Department Overview

Every year, over 10,000 students from more than 700+ colleges and universities from across the United States participate in NCL competitions. Merritt Cybersecurity Program students compete every year, and the 2020 Spring Games were no exception.

In the Gold division, our team, Merrittocracy, placed 5th overall out of 738 teams, which is the second time in our existence that we placed within the top five nationally at the highest level! In other categories, our student team, TWVycml0dCBCb3ROZXQgVHJvamFucw== (which translates from Base 64 to ASCII at the ‘Merritt BotNet Trojans’) placed 1st in the Silver division out of 278 teams – a repeat of last year’s NCL competition! GO, TEAM!

For more information, please visit: https://merrittsecurity.com. To apply & enroll in classes, click here.

Looking to start or find a new career? There are many reasons to look into the field of cybersecurity, one of the fastest-growing careers in the country, which focuses on protecting computer programs from unauthorized access.

Merritt’s fully accredited program can lead you on a career path toward working in software (Applications) or hardware (Infrastructure), and you can earn an Associate’s Degree in Applications and Infrastructure in just two years. The program’s unique curriculum was created and is taught by industry experts and includes an internship and assistance in landing a full-time job.

You will be team-taught by industry professionals and college instructors in a hybrid format, and there are virtual lab assignments using online NETLAB+. The last three class terms are a combination of class lectures and labs, as well as paid internships at local Bay Area companies to extend classroom learning. Each year, students take the skills they have learned and participate (and are winners!) in the national NCL Cybersecurity competition.

Contact Information

CIS Department Chair
Beverly Brooks
bdbrooks@peralta.edu

Division II Interim Dean,
Math, Science, and
Applied Technology
Diane Chang
dtchang@peralta.edu