Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity (Management)
Key Facts
Award granted | AAHE course code |
Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity (Management) | GCCYBM |
Study level and type | Credit points |
Postgraduate coursework | 24 credit points |
Mode of delivery | Duration |
Blended: scheduled on-campus, face-to-face classes (three hours per week for each unit) with some online content and activities | Full time: 6 months (1 semesters) Part time: 12 months (2 semesters) |
CRICOS code | Campus |
TBA | Melbourne |
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) | Availability |
Upon successful completion, the award conferred is recognised in the AQF at Level 8 | Fee-paying domestic and international students |
Key Dates
Course Overview
Protecting information and IT infrastructure from complex and evolving cyber-threats is a critical challenge for modern organisations. The responsibility to prevent and respond to cyber-attacks falls to cybersecurity professionals, and global demand for highly trained cybersecurity professionals is at an all-time high and is expected to increase over time.
The Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity (Management) is a six-month full time coursework degree (24 credit points) aimed at students wanting a professional qualification to extend their existing knowledge base or upskill in cybersecurity. Students will develop a capability in analysing and designing cybersecurity management solutions for complex systems and organisations. The course is designed to meet the educational needs of students ultimately seeking to transition into or advance in a career as a cybersecurity professional.
The Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity (Management) covers areas of critical importance to management-level cybersecurity professionals. The course has been designed with input from leading industry professionals and academics in the field of Cybersecurity. Graduates will acquire an education that meets industry standards and expectations and is on a par with some of the best national and international benchmarks in the Cybersecurity discipline.
The course equips students for self-learning and prepares them for dealing with the dynamics of the workplace. Graduates will be enabled to adapt to the rapidly evolving nature of the discipline through an appreciation for lifelong learning and through the practice of self-reflection which is embedded throughout the curriculum and through the active learning aspects of the course.
Course Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Apply specialized knowledge and skills to analyse fit-for-purpose and creative solutions to defend information, processes, and IT systems from cyber threat actors in contemporary management contexts for professional practice
- Analyse complex cybersecurity issues, risks and vulnerabilities as they relate to the evolving management context of organisations and IT systems
- Analyse cybersecurity management practices in organisations based on best practice standards and methods
- Clearly present a coherent and independent exposition of the method applied, conclusions made and professional decisions taken on cybersecurity issues to specialist and non-specialist audiences
- Demonstrate professional and ethical standards in the application of cybersecurity knowledge and skills while exercising responsibility and accountability for self-learning and professional practice whether working individually or in a team
AAHE Graduate Attributes
The AAHE Graduate Attributes below are embedded in the curricula and support the students’ ability to acquire and apply the knowledge and skills that they need to succeed in their personal and professional lives.
Graduate attribute | An AAHE graduate will: |
Disciplinary knowledge and skills | Be able to confidently apply their comprehensive, discipline-specific knowledge and skills in professional practice and real-world contexts. |
Global citizenship and perspective | Possess a deep understanding of the impact that their profession has on society and how it can be used for individual, community and global advancement and well-being. They will develop personal values and practices that are ethically grounded and that embrace diversity, fairness and social and environmental responsibility in local and global contexts. |
Communication skills | Be aware of and sensitive to specific situations and audiences when presenting and exchanging information, ideas and concepts. They will demonstrate highly developed speaking, listening and writing skills and will be able to influence others with well-articulated and soundly backed analyses and opinions in a respectful, inclusive and constructive manner. |
Critical thinking and problem solving | A critical thinker whose curiosity and creativity leads them to question ideas and assumptions, draw upon evidence and analyse complex scenarios as they formulate their own conclusions and innovative solutions to current and future challenges. |
Information and Digital literacy | Be able to identify, locate, analyse and use reliable information effectively and create and convey information in appropriate formats and through effective channels. They will be comfortable utilising a range of digital technologies that are needed to live, learn and work in contemporary society. |
Self-management and development | Be self-aware and self-directed with the capacity to set priorities, manage time and work independently. They will be confident in their knowledge and skills, but also reflective and continually striving for personal and professional improvement as life-long learners. |
Teamwork and collaboration | Have the capacity to engage productively with others and contribute as a member of a team to a common goal. This will be demonstrated by a high order of competency in navigating team dynamics, encouraging the exchange of ideas and viewpoints, facilitating conflict resolution, negotiation skills and taking a lead when required. |
Approach to Teaching, Learning and Assessment
The Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity (Management) develops the students’ knowledge and skills in the discipline. It embeds a collaborative and technology-enabled active learning approach that encourages student participation in the learning process, peer to peer learning and ongoing reflection, delivering a truly genuine and distinct AAHE education experience.
