Cybersecurity Foundations

Dive into the world of cybersecurity
 Certificate Overview
Credits 16
Duration 3 quarters
Next Start Date 

Fall quarter 2023

Location Online with real-time class meetings 
Schedule Varies - see course descriptions below for more information
Costs $30 - $60 enrollment fee plus tuition. See Academic Certificate Costs and Aid for more information about tuition. 

What you'll learn

The Cybersecurity Foundations certificate will introduce you to the bedrock ideas and practices of the field of cybersecurity. Learn about the security mindset, how to protect sensitive information, the attacks that happen in the digital world, and more. 

By the end of this certificate, you’ll have an entry-level understanding of the most important aspects of cybersecurity and hands-on experience with a range of cybersecurity practices. 

Certificate prerequisites

To earn this certificate, students are required to earn upper division science credit in Network Security, Application Security, and Security Policies and Procedures. Upper division science credit is considered to be junior-senior college level work. Other colleges/universities often use course numbers 300-499 to signify that a course is upper-division.  While you may be eligible to receive upper division credit in Introduction to Cybersecurity, it is not required to earn the certificate.

Before beginning this certificate program, students should have prior programming experience and knowledge of basic Linux command line.  Additional prerequisite knowledge is also needed before beginning the following courses.

Network Security

Students must have basic knowledge of 5-layer TCP/IP protocol stack, Wireshark, and some Python programming. Students should have used ssh and Linux command line interface, but do not need to be experts.

Application Security

Students should have programming experience and basic knowledge of html, css, JavaScript, and C. 

Security Policies and Procedures

Students must complete Introduction to Cybersecurity before enrolling in this course. 

Email certificates@evergreen.edu if you have questions about these prerequisites. 

Certificate coursework

This certificate consists of 16 undergraduate credits.

* Students are required to earn upper division science credits in these courses to earn the certificate. 

Introduction to Cybersecurity

In this introductory course, you’ll gain an entry-level understanding of cybersecurity. Through hands-on labs, lectures, and coursework, you’ll learn about many topics that are foundational to successful cybersecurity efforts, including: 

  • The security mindset 
  • Practical security 
  • Ethical and legal issues 
  • Secure software development 
  • Authentication 
  • Applied cryptography 
  • Top 10 vulnerabilities 

This course will meet Wednesdays and Fridays from 4 - 6 pm.

Although this class can be completed completely online, students will have the option to attend class on campus if interested. 

Applications Security

This course will introduce you to the field of application security. You’ll learn about a wide range of application vulnerabilities and how to defend against an array of attacks. 

This course will meet Wednesdays and Fridays from 4 - 6 pm.

Network Security

In this course, you’ll learn how computers store and communicate data securely.  While focusing on securing network protocols, you’ll explore the concepts of cryptography, intrusion detection and firewalls.  

This course will meet Wednesdays and Fridays from 4 - 6 pm.

Although this class can be completed completely online, students will have the option to attend class on campus if interested.

Security Policies and Procedures

Through readings, documentation, and class discussions, explore the role of information in private and public organizations. Learn to implement security policies related to software development in order to protect against vulnerabilities in cybersecurity infrastructure.

This course will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 - 7 pm.