As of 2026-10-08 sans.edu lists the Applied Cybersecurity Certificate, Cybersecurity Fundamentals Certificate, graduate certificates and degree programs with courses starting on a rolling basis. source
SANS.edu is the accredited college arm of SANS, selling GIAC-certification courses as certificates and degrees. It suits people whose employer or GI Bill will pay, or who specifically want GIAC credentials on a resume. Before paying $18,500 for the ACS, price the same four courses against your own study time and ask for the cohort data behind the 75% employment claim.
The facts
| Category | Cybersecurity |
|---|---|
| Website | sans.edu |
| Based | Rockville, MD (SANS Institute headquarters per Wikipedia; sans.edu is its college) |
| Format | online-self-paced, online-live, in-person |
| Programs | Applied Cybersecurity Certificate (ACS, 4 courses, 4 GIAC certs), Cybersecurity Fundamentals Certificate (CSF), Graduate certificates, Bachelor's in Applied Cybersecurity, MS Information Security Engineering |
| Length | ACS runs 10 to 18 months: four courses taken one at a time, 8 to 13 weeks each; CSF runs 9 to 12 months. unknown |
| Tuition | $2,900 to $18,500 ACS $18,500 total; CSF $2,900; single course $6,500 flat; graduate certificates $22,800 ($29,250 for Cybersecurity Leadership); bachelor's $41,650; master's about $54,000 at $1,500 per credit. verified |
| Financing | upfront, installments, employer, gi-bill, scholarship Tuition Payment Program offers monthly installments with no interest; GI Bill eligible; employer assistance, 529 plans, federal employee benefits and external scholarships are listed on the tuition page. Refund terms not shown on the pages fetched. |
| Admission | basic assessment ACS requires at least 24 completed college credits and age 18 or older; no prior technical experience required; application reviewed. |
| Stack | SEC275/GFACT foundations, SEC401/GSEC security essentials, SEC504/GCIH hacker tools and incident handling, one GIAC elective (cyber defense, pen testing, forensics, cloud or ICS), Linux, Windows, networking |
Outcomes
Placement: 75% of job-seeking ACS graduates employed in cybersecurity within 6 months; more than 40% hired before finishing. Median salary: $90,000 median starting salary (alumni-reported). reported source
Interview-prep depth
0 / 5
Public ACS page lists four GIAC-aligned courses and no interview-preparation modules.
Job support: light. Program page sells GIAC certifications as the credential; no mock interviews, coding practice or system design content is listed.
Whatever the program covers, the interview itself is free to prepare for here: coding patterns, system design, practice prompts, company guides.
What a careful reader should know
Each ACS course maps to one GIAC certification and a single course costs $6,500, so the price per certificate is far above self-study. Outcome figures are self-reported on the program page with no cohort size, date range or audit. Regionally accredited college, which matters for employer tuition benefits and GI Bill use.
Sources (3)
This directory takes no lead fees or placement payments from any program. Where a program runs an affiliate scheme we say so on its page and mark the link. Facts carry a badge: verified means we read it on a primary source on the date shown, reported means a third party said it, unknown means nobody we trust has published it.
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