Cybersecurity Workforce Training Programs

Choosing a pathway to a promising career in cybersecurity.

cyber skills 2 work

Cyber Defense Analyst Pathway

Columbus State University

CSU’s CyberSkills2Work, known as the Cybersecurity Nexus program, is Columbus State University’s unique and effective response to help rapidly solve the world’s shortage of trained, work-ready cybersecurity professionals. Through the Nexus program, our students gain both theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills that help them become ready for a career in cybersecurity in as little as 12 months! Our Certificate is a 30-hour “Rapid Workforce Development” program that Nexus students complete in 12 months. The Certificate consists of ten 3-hour classes for a total of 30 hours. The program is cohort-based, so Nexus students stay with their “team” the entire duration of the program. This allows rich community and collaboration to develop within each cohort and between cohorts. The intent is to simulate a work team environment collaborating with other work teams as much as possible in an academic setting. The Certificate is delivered in a boot-camp style with classes meeting 3 hours per day 4 days per week.

About this pathway

The Cyber Defense Analyst Pathway prepares students to Use data collected from a variety of cyber defense tools (e.g., IDS alerts, firewalls, network traffic logs.) to analyze events that occur within their environments for the purposes of mitigating threats.

Students who complete this pathway are prepared for an entry level SOC position.

This pathway is offered in person only.

*VA funding, Pell grant, and Hope grant all qualify
*Limited scholarships available

Eligibility

  • Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

  • Must be a veteran, transitioning service member, first responder, military spouse, or government personnel.

  • Must have at least a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent. (School transcripts of the highest level education completed are required.)

Prerequisites

Must become accepted as a student at CSU to participate in the Cybersecurity Nexus program, and have a strong desire to learn and succeed!

Course schedule

Winter 2025 - Summer 2026

Start Date: August 11, 2025 End Date: July 31, 2026

Application deadline: August 10, 2025

Spring 2026 - Winter 2026

Start Date: January 12, 2026 End Date: December 8, 2026

Application deadline: January 1, 2026

Pathway courses

IT Fundamentals
Professionalism in Cybersecurity Workforce
Network Fundamentals
Network Defense
Penetration Testing
Advanced Penetration Testing
Fundamentals of Info Security
Infrastructure Security
AWS Cloud Foundations
Cybersecurity Apprenticeship

Industry certifications included

CompTIA Security+
CompTIA Network+
CompTIA Tech+
INE eJPT (eLearnSecurity Junior Penetration Tester)
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
seal of cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency seal of nation centers of academic excellence in cybersecurity

The National Cybersecurity Workforce Development Program, CyberSkills2Work, is funded by the National Security Agency National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) Program and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).