Cybersecurity for High School Students
Cybersecurity Essentials
ITS 130 Cybersecurity Essentials provides a unique opportunity for high school students to explore cybersecurity topics and opportunities for careers. Over 700 jobs in the State of Montana and 455,000 positions across the Nation are currently available in cybersecurity. This Early College course is available remotely for college credit. Students completing the course will earn three (3) college credits through the University of Montana.
Students will develop a foundational understanding of cybersecurity and how it relates to information and network security. Introduction to Cybersecurity introduces students to cybercrime, security principles, technologies, and procedures to defend networks. The course is presented with interactive, multimedia content, lab activities using network simulators and virtual machines, and multi-industry case studies.
Cybersecurity Certificate of Technical Studies
Did you like the Cybersecurity Essentials course and are now interested in pursuing a certificate? Whether you have taken the Intro to Cybersecurity class or not, we offer a Certificate of Technical Studies Certificate in Cybersecurity which only requires 4 courses! These courses are offered every semester, including Summer. The program can be completed in 1-2 years depending on how quickly you would like to complete the program.
These courses are all available online, in an asynchronous format. After the certificate students can continue into our Information Technology and Cybersecurity Program to earn their Associate of Applied Science Degree. Please email the Dual Enrollment Office at DualEnrollment@umontana.edu for information on how to get started!
Certificate Requirements
Introduction to networking field including terminology; protocols; local-area and wide-area networks; the OSI model; topologies; IP addressing; cabling and cabling tools; routers and router programming. Ethernet and network standards; and wireless technologies.
This course covers server technologies commonly used in local area networking. Topics include installation, administration, storage, application services, network services, security, reliability, and availability.
Examination of general information technology security concepts. Topics include access control, authentication, attack methods, remote access, web security, wireless networks, cryptography, internal infrastructure security, and external attacks. Security procedures, organizational policies, risk management and disaster recovery addressed.
Exploration of ethical issues in the field of computing. Skills needed to identify and analyze various ethical concerns. Standard ethical concepts and theories, methods of ethical analysis. Strong emphasis on practical application of the ethical process.
PREREQUISITE REQUIREMENT: Students must take WRIT 101 College Writing I or take our writing placement and place into at least WRIT 101 in order to qualify to take this course. Students who go on to earn an AAS or Bachelor's degree will still need to complete WRIT 101 College Writing I for their degree.
How to Enroll
The course is offered remotely through Missoula College to high school students across the State of Montana. The next session is slated to begin on August 28, 2023. New students should Apply Now. Current UM Dual Enrollment students should submit a Course Selection.
Apply Now
- Respond to the first question Are you a Montana High School/Home School student seeking to earn college credit through the UM Dual Enrollment Program before you graduate High School? by selecting Yes. This will initiate an email.
- Open the email that was sent from the University of Montana (BeAGriz@umontana.edu) with your application login details.
- Create an application account password (record this password for later).
- Under Your Applications click on Dual Enrollment Application and click Open Application.
- Complete all application sections.
- If you are under 18 years old then you will need to add a Parent/Guardian under the Approvals section. To do this you will click on Add Additional Reference and fill out your parent/guardians information. Please let your approver know that they should expect an email from BeAGriz@umontana.edu.
- The final step is to Review and press Submit Application. If there are any errors this is where you will see them. You will need to fix those errors before you will be able to submit your application. Next you will fill out the course selection.
Course Selection
- Login to the course selection form using the same login information you created for the application portal.
- Enter the number of classes you are signing up for (you can add additional classes using this form too)
- For ITS 130 add the following:
- Where are you taking this course? Online
- Course Title - ITS 130
- CRN - 74586
- After you are all done press 'Submit'!
The course will be offered free of charge to most students through the Montana One, Two, Free program. Once a student has used their 1-2-Free benefits, CyberMontana will pay for additional credit hours leading to the completion of the CTS Program. CyberMontana will also provide two vouchers to be used toward the CompTIA Network+ and the CompTiA Security+ Industry Recognized Credential exams upon completion of the CTS. Further information is available by contacting UM Dual Enrollment Program at DualEnrollment@umontana.edu.
Cyber Montana
This Early College course is offered to high schools remotely across the State of Montana through Cyber Montana, an Accelerate Montana, and in partnership with Missoula College Dual Enrollment at the University of Montana.
Cyber Montana was created through an allocation provided by the 2021 Montana Legislature. Cyber Montana is dedicated to education & training, economic and workforce development, and community cyber awareness. Cyber Montana provides a wide variety of cyber credentials including credit & non-credit industry recognized certifications (IRC), high school dual enrollment, workforce training, internships & apprenticeships, certificates, associate degrees & bachelor degrees.
Further information about Essentials of Cybersecurity are available by contacting Cybersecurity Instructor - Dianne Burke or the Cyber Montana website.