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Class Type100% onlineSee state availability
Next Start Date
About Start Dates
Additional future start dates include:
Summer 2025
May 19, 2025Fall 2025
Aug 18, 2025Sep 29, 2025
Spring 2026
Jan 5, 2026Feb 16, 2026
Summer 2026
May 18, 2026Fall 2026
Aug 17, 2026Start dates for individual programs may vary and are subject to change. Please request free information & speak with an admission advisor for the latest program start dates.
Placement Tests
Placement Information
Shorten the path to in-demand jobs with a cyber defense certificate program
With growing reliance on the internet for everything from shopping to socialization, it’s not surprising that incidents of cyber attacks are larger, more frequent and more costly. Cyber defense or actively resisting attacks, is one element of a cybersecurity strategy. With Franklin’s 8-month online Graduate Certificate in Cyber Defense, you’ll learn to perform a technically deep security analysis and protect infrastructure, servers, networks and software.
Program Availability
Cyber Defense Certificate Program Overview
Boost your skills with practical and relevant learning opportunities
Focus on building competencies required by employers though more than 40 hands-on, cloud-based labs spread over four courses. You’ll also explore essential cybersecurity and information assurance topics, cyber threats and vulnerabilities, ethical hacking techniques, advanced network security concepts and application security.
Qualify for an in-demand job in cybersecurity in 8 months
If you are looking to build on your IT skills, sharpen your technical skills or add cybersecurity skills to your toolkit, the Graduate Certificate in Cyber Defense is a good fit for you. The program combines theoretical knowledge and real-world skills to help you become a more marketable professional. The certificate will make you an asset in government, education, private industry or NGOs – any organization that uses cyber technologies is a potential employer.
If don't have an undergraduate degree in technology or a STEM background, two 12-week corequisite courses (Foundations of Programming and Foundations of Network Systems) will provide the technical knowledge to help you conquer the four courses required for the certificate. You can complete all six courses in 9 months.
Channel the hacker mentality to serve the greater good
Through courses in ethical hacking, application security and advanced network security, you’ll be presented with tools and methods used by hackers. By understanding the mentality of hackers, you’ll acquire a security mindset by learning and applying adversarial tactics and techniques.
Earn your Graduate Certificate in Cyber Defense from a university built for busy adults
As an accredited, nonprofit university, our focus at Franklin is on you. Our team of academic advisors will help ease your transition to becoming a student, while our flexible course schedules and 100% online coursework help to balance your education with work, family and life.
Students rate our faculty members as top-notch for the real-world expertise they are able to bring to the coursework. When you need help, your instructor is just a phone call or email away. You can also rely on support resources from the Learning Commons, like workshops, tutoring sessions and library services. Get started on your future today.
Cyber Defense Certificate Courses & Curriculum
Keep the Momentum Going
Program Details
Career Opportunities
Penetration Tester
Pen testers may work directly for an organization or be contracted through a security firm to simulate cyber attacks as a way of identifying vulnerabilities in applications, systems or networks.
Network Engineer
Network engineers establish new networking environments, design system configuration, manage installation, define and enforce standards, and improve resilience of existing environments.
Cybersecurity Specialist
Cybersecurity specialists maintain network and data security by monitoring systems for internal and external threats, anticipating future threats, and providing guidance on how to avert them.
Intrusion Analyst
Intrusion analysts investigate attacks and develop recovery strategies in order to mitigate the impact of a security breach on an organization’s systems and digital assets.