Applied Cybersecurity, BS
This program will be offered pending approval by the WASC Senior College and University Commission.
Program Information
The Bachelor of Science in Applied Cybersecurity is a 120-unit undergraduate degree built around a cybersecurity major of core and elective coursework that culminates in a capstone, completed alongside the general education and free-elective study characteristic of a comprehensive undergraduate degree. It provides a rigorous foundation in the principles and practice of securing information systems, integrating core technical and theoretical knowledge with the practical and ethical demands of contemporary professional life, and prepares students for graduate study and for careers in security operations, network and application security, digital forensics, governance and risk, and related fields.
The program is offered through the School of Emerging Technology at Golden Gate University, which situates cybersecurity alongside the other rapidly evolving technical disciplines shaping contemporary institutions. It connects technical security knowledge to professional contexts across business, legal, governmental, and public settings, positioning cybersecurity not as an isolated technical specialty but as a discipline essential to understanding how people and institutions communicate, transact, and govern within the evolving structures of modern digital life.
AI is integrated into instruction as a scaffold for learning rather than a substitute for it. Students develop the capacity to use AI critically and ethically – prompting well, evaluating outputs, and remaining aware of how working alongside intelligent systems shapes judgment and professional practice – while also learning to defend AI systems themselves as a growing target of attack.
All students complete a common foundation in cybersecurity and have the option to pursue the 4+1 accelerated pathway to the Master of Science in Applied Cybersecurity. Students may take four designated graduate-level courses – CYB 325 (Threat Intelligence and Defensive Operations), CYB 335 (Cloud Security and DevSecOps), CYB 340 (Digital Forensics and Incident Response), and CYB 345 (Cybersecurity Governance, Risk, and Compliance) – during the bachelor’s; these distinct graduate courses apply toward both degrees, earning twelve units of advanced standing and allowing students to complete the master’s with the remaining eighteen units (six courses).
Program Learning Outcomes
On completion of the program, graduates will be able to:
- Apply foundational concepts of computing, networking, and operating systems to cybersecurity problems.
- Protect networks, systems, and applications using appropriate technical controls and applied cryptography.
- Detect, analyze, and respond to security threats and incidents using defensive tools and techniques.
- Conduct authorized security assessments and communicate findings and remediation responsibly and ethically.
- Evaluate cybersecurity risk and apply governance, compliance, privacy, and ethical principles in organizational contexts.
- Use AI critically and ethically in security work, and integrate and evaluate knowledge and skills from across the program in a capstone project that designs or analyzes a complex security solution.
CAE-CD and NICE Framework Alignment
The BS in Applied Cybersecurity is designed to align with the NSA/CISA CAE Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) Knowledge Units and the NICE Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity. The core cybersecurity major courses collectively address CAE-CD Knowledge Units such as Operating Systems Concepts, Network Defense, Cryptography, Secure Programming Practices, and Security Program Management, and map to NICE work roles in the categories of Protection and Defense, Implementation and Operation, Oversight and Governance, and Design and Development. A detailed course-to-Knowledge-Unit and course-to-work-role mapping is maintained for accreditation and curriculum governance; the primary coverage is summarized in the Knowledge Unit Coverage and Curriculum Map sections below.
Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Applied Cybersecurity
The degree requires completion of 120 units as follows:
- General Education – 30 units
- Major: Directed Electives – 30 units
- Major: Free Electives – 27 units
- Core Course: Capstone – 3 units
- Free Electives – 30 units
Each course listed carries three semester units of credit, unless otherwise noted. A cumulative grade-point average of 2.00 “C” or higher is required in all courses taken at Golden Gate University.
General Education – 30 units
A course applied to a General Education requirement, whether completed at GGU or accepted in transfer, may also satisfy another degree requirement when applicable. The course is completed only once, and its units are counted only once toward the minimum units required for the degree: 120 units for standard degrees, 90 units for accelerated degrees, and 60 units for AA degrees. Students must complete sufficient additional coursework to satisfy the overall unit requirement 60 units for AA degrees. Students must complete sufficient additional coursework to satisfy the overall unit requirement for graduation.
For example, ECON 1 may satisfy both a General Education: General Studies – Free Electives requirement and a Major: Directed Electives requirement in a particular degree program. Although the course fulfills both requirements, its 3 units are counted only once toward the applicable minimum graduation unit requirement. If additional units are needed to reach that minimum, the student must complete additional elective coursework.
Core Courses – 9 units
Students must complete the following courses:
Competencies and Ethics: Directed Electives – 15 units
Select 15 units from the following:
General Studies: Free Electives – 6 units
Select 6 units from the following:
Major: Directed Electives – 30 units
All students in the BS in Applied Cybersecurity complete the following ten core CYB courses (30 units), which together form the Cybersecurity major and cover the required CAE-CD Knowledge Units and NICE-aligned competencies.
Students pursuing the 4+1 accelerated pathway additionally take the designated graduate-level courses listed in the Cybersecurity Track (Major: Free Electives) for advanced standing toward the MS.
Select 30 units from the following:
Major: Free Electives – 27 units
Students may complete the Cybersecurity Track below, or take any 27 units of undergraduate coursework, including transfer credit, or approved graduate coursework related to their program of study, to fulfill this requirement.
An additional 15 units must be chosen from undergraduate coursework, including transfer credit, or approved graduate coursework related to the field of cybersecurity.
Note: Students who complete all four designated graduate-level courses with grades of “B” or better and apply to the MS in Applied Cybersecurity within two years of BS conferral are eligible for guaranteed admission. These graduate-level courses (CYB 325, 335, 340, 345) build on, but do not duplicate, the undergraduate curriculum (e.g., CYB 150, 160, 170, 190) and are assessed at graduate-level expectations in line with WSCUC degree definitions. Advanced standing earned through these courses does not waive undergraduate or graduate residency or capstone requirements.
Cybersecurity Track
Designated Graduate-Level Courses – 12 units:
Core Course: Capstone – 3 units
CYB 195 is taken in the final term, after completion of the directed-elective major courses.
Free Electives – 30 units
Students may take any 30 units of undergraduate coursework, including transfer credit, or approved graduate coursework to fulfill this requirement.
