Graduate Certificate - Digital Forensics

The Digital Forensics graduate certificate is an eight-month postgraduate program in the recovery and analysis of digital evidence.

Coursework covers forensic acquisition and imaging of storage media, file system analysis across Windows, macOS and Linux, mobile device forensics and application data, network forensics and traffic analysis, memory and volatile data analysis, malware analysis fundamentals, cloud and virtual environment forensics, evidence handling and chain of custody, forensic reporting and expert testimony, and the Canadian legal framework for digital evidence.

Unlike physical forensic identification, digital forensics has a substantial private-sector market. Corporate incident response, e-discovery for litigation, internal investigations and consulting all employ digital forensic examiners, and demand has grown alongside cybercrime. Applicants need a computing or technical background to make the compressed format work.

Humber Polytechnic — formerly Humber College — is Ontario’s largest public college and a Designated Learning Institution (DLI O19376943122). The Lakeshore campus sits on the shore of Lake Ontario in south Etobicoke, next to Colonel Samuel Smith Park, and is home to Humber’s business degrees, media and creative arts, and social and community services programs. Heritage buildings, a residence opened in 2024 and a free shuttle to the North campus make it the most distinctive of Humber’s sites.

Its field maps to CIP 43.0116 (Cyber/computer forensics and counterterrorism). Important: this is a college credential rather than a degree, so it is not exempt from the November 2024 PGWP field-of-study restriction — eligibility depends on this CIP field appearing on IRCC’s eligible list when you apply. Humber publishes a PGWP-eligible program list with CIP codes; check it, and confirm with an Apply Study Visa counsellor before committing. IRCC makes the final decision.