Academic Catalogs

Digital Forensics and Incident Response, Certificate of Achievement

Banner Code: 3_CN_DIF

Control Number: 39971

Not Financial Aid Eligible


This program provides students with a solid foundation in the specialized area of cyber investigations techniques in the field of cybersecurity. The program is designed to prepare students for entry-level cyber jobs or advancement into mid-level cyber careers, such as Cyber Crime Analyst, Cyber Incident Analyst, Cyber Incident Responder, Digital Forensics Examiner, Digital Forensics Technician, and Vulnerability Analyst. Topics covered include planning and scoping a cyber incident, domestic and international cyber laws, cyber ethics, chain of custody, incident detection and analysis, anti-forensic techniques, timeline analysis, incident containment, eradication, recovery, report preparation, and expert testimony. The program includes hands-on and technical writing assignments to help students develop their skills for the cybersecurity workforce.

Program Level Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this program students will be able to:

  1. Evaluate and communicate the human role in security systems with an emphasis on ethics, social engineering vulnerabilities, and training.
  2. Assess security risks and identify methods to minimize their threat and/or impact.
  3. Demonstrate the ability to locate technical resources to resolve security-related issues with networking hardware and software.
  4. Apply risk management concepts to develop policies and procedures following security best practices.


Certificate Graduation Requirements

A Certificate is awarded upon completion of the required coursework with a grade of C or higher in each course. A grade of P (Pass) is acceptable, however, the student must meet an overall GPA requirement of 2.0 to receive the certificate. To receive the certificate, a student must file a petition for graduation during their final semester prior to the application deadline as noted on the Coastline Graduation webpage

Certificate of Achievement

Certificate programs are designed to prepare individuals to enter a particular field of employment or to provide in-service training to those already employed.  Certificates of Achievements are majors that include 16 units or more and will be posted on the transcript. They may be used as elective units towards the A.A. or A.S. Degree.

  • Student must be in attendance at the time requirements are completed.
  • Students must also earn a minimum of 12 units of coursework at Coastline, excluding experiential credit.
  • A student with prior experience may be excused from certain certificate courses.
  • 50 percent of the certificate program’s units must be completed at Coastline no matter how the total number of units required for the certificate can be met.
Course Title Units
Required Core:
Complete the following:
CYBR C101Introduction to Cybersecurity3
CST C128Computer Networking Principles (Network+)3
CST C158Contemporary Operating Systems (Server+)3
CIS C157Introduction to Python Programming3
CYBR C150Introduction to Digital Forensics3
CYBR C160Introduction to Incident Response3
CYBR C170Cybercrime and CSIRT Coordination3
CYBR C250Intermediate Digital Forensics3
CYBR C260Intermediate Incident Response3
Units Required for Major27