Cybersecurity Certificate

The University of North Georgia (UNG) offers a 10 credit hour Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity. UNG has been designated by the National Security Agency (NSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education. Graduates of this program will receive a certificate featuring the seals of the University, the NSA, and DHS.

The program is designed to enable students with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, information systems, information technology, or a closely related field, or graduates of other degree programs who can demonstrate sufficient technical proficiency, to enter the field of cybersecurity, cyber operations or cyber defense. Students will complete a total of 10 credit hours of Graduate-level computer science courses to meet the requirements of the certificate program. Additional information can be found on the Cybersecurity Certificate website.

Admissions Requirements

An individual seeking the Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity must apply as a non-degree seeking student to Graduate Admissions. The following documents must be received prior to admission:

1. Graduate Admissions application.
2. Non-refundable application fee.
3. Official transcripts documenting completion of a baccalaureate or a master’s degree from an accredited institution (as defined under Accredited Institutions in the Academic Information section of the Graduate Catalog). If a certificate program applicant holds a master’s degree, only the transcript documenting the master’s is required. International transcripts must have a course-by-course credential evaluation by an independent evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, Inc. (NACES). Official evaluations must include certification that the applicant’s course work and degrees earned are equivalent to course work and degrees earned from an accredited institution (as defined under Accredited Institutions in the Academic Information section of the Graduate Catalog) of higher education in the United States and include a cumulative grade point average.
4. Proof of lawful presence in the United States, if applying for in-state tuition.

Students who are admitted, but do not enroll within three semesters must apply to Graduate Admissions for readmission. Students who were previously enrolled but have not been in attendance within the last three semesters must also apply to Graduate Admissions for readmission. All documents and materials submitted to fulfill the application requirements for entry to a program at UNG become the property of the university and will not be returned. Materials are kept for one year for incomplete application files and for three years for complete application files.

A non-degree student is not eligible for financial aid.

Technical Proficiency Requirement

Applicants to the Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity program must be able to demonstrate technical proficiency in at least two of the following areas to gain admission: Programming, Systems, Networking, Forensics, or Cryptography.

Students with bachelor’s or master’s degrees in CS/IS/IT or a closely related field will be deemed to meet the technical proficiency requirement.

Students may also meet the technical proficiency requirement by earning a C or higher in coursework related to an area of proficiency (at UNG or elsewhere), thorough documentation of appropriate work experience and/or industry certifications, or by otherwise demonstrating proficiency at the discretion of the department head or program coordinator. Email the department at cs@ung.edu for more information.