(s)
Admission to the Program
Admission to the program may occur when the following can be documented:
- Successful completion of an earned Applied Associate degree, AAS-T, Direct Transfer Associate degree in Cybersecurity or equivalent from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum GPA of 2.3. OR
- An earned Applied Associate degree, AAS-T, Direct Transfer Associate degree or equivalent in an outside discipline from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum 2.3 GPA and proof of enrollment in the Cybersecurity bridge technical bridge courses OR
- An appropriate body of preparation as determined by the college, including completion of 90 college-level credits, employment, or other life experience that qualifies for credit for prior learning and meets the upper-division course prerequisites.
- 5 college-level credits in English Composition (ENGL& 101 or higher with a minimum grade of 2.0).
- 5 college-level credits in a transferable social science course with a minimum grade of 2.0 or higher.
Admission to the Junior Year
Once admitted to the program, the following must be documented by coursework before students can move on to the junior year of the program:
- Computer networking
- Windows Client-Server
- Linux operating system
- Cybersecurity
- Computer programing or scripting
Once admitted to the program, the following must be documented before students are considered to be at junior level standing (in addition to the required English Composition and Social Sciences coursework required for program admission). These requirements can be satisfied by coursework completed before or after admission to the BAS-C program, and may be taken before or concurrently with upper-level BAS classes.
- 5 college-level credits in a transferrable humanities subject.
- 5 credits in any college-level lower division General Education courses: English Composition, Social Science, Humanities, or Natural Science
Graduation Requirements
To successfully complete the degree, students must maintain a minimum grade of 2.0 in all coursework.
If general education requirements have been fulfilled and a credit deficit remains toward the 180-credit graduation requirement, any college-level course may be taken to satisfy the remaining credits.
Second Baccalaureate Degree General Education Requirements
Applicants who have already earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university may be able to substitute previous courses for our general education requirements based on the Washington State Second Baccalaureate Degree policy outlined in the Policies and Procedures.
Students must still complete program-specific general education degree requirements if not otherwise satisfied. The program-specific general education requirements in the BAS-C degree are listed below:
- Professional Ethics or equivalent
- Project Management
- Statistics
Program Course List
| NOS 310 | Cyber Threat and Research | 5 |
| NOS 315 | Risk Assessment and Vulnerability Management | 5 |
| NOS 320 | Securing Database Management Systems | 5 |
| NOS 325 | Cloud Security | 5 |
| NOS 330 | Vulnerability Assessment | 5 |
| NOS 335 | Network Intrusion Detection | 5 |
| NOS 340 | Penetration Testing | 5 |
| NOS 345 | Incident Response | 5 |
| NOS 350 | Cybersecurity Professional Portfolio | 2 |
| NOS 355 | Cybersecurity Architecture | 3 |
| | |
| Plus 5 credits from the list of Applied Project courses below | 5 |
| NOS 411 | Incident Response Project | 5 |
| Or | |
| NOS 412 | Penetration Testing Project | 5 |
| Or | |
| NOS 413 | Network Intrusion Analysis Project | 5 |
| Or | |
| NOS 414 | Cloud Security Project | 5 |
| Or | |
| NOS 415 | Industrial Control System Security Directed Project | 5 |
| | |
| NOS 420 | Capstone Project | 5 |
| ENG 310 | Business Communications | 5 |
| PHIL 310 | Professional Ethics | 5 |
| MATH& 146 | Introduction to Statistics | 5 |
| BUS 310 | Project Management | 5 |
| PSYC 311 | Industrial & Organizational Psychology | 5 |
| ENGL& 235 | Technical Writing | 5 |
| Any Lab-Based Science | 5 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 90 |
Lab-based Science Course Options