FAQ

Click on a question to jump further down the page:

ADMISSIONS

1. What are the admissions requirements?
2. Do I need a bachelor’s degree to earn a graduate certificate or a Master’s degree?
3. What do I need to include with my admissions application?
4. Do you require the GRE?
5. How do I know if my international degree is equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor’s degree?
6. What is NACES?
7. What do I need on my degree evaluation?
8. Do I need a visa?
9. Do I need to take the TOEFL or the IELTS to show I am proficient in English?

ACADEMICS

1. What is a graduate certificate?
2. Is the university accredited?
3. How long does it take to complete the program?
4. How do I know if I will get transfer credit?
5. Which one should I opt for: Certification or Academic Degree?
6. I don’t have a programming background. Can I still opt for the Master’s degree?
7. If I am coming to the U.S. for graduation, can the university help me apply for my visa?

CERTIFICATIONS

1. Will I earn an EC-Council certification by completing its corresponding class in the MSCS program?
2. I have many years of experience and many industry certifications. Does that qualify as equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree?
3. Which should I opt for: Certification or Academic Degree?

ONLINE LEARNING

1. I’m a little skeptical about the online program. Can you tell me what’s the benefit of an online program? Is it equally as effective as conventional learning?
2. I work full-time. Will I have time for classes?
3. Do I have to be online at a specific time to attend classes?
4. Can I attend classes in person?
5. Which should I opt for: Certification or Academic Degree?
6. Tell me more about your online classes.
7. How is the exam being conducted?
8. How do the proctored exams work?
9. How do I get graded in class?
10. Do we have instructors to conduct the class? If yes, how will they be conducting the lecture?
11. Can the course material be printed out?

PRICING/COST

1. What is the total cost of the program?
2. Are payment plans available?
3. What payment method does ECCU accept?
4. The program appears to be expensive.

What is a graduate certificate?

Here is a good online article that describes what a graduate certificate is: https://www.geteducated.com/career-center/detail/what-is-a-graduate-certificate-or-diploma

Is the university accredited?

Yes, EC-Council University is accredited by Distance Education Accrediting Commission.

DEAC is a private, non-profit organization that operates as a national accreditor of distance education institutions. Accreditation by the DEAC covers all distance education activities within an institution, and it provides a single source of nationally recognized accreditation. DEAC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency as well as an acknowledged member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

How long does it take to complete the program?

The master’s program usually takes 2 years to complete.

The bachelor’s program also takes about 2 years to complete.

Each graduate certificate takes 9-15 months.

What are the admissions requirements?

This is available on the admissions page on the website: https://www.eccu.edu/student-services/admission/

What is the total cost of the program?

You can find the total cost for our programs on the Tuition page of the ECCU website.

Are payment plans available?

Yes, you can either pay the full tuition by the term deadline or you can pay the tuition in 3 monthly payments each term. Click here.

What payment method does ECCU accept?

ECCU accepts payments by credit card in our student portal. Students can also make payments via PayPal. Please contact Kathy at [email protected] to set up an invoice.

Will I earn an EC-Council certification by completing its corresponding class in the MSCS program?

Many of the core courses in the Master’s degree program parallel the knowledge requirements for EC-Council certifications. Once a student has completed and passed the corresponding ECCU course, then they are eligible to test for the EC-Council certification. Students must pass the test to achieve the certification. Receiving a passing grade in the ECCU course does NOT guarantee a student will pass the certification exam.

While passing the ECCU course waives the education requirement, students are responsible for the cost of the exam. To take the test, students must contact EC-Council to purchase the exam voucher. ECCU has negotiated a student rate of $150 for the exam vouchers. If the certification exam is NOT passed the first time, ECCU students may purchase additional vouchers at the student rate of $150. For more information, contact ECCU at [email protected].

Do I need a Bachelor’s degree to earn a graduate certificate or a Master’s degree?  

Yes, you must have a Bachelor’s degree to qualify for the Master of Science in Cybersecurity degree program or for the graduate certificate programs.

I work full-time. Will I have time for classes?

Most of our students work full-time. They study in the evenings and on weekends. You should plan to spend 10 to 12 hours on coursework each week per class. Most students take either one or two classes each term, depending on how much time they have available to devote to classes.

Do I have to be online at a specific time to attend classes?

No, you can log in whenever you are able. You are not required to log in at any particular time. Even proctored exams allow you flexibility.

Can I attend classes in person?

No, ECCU is 100% online. We do not have in-person classes.

What do I need to include with my admissions application?

• A scan of your official government ID.
• University transcripts for all the degrees you have earned.
• If you are not from the U.S., proof that you meet the English requirement.
• Your CV or Resume (optional).

Do you require the GRE?

No, we do not require the GRE.

How do I know if I will get transfer credit?

You may receive up to 6 credits of transfer credit for your industry certifications in the Master’s program and up to 12 in the Bachelor’s program.

You will need to complete the prior learning portfolio, so that we can determine what transfer credit you are eligible to receive.

We evaluate all transcripts for possible transfer credit.

MSCS students may receive a maximum of 18 credits of transfer credit.

BSCS students may receive a maximum of 90 credits of transfer credit.

How do the proctored exams work?

