UMBC’s four-course post-baccalaureate certificates in Cybersecurity can be completed in a year. Cybersecurity certificates are available to students with a variety of undergraduate or work backgrounds.

Students may choose to take a certificate by itself, or they may take a certificate and then later apply their coursework to our Cybersecurity master’s degree program. If a student is accepted into the M.P.S.: Cybersecurity program, all four certificate courses count toward that degree.

Tuition & Fees

• MD & Regional Resident: $776 per credit
• Non-Resident: $1,272 per credit

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Cybersecurity Strategy & Policy

The Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity Strategy & Policy provides students the essential domain knowledge required to serve in decision-making roles throughout the cybersecurity industry. Students will learn how to analyze cybersecurity risks, develop appropriate protection & response options, and assess operational requirements for government, military, critical infrastructure, and commercial missions.

Upon completing this cybersecurity certificate, students will possess advanced knowledge of the strategy, policy, and analytic aspects of cybersecurity, enabling them to fill critical roles in operational cybersecurity missions supporting both industrial and governmental entities.

CYBR 620: Intro to Cybersecurity

This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of cybersecurity by discussing the evolution of information security into cybersecurity, cybersecurity theory, and the relationship of cybersecurity to nations, businesses, society, and people. Students will be exposed to multiple cybersecurity technologies, processes, and procedures, learn how to analyze the threats, vulnerabilities and risks present in these environments, and develop appropriate strategies to mitigate potential cybersecurity problems.

Prospective students who have earned the CISSP designation within the past 5 years may, if admitted, substitute another course for CYBR 620 “Introduction to Cybersecurity” in their first semester of the CYBR MPS program. Students should provide evidence of successful completion of the CISSP exam within that timeframe (such as a transcript or official documentation from the certifying authority) to UMBC as part of their application.

Prerequisite: Enrollment in the CYBR program or in at least the second semester of graduate study. Other students may be admitted with instructor permission.

CYBR 621: Cyber Warfare

This course addresses some of the unique and emerging policy, doctrine, strategy, and operational requirements of conducting cyber warfare at the nation-state level. It provides students with a unified battlespace perspective and enhances their ability to manage and develop operational systems and concepts in a manner that results in the integrated, controlled, and effective use of cyber assets in warfare.

Prerequisite: Enrollment in the CYBR program or in at least the second semester of graduate study. Other students may be admitted with instructor permission.

CYBR 622: Global Cyber Capabilities and Trends

This course focuses on four general areas of cyber capabilities and trends in the global community: the theory and practice of cybersecurity and cyberwar; cyber capabilities of nation-states as well as non-state actors; trends in cyber-related strategies and policies; and cyber-related challenges facing the U.S. government. The course concludes with a national cybersecurity policy exercise that helps demonstrate the challenges and complexities of the dynamic and global cybersecurity environment.

Prerequisite: Enrollment in the CYBR program or in at least the second semester of graduate study. Other students may be admitted with instructor permission.

CYBR 623: Cybersecurity Law & Policy

Students will be exposed to the national and international policy and legal considerations related to cybersecurity and cyberspace such as privacy, intellectual property, cybercrime, homeland security (i.e., critical infrastructure protection) and cyberwarfare, and the organizations involved in the formulation of such laws and policies. Broader technology issues also are discussed to demonstrate the interdisciplinary influences and concerns that must be addressed in developing or implementing effective national cybersecurity laws and policies.

Prerequisite: Enrollment in the CYBR program or in at least the second semester of graduate study. Other students may be admitted with instructor permission.

This four-course post-baccalaureate certificate is oriented towards students seeking broad exposure to cybersecurity principles, best practices, and technologies. The program is designed to accommodate the busy schedules of working professionals and can be completed in just one year of full-time study.

This certificate includes three required cybersecurity courses and one student-selected exploratory elective on a cybersecurity topic of interest or professional relevance. Courses are designed to help students become competitive candidates for in-demand Cybersecurity jobs in a wide range of sectors.

CYBR 620: Intro to Cybersecurity

This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of cybersecurity by discussing the evolution of information security into cybersecurity, cybersecurity theory, and the relationship of cybersecurity to nations, businesses, society, and people. Students will be exposed to multiple cybersecurity technologies, processes, and procedures, learn how to analyze the threats, vulnerabilities and risks present in these environments, and develop appropriate strategies to mitigate potential cybersecurity problems.

