Break into the cybersecurity industry with a training program built by experienced practitioners.

GPSU Overview

Despite increased investment in cybersecurity, commercial and government organizations continue to face a massive skills shortage due to heavier workloads, unfilled positions and worker burnout.*

GuidePoint Security University (GPSU) is a training and development pipeline to help those pursuing a cybersecurity career develop critical industry skills and apply cyber knowledge to build real-world solutions.

* Source: The Life and Times of Cybersecurity Professionals 20261, ISSA and ESG

GPS University:

A Community Designed
to Support + Inspire You

We shine a spotlight on GuidePoint Security University’s (GPSU) transformative impact on helping to fill the cybersecurity talent gap. Led by our Director of Learning and Development Kevin Woods, this narrative showcases the journeys of several remarkable students, exemplifying how GPS University propels them towards success in their IT Security field of choice and empowers them to shape a brighter future for themselves and the world around us.

Is GPSU Right for You?

Whether you are a student studying cybersecurity or have a background in IT, GPSU is designed to help you begin or enhance your cybersecurity career (PDF).

GPSU has multiple offerings – technical and non-technical internships as well as military fellowships and partnerships with spouse support programs. These pathways are tailored to create an individualized experience based on your background and aptitude that teaches both technical and soft skills.

GPSU is a training and development pipeline to help those in the early stages of a cybersecurity career develop critical industry skills and apply cyber knowledge to develop real-world solutions.

For more information on these programs, learn more below.

Learn More about our Internships >

Learn More about our Military & Spouse Fellowships >

Not quite ready for an internship? Check out our Getting Started Series to get on the right path. >

Transitioning from Active Duty Military?

We are authorized to conduct SkillBridge, Career Skills Program and Hiring Our Heroes fellowships.
Learn more about our DoW internships (PDF) by contacting the team at [email protected].

Preferred specialty codes and ratings are listed below, though other specialities may still be considered:

ArmyAir ForceMarinesNavySpace Force
17A/C1B4X11721CWT / CTN5C0X1
170A1D7X11711IT5C0X1S
255A/N/S3D0X21702CTT17S
25B/D/H5C0X1S1705181014N
26/FA261N4X1A17101820 
35Q/T17S/D/X17201840Coast Guard
  0651 CMS
  0689 IT
  0631  
  0671  

Opportunities are available for those interested in working in both federal spaces and commercial spaces. Federal roles require an active security clearance and the ability to work on-site if hired following completion of fellowship.

Military Spouses

We are authorized to conduct fellowships via SpouseWorks and the Military Spouse Employment Program. Military spouse fellowships are offered for technical and non-technical roles, depending on need and are often available 100% remote.

Benefits of Conducting a GPSU Fellowship

  • Option to work 100% remotely or on-site at several US locations
  • Flexible fellowship length that works with your timeline (2–6 months)
  • Training labs and courses all provided at no cost to you
  • Work with industry-leading experts who previously managed security within the DoW, intelligence agencies and Fortune 500 companies
  • Chance to earn industry certifications and Continuing Education Units

Please note that fellowships are only offered to candidates approved to participate in one of the following programs:  CSP, HoH, Skilbridge, MSEP/SpouseWorks

Pursuing a Career in Cybersecurity?

GPSU offers three internship cohorts a year: Spring, Summer and Fall. Each of these cohorts works with leaders in the industry to get hands-on experience in cybersecurity areas, as well as career development opportunities from experts in their field. These 12 week internships offer the opportunity to take the knowledge you’ve gained in school and apply it to real-life scenarios. 

Learners who have the most success with our program have already begun the foundational process to learning cybersecurity, including obtaining certifications when available, attending trainings, contributing to personal or industry projects or participating in industry organizations.

Benefits of Conducting a GPSU Internship

  • Internships are conducted remote across the U.S
  • Training labs and courses all provided at no cost to you
  • One to one mentoring within a specific practice area
  • Opportunities to gain hands on experience in the field
  • Work with industry-leading experts who previously managed security within the DoW, intelligence agencies and Fortune 500 companies
  • Career development courses provided include resume reviews and interview training
  • Chance to earn industry certifications and Continuing Education Units
  • Opportunities to network and connect with leaders at GuidePoint Security and industry leaders

Getting Started in Cybersecurity

Neither of these opportunities seem right for you? Oftentimes, we see two areas where people struggle when it comes to landing your first cybersecurity job:

1. It can be difficult to wade through the myriad of resources available and come up with an effective plan.

2. It can also be frustrating applying to hundreds of jobs and hearing nothing back.

This ebook, written by our Director of Learning and Development, is created for the sole purpose of helping you better understand what hiring managers are looking for and equipping you with a training plan that establishes the foundational industry knowledge needed to begin your career in cybersecurity.

Read the Getting Started in Cybersecurity eBook

GPSU Technical Focus Areas

Security Operations:

  • Digital Forensics: Digging into systems, devices and logs after something goes wrong to piece together exactly what happened, how and what was affected, the kind of evidence that stands up to technical and legal scrutiny.
  • Incident Response: Being the team that shows up when the worst happens, containing an active attack, kicking the attacker out and getting the organization back on its feet as fast as possible.
  • Threat Intelligence: Gathering and making sense of what attackers are doing out in the wild, then turning that into practical warnings and guidance a defender can actually use.
  • Threat Hunting: Proactively looking for attackers, responding to alerts and hunting through an environment for the subtle signs of a threat.

Offensive Security:

  • Threat & Attack Simulation: Getting inside the mind of an attacker and playing the role of the bad guy against an organization's environment, running realistic attacks end to end to see what would really happen and where the defenses hold up (or don't).
  • Application Security: Making sure the software an organization builds can stand up to attack, by baking security into the development process instead of bolting it on at the end.
  • Operational Technology Security:  Protecting the systems that keep the physical world running: the industrial equipment, control systems and machinery behind manufacturing, energy and critical infrastructure, where a security failure can shut down operations, not just expose data.

Security Engineering:

  • Cloud Security: securing the environments organizations have moved to the cloud, designing and configuring them so that speed and scale don't open the door to new risk.
  • SOC Engineering: Building and tuning the tooling behind a Security Operations Center: the detection, monitoring and alerting systems that let a security team actually see what's happening across the environment.
  • Network Security: Protecting the connections that tie everything together, designing and defending the network so attackers can't move freely once they're inside.
  • Security Automation: Taking the repetitive, manual work out of security by building the scripts, integrations and workflows that let teams respond faster and focus their time where it actually matters.

Security Policy and Controls:

  • Governance, Risk and Compliance: Aligning an organization's security with its business goals: building the policies, managing the risk and meeting the regulations and standards that keep everything accountable and on track.
  • Identity and Access Management: Making sure the right users have the right access to the right things and that stolen credentials or sloppy permissions don't become the front door for an attacker.
  • AI and Data Security: Protecting an organization's most sensitive information and the AI systems now using it, so that innovation doesn't come at the cost of privacy, trust or control over the data.

GPSU Next Steps

Apply for an Internship!

See available internships on our Careers Page.

Want More Information?

Contact [email protected]