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Cyber Operations Graduate Certificate

College of Sciences / Computer Science and Cybersecurity
Graduate certificate

About The Program

Cybersecurity is a computing-based discipline involving technology, people, information, and processes to enable assured operations. It involves the creation, operation, analysis, and testing of secure computer systems. It is an interdisciplinary course of study, including aspects of information technology, law, policy, human factors, and risk management, often in the context of adversaries.

National Security Agency, Center of Academic Excellence, and Center of Academic Excellence Community seals

Metro State University is a National Security Agency (NSA) designated National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (NCAE-CD) Institution. NCAE-CD institutions receive formal recognition from the U.S. Government and opportunities for prestige and publicity for securing our Nation's information systems. The Cybersecurity program curriculum also conforms to the NSA requirements for maintaining the NCAE-CD designation. Metro State is also a member of the CAE Community.

Program Features:

  • Hybrid and fully-online classes offered on weekday evenings and weekend mornings.
  • Industry vetted competency-based curriculum and performance-based assessment, conforming to the requirements of NSA CAE-CO knowledge units.
  • A program with a forward-looking emphasis on current and future challenges resulting from emerging technological paradigms (e.g., cloud computing, mobile devices, embedded computing, and IoT), societal trends (e.g., privacy awareness), and the opportunity to leverage the human element in computing (social factors in cybersecurity).
  • Top-quality faculty who are industry experts with necessary backgrounds and experiences in related fields.

How to enroll

Program eligibility requirements

Admission into the Cyber Operations Graduate Certificate Program is determined by evaluating the applicant's academic history, professional experience in computing/cybersecurity, and letters of recommendation. The graduate director is responsible for deciding on admissions to the certificate program and assessing the equivalency of transferred coursework.

The following are the minimum requirements for potential admission into the program. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee admission.

  • A bachelor's degree (preferably in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Technology, or Computer Forensics) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00. GPA exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis for those applicants who demonstrate a potential for academic success in other ways.

Applicants who have a bachelor's degree in a non-technical field may be admitted to the program if they meet the following conditions:

  • Completed undergraduate courses in Discrete Mathematics and Statistics with a minimum grade of B.
  • Successfully finished undergraduate courses in cybersecurity with a minimum grade of B, along with proven proficiency in Python Programming, C Programming, Assembly Language, PowerShell, Basic Data Structures and Algorithms, Systems Administration, Computer Networking, and Linux Fundamentals.
  • You must possess a minimum of one year of verifiable experience in the IT or cybersecurity sector. Depending on the comprehensive quality of the application package, considerations for exceptions may be made.

International Students

This is not a degree-granting program, therefore applications from international students studying on an F-1 student visa cannot be accepted into this program.

International Students

This is not a degree-granting program, therefore applications from international students studying on an F-1 student visa cannot be accepted into this program.

Application instructions

Metro State University is participating in the common application for graduate programs (GradCAS). Applications are only accepted via the CAS website.

CAS steps

  1. Select the term for which you are seeking admission (below), and navigate to the CAS website. Open applications include:
  2. Create or log in to your account and select the Cyber Operations Graduate Certificate program.
  3. Carefully review all instructions and complete all four sections of the application.

Specific application requirements for individual programs can be found on each program page in CAS. Carefully read the instructions that appear throughout the application pages. You can only submit your application once. If you need to update information you have submitted, please notify graduate.studies@metrostate.edu

Application fee

A nonrefundable $38 fee is required for each application.
Applications will not be processed until this fee is received.

Active-duty military, veterans, and Metro State alumni can receive an application fee waiver. Contact graduate.studies@metrostate.edu.

Courses and Requirements

SKIP TO COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Students interested in the Cyber Operations Certificate program should work with the graduate director to understand the program details and course sequencing.

Students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and a grade of B or above in all graduate coursework.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills

Given the program's technical complexity and accelerated pace, students are expected to possess essential knowledge and skills. Proficiency in Python Programming, C Programming, Assembly Language, PowerShell, basic Data Structures and Algorithms, Systems Administration, Computer Networking, and Linux Fundamentals is crucial. For success in the program, it is strongly advised that students attain these competencies either through undergraduate courses or by taking short courses prior to commencing the graduate degree.

Certificate Requirements (Prerequisites + 17 credits)

Complete the following courses

Vulnerability analysis and its connection to exploit development are core skills for one involved in cyber operations. This course covers vulnerability discovery and exploitation. The focus is to understand the pattern of vulnerabilities and attacks to allow students to experience protection, risk mitigation, and identify vulnerabilities in new contexts. Topics will include buffer overflows, privilege escalation attacks, input validation issues, vulnerability discovery (fuzzing and crash dump analysis), exploit development, and mitigations (e.g., DEP, ASLR, ¿).

Full course description for Vulnerability Discovery and Exploitation

This course covers cryptography from both theoretical and practical perspective. The course provides details about advanced cryptography and its applications in the cybersecurity world. Students will learn various cryptographic algorithms and protocols and their relationships from both attack and defense perspectives. Various cryptographic tools to secure contemporary networks will be discussed as well. Students should be able to use advanced cryptographic algorithms based on elliptic curve cryptography.

Full course description for Applied Cryptography

Cyber Operations, a more specific area of cybersecurity, is a highly technical field with a hardcore focus on both cyber offense and defense strategies. This course will provide an introduction to cyber operations fundamentals. Topics include Security fundamental principles, network architecture and security technologies, network traffic and protocol analysis, and offensive and defensive cyber operations and user experience.

Full course description for Cyber Operations Fundamentals

The course will provide students with knowledge and practical skills in the field of cyber threat hunting and intelligence that can be leveraged to defend against sophisticated network intrusions and loss of proprietary information. The course will discuss various phases of the intelligence lifecycle including developing intelligence requirements, collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information; and using cyber threat intelligence to improve security at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels.

Full course description for Cyber Threat Hunting and Intelligence

Cyber Operations, a more specific area of cybersecurity, is a highly technical field with a hardcore focus on both cyber offense and defense strategies. This course will cover special cyber operations topics that are not covered elsewhere in the MS Cyber Operations program. This course will provide the opportunity to keep the program current by introducing new and in-demand topics in cyber operations including but not limited to SCADA, IoT/IIoT, embedded systems, hardware reverse engineering, secure software development, programmable logic and microcontroller design, RF Analysis, Software defined Networking, etc.

Full course description for Special Topics in Cyber Operations

Any IT development project contains significant risks. However, keeping the status quo is also risky in rapidly changing technological and competitive environments. This course is designed to familiarize the student with risk analysis concepts derived from many sources including financial, actuarial and statistical studies, insurance and risk analysis, software quality assurance methodologies, management and audit trails and many others. Student will learn to assess the risk in an information systems portfolio and develop strategies for managing the many risk types discussed: Prerequisites: MIS 600.

Full course description for Risk Analysis in Information Technology

With Information Technology playing an ever greater role in organizations, and the widespread availability of technology with the ability to collect and create information on everyone, many new ethical issues have been created. This course will frame many current ethic issues in IT and help the student develop methods of analyzing and dealing with these issues in real world situations. Topics may include issues such as privacy, copyright and intellectual property, employee monitoring approaches, multinational information flows, corporate intelligence and others. Hacking, computer security, viruses and other acts of destruction will be reviewed from an ethical perspective.

Full course description for Cyber Ethics