Pathway to Advancement in Cybersecurity Education (PACE)
Cypress college has established a strong pathway program in cybersecurity since 2018, graduating more than 300 students with Cybersecurity related degrees and certificates. The program is currently funded by various grant providers such as Perkins, National Science Foundation (NSF), and Strong Workforce Project (SWP).
The overall goal of PACE is to develop and implement a pathway to advancement of cybersecurity education from High School (HS) all the way to 4-year College with multiple opportunities for employment exit points. The specific objectives of PACE are to:
- Establish a comprehensive cybersecurity pathway from as early as 9th grade to 4-year institutions with multiple exit points
- Encourage visible, fun and popular activities designed to improve student matriculation. persistence, and graduation.
- Improve the number and quality of applicants for high paying cybersecurity careers
In the 2021-2022 academic year, 253 students enrolled in the program compared to only 8 when the program was initiated in 2018-2019. College professors and administrators, industry professionals, and numerous mentors, tutors, counselors, and project coordinators were responsible for the growth of PACE. In addition, the latest technologies such as virtual laboratories (i.e., NETLAB system), physical laboratories (i.e., Cisco room) and Cyber Range tools (i.e., TryHackMe) contributed to the success of the program. The pathway is designed in such a way that students can complete at least one cybersecurity related College certificate in two years and get prepared for several industry certification exams.
If you are interested to be part of the program in any capacity (i.e, student, mentor, tutor, and adjunct faculty) do not hesitate to contact Dr. Ben Izadi (bizadi@cypresscollege.edu).