AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Students at Augusta Technical College earn a two-year associates degree upon graduation, but thanks to a new partnership, students are now offered a pathway to a four-year degree through Augusta University’s IT bachelors program.

The program is called Cybersecurity to Information Technology Pathway, and it all happens at the Georgia Cyber Center.

“Students who graduate from our cyber security degree can now transfer some of those credits toward the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology degree at Augusta University,” School of Cyber and Design Media at Augusta Tech, Dean Tammy O’Brien said.

Augusta Tech students are encouraged to complete their associates before applying to the program, or at least be in their second semester.

“To get the most advantage of their two year degree, they should complete as much of it as possible, so that when they graduate after two years, nominally they will join us for the third year,” School of Computer and Cyber Sciences at AU Dean Dr. Alexander Schwarzmann said.

Augusta Technical College President Dr. Jermaine Whirl calls the program “a seamless transfer pathway.” Augusta Tech graduates have commonly enrolled at AU after earning their associates degrees, but Dean O’Brien says what’s new are the challenge exams.

“As far as testing, at the end of the semester we offer these tests to Augusta Tech students and they can just take the test, which is a regular test that our students take as well at the end of each course and they get full credit for that,” Dean Dr. Schwarzmann said.

They believe this program will open doors for students aspiring to be in the cybersecurity field while making them more competitive down the line.

“Education in the field of cyber security is going to guarantee a student a job somewhere,” Dean O’Brien said.

To apply, students must complete the Augusta Technical College transient application.

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