VetSuccess Immersion Academy

How The Program Works

Candidates meeting the academy requirements may submit an application and proceed to complete an online assessment. Based on the results, applicants may be invited to submit additional documentation to complete their application and may advance to the next step for a personal interview. The admissions team will evaluate applicants based on their application, and will notify all candidates of their admission or denial.

All candidates selected to participate in a VetSuccess Academy will begin by taking the SEC401 course online via the SANS OnDemand platform. The SEC401 course and its corresponding GSEC certification exam must be completed within five weeks. Students who successfully pass the certification exam move on to SEC504 via SANS OnDemand and will have five weeks to complete the OnDemand course and GCIH certification exam. Students who choose to pursue a third course and certification will have five weeks to complete the OnDemand course and successfully pass the certification attempt.

All students are expected to complete the program in less than six months. Upon successfully completing the program, graduates will have taken up to three of the SANS courses and GIAC certifications below.

Required Courses and Certifications

SANS Course	GIAC Certification
SEC401: Security Essentials Boot Camp Style	GSEC - GIAC Security Essentials
SEC504: Hacker Techniques, Exploits & Incident Handling	GCIH - GIAC Certified Incident Handler

Elective Courses and Certifications

SANS Course Electives (Choose one course)	GIAC Certifications
FOR500: Windows Forensic Analysis	GCFE - GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner
ICS410: ICS/SCADA Security Essentials	GICSP - Global Industrial Cyber Security Professional
SEC501: Advanced Security Essentials, Enterprise Defender	GCED - GIAC Certified Enterprise Defender
SEC503: Intrusion Detection In-Depth	GCIA - GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst
SEC511: Continuous Monitoring and Security Operations	GMON - GIAC Continuous Monitoring Certification
SEC542: Web App Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking	GWAPT - GIAC Certified Web Application Penetration Tester
SEC560: Network Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking	GPEN - GIAC Certified Penetration Tester

Eligibility Requirements

Transitioning service members within six months of separation (ETS) or no more than 10 years since separation.
Active duty spouses not working in the information security field or with prior work experience in the information security field.
Must be A U.S. citizen or Permanent Legal Resident (Green card holder).
Not currently working in information security or with prior work experience in an information security position outside of the military.

Time Commitment for Students

The Academy is a fast-track, intensive program and students are expected to complete all coursework and certifications in four to six months depending on the academy schedule. On average, it takes most SANS students 80 hours to prepare for one GIAC certification attempt.

All courses are taken online via SANS OnDemand and are self-paced. Students are required to complete each course and certification in five weeks, depending on the particular academy's schedule. The VetSuccess Academies generally takes three to four months to complete.

Ready to Get Started?

If you are excited about this program and meet the basic requirements above, we invite you to review our Current Academies page to see which Academies are of interest. Please review the qualifications for each Academy as there may be different or advanced requirements for each.

If you have questions, please contact us at immersionacademy@sans.org.

Employer Partners

CACI

IronNet Cybersecurity

GEICO

ThermoFischer Scientific