For Veterans & Active Duty
Get a university certificate in IT & Cybersecurity, online, in 19 weeks. Your GI Bill® covers it, and you prepare for the three CompTIA exams employers screen for.
Learn more about the program, how your GI Bill® covers it, and whether it's the right fit for you.
Tuition covered. Millersville's VA certifying official handles the processing. You focus on training.
Service-connected disability? Veteran Readiness and Employment covers tuition, supplies, and additional support.
Full-time enrollment qualifies you for Monthly Housing Allowance while you train.
Most cybersecurity training aimed at veterans comes from privately owned schools. This program comes from a public university that has been around since 1855. Here is what that changes.
| Millersville's IT & Cybersecurity certificate | A typical private career school | |
|---|---|---|
| The credential | A certificate issued through the Lombardo College of Business at Millersville University, a PASSHE member institution. | A certificate from a privately owned school. Accreditation and recognition vary. |
| Who teaches you | Millersville's instructors, in weekly live sessions and one-on-one when you're stuck. | Varies. Often recorded lessons with a help desk. |
| How you pay | Post-9/11 GI Bill® or VR&E, processed by a VA certifying official on campus. Monthly Housing Allowance while enrolled full time. | Depends on the school's VA approval and the format of the course. |
| How you move forward | Mastery-based. You advance when you can prove the skill, not when the calendar says so. | Usually time-based. The cohort moves on whether you're ready or not. |
| What you finish with | A Millersville University certificate, exam prep for CompTIA A+, Security+, and CySA+ built into the levels, and lab work you can talk through in an interview. | Exam prep and a certificate of completion. |
| After you finish | Career coaching starts during the program: resume, interview practice, and how to talk about your skills to a hiring manager. | Varies by school. |
Employers know what a university name on a resume means. So does the VA. That is the part a career school can't offer, no matter how good the labs are.
Get hands-on training in IT and cybersecurity: hardware, networking, security operations, and analyst-level threat response. Work in live labs with the tools used on the job, and prepare for three CompTIA certifications as you go.
Diagnose and fix hardware, software, and OS issues across any environment.
Set up and run business networks: routing, wireless, and core services like DNS and DHCP.
Design layered defenses with firewalls, IDS/IPS, and security zones across infrastructure and cloud.
Control who gets in with cryptography, PKI, and identity tools like MFA, SSO, and privileged access.
Hunt threats, analyze SIEM logs, manage vulnerabilities, and run a full incident response.
A+, Security+, and CySA+, with exam prep built into the levels so you test as you go instead of cramming at the end.
You're not training for a field that might exist. Cybersecurity is short on people now, and the federal numbers say it stays that way for the next decade.
Analyst roles are the destination, not the first step. Most people start in IT support or systems administration, which is what the A+ and Security+ levels prepare you for, then move into security work. If you hold a clearance, defense and federal contractors look for exactly that combination.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Information Security Analysts (accessed September 2026). Growth is "much faster than the average for all occupations."
Format
Weekly live instruction with your instructor and your cohort. Not a passive video course.
Pace
You advance when you show you've mastered the material.
Time
Plan for about 9 hours per course each week.
Support
One-on-one guidance, small group sessions, and personalized feedback from industry professionals. You'll never be stuck waiting for answers or figuring things out alone.
You learn the material on your own time through recorded lectures and reading. Then you bring it to live sessions with your instructor for questions, labs, and hands-on practice. When you get stuck, you get a person, not a ticket. Your instructor works with you directly on the parts that aren't clicking.
Every level ends with an assessment where you prove what you learned: a project, a technical interview, or hands-on work. Pass or fail. No busywork, no multiple-choice memorization.
Consistent weekly progress. One week without movement gets you a written check-in from your instructor and a plan to catch up. Two weeks in a row and you're withdrawn from the program. That rule exists because the students who finish are the ones who keep moving, and it's the same discipline you already know.
Not "I'll find the time." Real hours each week that are currently unspoken for.
Each level ends with an assessment, and three of them end with a CompTIA exam you've been preparing for since day one. Want every course spelled out? Download the veteran curriculum guide.