Prospective students who have earned the CISSP designation within the past 5 years may, if admitted, substitute another course for CYBR 620 “Introduction to Cybersecurity” in their first semester of the CYBR MPS program. Students should provide evidence of successful completion of the CISSP exam within that timeframe (such as a transcript or official documentation from the certifying authority) to UMBC as part of their application.

Prerequisite: Enrollment in the CYBR program or in at least the second semester of graduate study. Other students may be admitted with instructor permission.

CYBR 650: Managing Cybersecurity Operations

This course takes an operational approach to implementing and managing effective cybersecurity in highly networked enterprises. Topics include an evaluation of government and commercial security management models; security program development; risk assessment and mitigation; threat/vulnerability analysis and risk remediation; cybersecurity operations; incident handling; business continuity planning and disaster recovery; security policy formulation and implementation; large-scale cybersecurity program coordination; management controls related to cybersecurity programs; information-sharing; and privacy, legal, compliance, and ethical issues.

Prerequisite: Completion of CYBR 620 and in at least the second semester of graduate study. Other students may be admitted with instructor permission.

CYBR 658: Risk Analysis and Compliance

This course focuses the student on a broad range of topics relative to risk-based planning for enterprise cybersecurity. The intent is focusing on creating risk assessment and modeling approaches to solve cybersecurity issues so that organizations can build security framework and sustain a healthy security posture. This course analyzes external and internal security threats, failed systems development and system processes and explores their respective risk mitigation solutions through policies, best practices, operational procedures, and government regulations. Risk frameworks covered include NIST SP 800-12, SP 800-37, SP 800-39, and CERT/CC risk analysis guidelines.

Additional Elective

Choose from other available electives to complete the requirements for this program

The Digital Forensics certificate program is intended for early and mid-career IT and law- enforcement professionals who want to learn basic and advanced concepts and develop skills in the field of computer forensics. Students will understand the role of digital/computer forensics as a subspecialty of cybersecurity.

Through firsthand experience using industry-standard forensic tools, techniques, and procedures in the digital forensic process, students will understand the incident-handling process, the special rules of evidence that apply to cybercrime investigations (i.e., chain of custody, search and seizure, forensic imaging), and the relevant state, federal, and/or regulatory frameworks governing such activities within different industry sectors (such as defense, healthcare, and financial services).

The four-course, 12-credit certificate can be applied toward obtaining the MPS in Cybersecurity degree.

CYBR 620: Intro to Cybersecurity

This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of cybersecurity by discussing the evolution of information security into cybersecurity, cybersecurity theory, and the relationship of cybersecurity to nations, businesses, society, and people. Students will be exposed to multiple cybersecurity technologies, processes, and procedures, learn how to analyze the threats, vulnerabilities and risks present in these environments, and develop appropriate strategies to mitigate potential cybersecurity problems.

Prospective students who have earned the CISSP designation within the past 5 years may, if admitted, substitute another course for CYBR 620 “Introduction to Cybersecurity” in their first semester of the CYBR MPS program. Students should provide evidence of successful completion of the CISSP exam within that timeframe (such as a transcript or official documentation from the certifying authority) to UMBC as part of their application.

Prerequisite: Enrollment in the CYBR program or in at least the second semester of graduate study. Other students may be admitted with instructor permission.

CYBR 641: Cybercrime

This course examines US and international cybercrime law, legal procedures, and best practices needed to conduct effective and evidentiary-compliant computer forensics activities (such as search and seizure, chain of custody, documentation, courtroom preparation, etc.) and the dedication to gather facts that can lead to prosecutable legal outcomes. Students will be introduced to these topics through required readings, case studies, in-class lecture, scholarly articles, judicial opinions and classroom discussions.

CYBR 642: Introduction to Digital Forensics

This interactive hands-on course will provide an introduction to computer and network technical incident handling and forensics activities. Topics include disk and file system imaging and forensics, packet capture and analysis, basic malware examination, log file analysis, analysis of volatile data (such as RAM), the incident handling process, and more.

CYBR 643: Advanced Digital Forensics

This hands-on course expands upon the theory and application of digital forensics activities to provide students intensive experience using well known publicly available, digital forensic tools. Students will perform a series of digital forensic examinations on fictitious evidence (hardware, network, mobile) that model real-world criminal activity with the goal of developing proficiency in forensic analysis techniques based on real-world scenarios.