Following a thorough orientation, you will participate in small lecture and tutorial groups, where you are encouraged to collaborate, exchange ideas, learn from each other and reflect on your learning, both in the classroom and through the collaborative online learning environment.
The typical weekly process begins with you speculating about a problem or scenario that you have been given before the scheduled on-campus, face-to-face class, then actively engage with the class and reflect on the same problem or scenario. Classes themselves are interactive, with regular anonymous polls and multiple-choice questions to encourage active participation. Following the class, you will document your problem-solving process or reflection on the scenario in an online portfolio or journal. In this way, using the principles of adult learning, you immediately apply your work to problem-solving, and develop into reflective practitioners. The scenarios and problems, along with the class material, are available to you anytime and anywhere through the online learning management system (LMS). You are also encouraged to engage with your peers through multiple opportunities to collaborate and to interact in the classroom and online.
In addition to lectures and tutorials, you will regularly participate in authentic, experiential learning activities. These activities allow you to explore the kinds of real-world complexities and constraints that occur in organisations, while simultaneously practising the reflective and adaptive responses that will enable you to thrive in a rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape.
AAHE’s active learning approach guides the design of units and their content and activities. The assessments build from this approach and are carefully mapped against the unit and course learning outcomes, establishing clear alignment and assuring that the learning outcomes are achieved.
The design of assessments incorporates smaller formative assessment tasks that enable you to receive regular feedback and stay on track, culminating into one or more summative assessments that measure your learning, skills acquisition and the extent to which you are meeting the units’ intended learning outcomes.
Unit Title | Unit Credit Points |
CYB801: Foundations of Cybersecurity | 6 |
CYB806: Cybersecurity Governance and Management Practices | 6 |
CYB807: Cyber Resilience in Organisations | 6 |
CYB808: Cyber Privacy, Policy, Ethics & Law | 6 |
Progression Requirements
The Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity (Management) opens up many opportunities for graduates seeking to enter or advance in the field of Cybersecurity in careers such as:
- Chief Information Security Officers
- Director of Cybersecurity
- Security Auditors
- Security Policy Developers
- Security Risk Assessors
- Security Training Specialists
- Bachelor degree in related discipline
or
- Graduate Certificate, or equivalent, in related discipline
or
- 5 years of documented relevant work experience
Other requirements:
- Applicants must demonstrate evidence of programming proficiency
- Applicants must meet the minimum English language requirements set out below.
English Proficiency
An applicant must provide evidence that they have met the following minimum English language proficiency requirements:
Test | Minimum score for Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma or Master’s degree |
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) | Overall 6.5 No individual band below 6.0 |
TOEFL internet-based test | 79 (Reading no less than 18; Writing no less than 20) |
C1 Advanced / Cambridge English: Advanced (Certificate in Advanced English) | 176, no band less than 169 |
Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) | 58 (no communicative skill less than 50) |
Only the most recent score from any language proficiency test will be considered and it must be less than two years old on the date the course commences.
Applicants will also be considered to meet the English language requirements if they have successfully completed at least two (2) years of full-time study in English at AQF Level 5 Diploma or above at an Australian registered vocational or higher education.
A provisional offer may be made to applicants who provide a Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) for an ELICOS program in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) for a duration of at least twelve (12) weeks for every 0.5 below 6.0 overall or subsection IELTS or equivalent result. Evidence of successful completion of the ELICOS program must be provided before the applicant will be permitted to enrol at GAT.
The English language proficiency requirement does not apply to applicants in the categories set out in the Migration (IMMI 18/015: English Language Tests and Evidence Exemptions for Subclass 500 (Student) Visa) Instrument 2018 (legislation.gov.au).
Credit for Prior Learning
Where appropriate, a student whose prior learning or experience exceeds the requirements for admission to GAT will be granted credit in accordance with the Credit for Learning Undertaken Elsewhere Policy and Procedure.
Equipment Requirements
Students are required to supply their own laptop and bring it with them to all classes.
Due to the technological requirements of this course, it is recommended that students obtain a laptop with the following minimum specifications:
- Intel Core i7
- 32GB of RAM
- Cache Size 12 MB or more
- Primary HDD storage 1TB or more
- Wireless networking IEEE 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0
- Operating System: Windows 10 Pro
- USB ports – 3 or more