Download the Curriculum GuideLevel 1 · A+ Core 1
Hardware basics, ticketing systems, and how to troubleshoot a machine you've never seen. Networking basics and the OSI model. Your first look at the cybersecurity landscape.
Level 2 · A+ Core 2
Working across Windows, macOS, and Linux. Remote troubleshooting and the SaaS tools remote teams run on. Levels 1 and 2 together prepare you for the CompTIA A+ exam.
Level 3
Enterprise network configuration: LAN, WAN, TCP/IP, subnetting, VLANs. Wireless and enterprise authentication. Routing, NAT, DNS, DHCP, SNMP. Firewalls, IDS/IPS, and DMZ design. Cloud deployment models.
Level 4
The CIA triad, authentication, and authorization. Symmetric and asymmetric encryption, hashing, PKI and certificate authorities. Security zones from intranet to honeynet. Identity and access management: MFA, RBAC, SSO, PAM.
Level 5 · SY0-701
Security concepts and controls. Threats, vulnerabilities, and mitigation. Security architecture across infrastructure, cloud, and IoT. Security operations: monitoring, hardening, automation. Prepares you for the Security+ exam, the one DoD 8570/8140 baseline requirements name.
Level 6 · CS0-003
SIEM and SOAR, log analysis, EDR and XDR. Threat intelligence and threat hunting. Vulnerability management with CVSS and remediation. Cyber Kill Chain and MITRE ATT&CK. Full incident response: detection, containment, recovery, and reporting to stakeholders. Prepares you for the CySA+ exam.
Running alongside all six levels: job search fundamentals. Resume and portfolio, technical interview practice, and how to run a search in this field. It starts during the program, not after.
No surprises. Here is every step between this page and your first day.
An admissions counselor walks through the program, your goals, and whether it's the right fit. No commitment.
Bring your Certificate of Eligibility if you have it. Admissions checks your GI Bill® or VR&E coverage with you before anything else, so nothing stalls later.
About three hours. It measures how you think and learn, not what you already know. No tech background required to do well on it.
You register through the university's own system. Millersville's VA certifying official handles the certification with the VA.
Cohorts start monthly. You get your start date at registration and your instructor from day one.
Discipline and an operational mindset map directly to security work, and Security+ meets DoD baseline requirements for federal and defense roles. National figures, pay varies by market and experience.
Source: BLS OEWS (May 2025) median annual wages for computer user support specialists, network and computer systems administrators, and information security analysts. These figures are examples of what these roles pay nationally, not a guarantee of what you'll earn.
Yes. Post-9/11 GI Bill® covers tuition at Millersville in full. You pay nothing out of pocket. VR&E covers even more.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill® and VR&E (Ch. 31) both cover this program. VET TEC is a separate benefit that does not apply here. Not sure what you have? Admissions can check with you on the call.
Yes. Full-time enrollment qualifies you for Monthly Housing Allowance at the E-5 with dependents rate based on Millersville's zip code.
The credential comes from Millersville University, a public university and PASSHE member, not from a privately owned school. You progress by proving the skill, not by sitting through hours. And the VA certifying official who processes your benefits works on campus. The compare table above spells out the rest.
Three CompTIA certifications: A+, Security+, and CySA+. The exam prep is built into the curriculum levels, so you prepare and test as you go instead of cramming at the end.
Security+ is approved for DoD 8570/8140 baseline certification requirements, which many federal and defense positions require. Combined with your service background, it's a direct path into that world.
No. A clearance isn't required to enroll, and most entry-level IT and security roles don't require one. If you already hold one, keep it current. Defense and federal contractors look for a clearance and Security+ together.
No formal background required. The program starts at hardware fundamentals and builds to analyst-level skills. Many veterans start with zero tech experience.
Your instructor works out a catch-up plan with you. One week without progress gets a written check-in. Two consecutive weeks without progress means withdrawal from the program. Be honest with yourself about the hours before you enroll.
Yes. Online and self-paced within the cohort. Many students start in transition and finish after separation. Monthly start dates, no cohort delays.
Issued through the Lombardo College of Business at Millersville University. Founded 1855. PASSHE member institution. VA approved for GI Bill® and VR&E.
We walk through the program, how your GI Bill® covers it, and exactly what your switch into Cybersecurity looks like.
Talk to AdmissionsGI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
