AP Cybersecurity Credential
The Credential and How to Earn It
The AP Cybersecurity Credential demonstrates to employers that you’ve developed essential skills a cyber defender needs to protect the digital world. You can earn the credential by achieving a qualifying score of 3 or higher on the AP Cybersecurity Exam. The AP Cybersecurity Credential has been endorsed by companies and organizations including IBM, SENEDIA, SnapIT Solutions, and others. College Board continues to establish new relationships with companies that value the skills represented by your credential.
Your Verified Skills
The AP Cybersecurity Credential validates that you can:
- Identify vulnerabilities and threats that put organizations at risk, with and without the help of AI tools
- Mitigate risks by determining and implementing layered security controls, including firewalls, network segmentation, IDS, and IPS
- Use a variety of methods to detect attacks and identify types of malware
- Analyze digital evidence to determine types of cyberattacks, with and without the help of AI tools
How to Make the Most of Your Credential
Whether your next step is college, a career, or both, the AP Cybersecurity Credential opens more doors and gives you a foundation to build on.
Join the Workforce
The AP Cybersecurity Credential prepares you with qualifying skills for a career path that includes high-skill, high-growth, and high-paying jobs. Explore the roles along the path below.
| Your Career Path | Career Opportunities |
|---|---|
| Where you can start | Computer Network Support Specialist Computer User Support Specialist |
| Where you can grow | Computer Systems Analyst Information Security Analyst |
| Where you can specialize | Digital Forensics Analyst Information Security Engineer Network and Computer Systems Administrator |
Visit the BigFuture Career Clusters page to discover more jobs in information technology. You can also find internships and apprenticeships aligned with your skills in cybersecurity listed in the NICE Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program Finder.
Pursue a Degree or Certificate
Your AP scores could earn you college credit or advanced placement (meaning you could skip certain courses in college) in a community college, four-year college, or a certificate program.
Stack Your Credentials
Because the job market is always changing, many professionals keep learning throughout their careers and build a dynamic skills portfolio by earning additional professional credentials. The AP Cybersecurity Credential is the start of your professional portfolio. After earning this credential, you can “stack” related industry-recognized credentials throughout your education and professional development. The AP Cybersecurity Credential can be stacked with the AP Networking Credential (available in the 2027-28 school year) if you want to show specialization of skills in network security. Plus, the AP Cybersecurity Credential aligns with respected industry certifications, such as CompTIA Security+ and Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST): Cybersecurity.