Northern Virginia Community College becomes center for cybersecurity training

In 2016, Forbes reported that there were 1 million job openings in cybersecurity and this Virginia community college heard that loud and clear.

Northern Virginia Community College is helping student secure jobs in cybersecurity with the creation of its NOVA Cybersecurity Center. The new center designed a curriculum around the cybersecurity standards of the Department of Homeland Security and National Security Agency, which have designated NOVA a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance. Students enrolled in the center can pursue an associate of applied science degree (AAS) in cybersecurity, preparing them for a career as a cyber technician or analyst or a career studies certificate, to prepare networking specialists for jobs in network security.

The applied degree transfers to regional institutions including George Mason University‘s Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Cybersecurity, The George Washington University College of Professional Studies BS in Integrated Information Science, and Technology, Marymount University BS Information Technology, and University of Maryland University College‘s BS in Computer Networks and Security degree. The community college is working on more transfer agreements as well. Northern Virginia Community College also partnered with EC-Council and CompTIA to offer students industry certification vouchers at an academic discount.

The community college has always been interested in cybersecurity. It is also a founding member of the National CyberWatch Center, a national consortium of academic institutes who work together to creates cybersecurity curricula, to include degree and certificate programs. In 2016, Northern Virginia Community College received a $100,000 grant from Capital One Foundation to help develop the Cybersecurity Career Pathways Project that will inform and support middle and high school students in the Northern Virginia Region.