Cybercrime Certificate

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The Cybercrime Certificate is a post-baccalaureate certificate program that may be completed fully online. However, some courses available in the seated format also are classified to meet requirements within this certificate program. This program provides students with specialized skills in cybercrime and digital forensics. All courses in the cybercrime certificate program may be applied to the online cybercrime concentration of the Master of Science with a major in Criminal Justice and Criminology.

The Cybercrime Certificate is the only one of its kind offered in this region. This certificate is offered online.

Mission Statement

The mission of the graduate certificate in cybercrime program is to graduate students with a stronger knowledge of cybercrime, greater critical thinking and writing skills on cybercrime, and basic digital forensic skills by providing engaging online courses, which focus on the causes and correlates of cybercrime, legislation and governmental and non-governmental agencies’ efforts to address the problem, and digital forensics, to all students graduating with the certificate to the currently accepted standards of the field. This mission is aligned with the department, college, and university’s missions by improving our students as leaders in an ever-changing and innovative field that is directly connected to the economic development of our region and by doing so in an open and inclusive environment.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLO)

SLO 1: Students graduating with a graduate cybercrime certificate will be able to compare and contrast the theoretical and empirical causes and correlates of different forms of cybercrime offending and victimization.

SLO 2: Students graduating with a graduate cybercrime certificate will be able to appraise and critique the effectiveness of our current national and international governmental and non-governmental responses to cybercrime (e.g., legislation, policing agencies, cybersecurity, etc.).

SLO 3: Students graduating with a graduate cybercrime certificate will be able to apply digital forensic knowledge and skills to analyze digital evidence.

Degree Requirements: 12 Credit Hours

Admission Standards

Regular Admission

Admission to this program is competitive. At a minimum, for admission to the certificate program, the applicant must have:

A baccalaureate degree from an appropriately accredited four-year institution (with a major that adequately prepares students for success in this field).
A minimum of 2.75 overall undergraduate GPA.
A letter of application detailing: a) academic background, b) relevant experience, c) career goals and objectives relative to enrollment in this program.
A current resume providing details of relevant education and work experience.

Provisional Admission

Students whose GPA is under 2.75 may be granted provisional admission by the graduate faculty committee based on a careful review of additional materials submitted.

Reclassification

A student may be reclassified with regular admission providing that they have completed two program or related courses (6 hours), approved by their advisor, with a grade of no less than B. Additional courses may be required to be completed prior to a student’s reclassification that do not contribute to these nine hours (such as taking an undergraduate statistics course to prepare for graduate statistics). No more than nine hours may be earned under the provisional admission classification. After nine hours, the student must either be reclassified as a regular admission student or be removed from the program.

Standards of Progression and Graduation

A baccalaureate degree from an appropriately accredited four-year institution (with a major that adequately prepares students for success in this field).
A minimum of 2.75 overall undergraduate GPA.
A letter of application detailing: a) academic background, b) relevant experience, c) career goals and objectives relative to enrollment in this program.
A current resume providing details of relevant education and work experience.

Program of Study

Course Requirements [Credit Hours: 9]

Electives [Credit Hours: 3]

Cyber (or Cyber-adjacent) Graduate-Level Social Sciences Elective (CRJU only) (3 Credit Hours)