ECCU uses a proctoring service called Remote Proctor Now. You do not need to travel to a testing center for proctored exams. You will still take the exam on your computer. You are required to first log into the proctor site. Follow a few easy setup procedures. Then you continue to the test and take the test in Moodle.

The following courses will require RPN for the final examination – CIS 304, CIS 308, CIS 402, CIS 405, CIS 408, ECCU 501, ECCU 504, ECCU 507, and MGMT 502.

How do I know if my international degree is equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor’s degree?

If your degree is from outside of the U.S., you must have it evaluated to determine if your degree is equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor’s degree.

A U.S. Bachelor’s degree usually takes 4 years to complete. That is 8 semesters with 5 or more classes each semester.

Methods are available to evaluate your degree:

All non-U.S. transcripts must be evaluated by an evaluator who is a member of NACES. Students applying for admission need to have a course-by-course evaluation with the corresponding GPA. Ask the evaluator to include the language of instruction. Send the evaluated transcripts for all colleges and universities you have attended.

Students may choose an evaluator who is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) to complete the evaluation. Students can find a list of evaluators on the NACES website: https://www.naces.org/members.html

We recommend Educational Perspectives: https://www.edperspective.org/.

1. Official evaluation results must be sent directly to:
   ATTN: Registrar
   EC-Council University
   101 C Sun Ave NE
   Albuquerque, NM 87109, USA

All documents are written and issued in a foreign language must have a certified English translation attached.

What is the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES)?

NACES is a member organization. They have a list of all degree evaluators that you can choose from to have your degree evaluated.

The list is here: https://www.naces.org/members.html

You will need to pick one of the organizations on this list to evaluate your transcript. The price of the evaluation can vary. Many students use A2Z. Evaluations (https://www.a2zeval.com/), Educational Perspectives (https://www.edperspective.org/), or World Education Services (https://www.wes.org/). Some evaluators will keep your records on file and mail you new copies when you need them; others will not. The cost ranges from $100 to $200.

You need to order an evaluation that includes GPA calculation. If possible, request that they include your language of instruction.

The results of the evaluation should be sent directly to ECCU:

ATTN: Registrar

EC-Council University

101 C Sun Ave NE

Albuquerque, NM 87109

What do I need on my degree evaluation?

The evaluation needs to include the GPA, the U.S. equivalency, and, if possible, the language of instruction.

If you have a Master’s degree from a non-U.S. school and you are interested in transfer credit, then you will need to have a course-by-course evaluation done on your Master’s transcript.

I have many years of experience and many industry certifications. Does that qualify as the equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree?

No, it does not.

Do I need a visa?  

No, ECCU is 100% online. You do not need a visa to attend. You can take classes from where you live.  

Do I need to take the TOEFL or the IELTS to show I am proficient in English?

Possibly. You do need to show that you meet the English requirement. There are three ways to do this.

1. If your degree is earned in a country where English is the official language, then you do not need to provide additional proof. For example, if your degree was earned in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, or Nigeria.
2. If English was the language of instruction at the university where you earned your degree, then you can provide a letter from the institution stating that English was the language of instruction, and/or you can also request that the NACES evaluator state the language of instruction on the degree evaluation.

Here is a list of countries where higher education is commonly conducted in English:

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, Namibia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

3. You can show English proficiency by taking a recognized English proficiency test.

• Official TOEFL PBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language Paper-Based Test) score of 550 or better;
• OR Official TOEFL IBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test) score of 71 or better for the graduate program, score of 61 or better for the undergraduate program;
• OR Official IELTS (International English Language Test) score of 6.5 or better for the graduate program, score of 6.0 or better for the undergraduate program.

I’m a little skeptical about the online program. Can you tell me what’s the benefit of doing an online program? Is it equally as effective as conventional learning?

Yes, online classes are just as effective as in-person classes; in fact, many people prefer taking classes online. The course materials and labs are the same as you would receive in an in-person class. People like to attend online because it allows them to complete the course at their convenience and choose their flexibility.

The program is expensive.

This program is quite reasonably priced and much less than other U.S. universities.

– You do not pay the full degree cost upfront. You will pay for classes as you take them.

– Consider starting with one of the graduate certificates if the full price of the MSCS degree is too much right now.

– Also, consider the monthly payment plan.

Please advise. Should I opt for a certification or an academic degree?

Both. You can take classes at ECCU and then test for a certification.

Tell me more about your online classes?

You will attend classes in the online learning portal called MyECCU.

How is the exam being conducted?

Exams are online in the MyECCU learning portal. You will take your exams on your computer. Occasionally, we will have exams that are proctored. (See the section on Proctored exams.)

How do I get graded in class?

Your instructor will grade all classwork. The instructor will enter the grades in the MyECCU portal, where you will be able to view your grades.

Do we have instructors? If yes, how will they conduct the lecture?

You do have an instructor who conducts the classes. We do not use lectures to teach. The instructors use discussion topics, labs, readings, and some include videos.

I don’t have a programming background. Can I still opt for the Master’s degree?

Yes, the degrees are designed to be valuable for someone who has a computer background. They also must be appropriate for someone with no IT background who is changing careers.

If I am coming to the U.S. for graduation, can the university help me apply for my visa?

We will provide a letter of invitation to the graduation ceremony. However, we do not provide visa assistance.

Can the course material be printed out?

Yes, you can print out your course materials. However, you will have access to all the materials online.