Fall 2025 Course Registration Available Now
The Cloud Solutions AWS-Associate certificate program, offered by the San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE), is a free non-credit program that provides us with the critical knowledge and hands-on experience needed to be successful on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform. Offered under membership with the AWS Academy, we are guided through key cloud concepts and core AWS services, while earning digital badges that help us to showcase our expertise, strengthen our resume, and connect with potential employers. Through this program, we learn how to architect and deploy secure and robust applications on the AWS cloud computing platform, gaining the ability to define solutions using architectural design principles, and to provide implementation guidance based on best practices.
What do I need to know before I get started? In today's world of cloud computing, it is important to understand general networking concepts and to have at least some experience with Linux, two fundamental technologies that power the Web. In addition, learning programming skills somewhere along the the way will be important to you as you dive deeper into this career.
Compute: EC2, Elastic Beanstalk, Lambda, ECS
Networking: VPC, CloudFront
Developer Tools: Cloud9, CodePipeline, CodeCommit
Security: IAM
Management: CloudTrail, CloudWatch, CloudFormation, Systems Manager, Trusted Advisor
COMP 671 AWS Academy Cloud Foundations
COMP 672 AWS Academy Cloud Architecture
AWS Authored Curriculum: Lectures, Demos, & Hands-on Labs
Learn skills aligned with AWS certification
Companies are actively seeking job applicants with AWS Cloud Skills
AWS Academy provides us access to AWS developed curriculum, ensuring that we benefit from up-to-date skills and training. Following the AWS key design principal for Operational Excellence -- Refine operations procedures frequently -- the Academy maintains and regularly updates our course learning materials, including videos, demos, and hands-on labs, ensuring access to current tools, processes, and best practices. And, unlike static textbooks and simulators, the Academy provides guidance and free access to the actual tools of the trade, through guided and challenge labs in the AWS Management Console and AWS CLI (command line interface).
Cloud computing is used by organizations to support their business applications by allowing them to access IT resources (compute, database, storage, applications) through the internet, using pay-as-you go pricing.
AWS is the world's largest provider of cloud services. The AWS Cloud platform is used world-wide by both organizations and individuals to develop and host web sites and web applications, as well cloud-based business intelligence, analytics, and more. Firms and organizations such as Netflix, Capital One, Intuit, CocaCola, Volkswagen, Choice Hotels, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Slack, and Beat are just a few, not to mention the thousands of startups that take advantage of AWS Free Tier to develop their next great solution or product. Read more>>
There are two courses in the program, and each is mapped to an AWS certification exam
COMP 671 AWS Academy Cloud Foundations prepares for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is intended for anyone who has basic knowledge of the AWS platform, including core AWS services and use cases, billing and pricing models, security concepts, and how cloud impacts your business. This is a great first step towards building a career in the cloud
COMP 672 AWS Academy Cloud Architecture prepares for AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate. The Solutions Architect certification is one of the most highly valued in the industry. The focus of this certification is on the design of cost and performance optimized solutions, demonstrating a strong understanding of the AWS Well-Architected Framework. This certification enhances the career profile and earnings of certified professionals, and increases their credibility and confidence in stakeholder and customer interactions.
Complete the Program Online in a Single Semester Our intensive, eighteen week schedule means we can complete the program in less than half a year. By offering it online, we gain the convenience of participating from our own space.
Zero Textbook Cost There are no textbooks, course fees or software needed. As a member of the AWS Academy, all learning materials, activities, and course badges are provided free of cost on the Canvas Learning Management system, making it easy to access in a web browser from the convenience of your own laptop or personal computer. No installations, no paperwork, no problem!
Learn Through Scheduled Modules Students find they have the greatest success when they engage with the program regularly. Attending the weekly meetings online, engaging several times a week with the course materials, and submitting assignments at the end of the week can ensure that we have time to learn and grow as professionals.
Badges, Certificates, and Certification: When we complete the AWS Academy courses, we automatically qualify for course badges from Credly, which we can then post on LinkedIn and other social media. Completing all courses in the program then qualifies us for the SDCCD program certificate, which we can easily share with employers and others. Also, when we complete a course in the AWS Academy, we can qualify for discount vouchers (50%) from the AWS Emerging Talent Community through AWS Educate, which can then be used towards our certification, saving us money on an invaluable resource!
We learn in a community of our peers: We are not a self-paced course. By meeting and working together in weekly Online Live Sessions hosted on the Zoom video conferencing platform, we grow our understanding through scenarios, table-top exercises, and discussion questions.
To register for the program: Our program is offered by the San Diego College of Continuing Education, a non-credit adult education college. To register, you must be an enrolled student. Click here to learn how to enroll and register>>
One of the most important tools at our disposal, the program includes over two dozen guided and challenge labs that build on the concepts and demos presented in the videos. Starting with a guided lab, we are provided with a full set of instructions that show us how to complete the tasks necessary to implement a solution, such as deploying a static website using AWS S3. We are then presented with a challenge lab that leverages what we have learned in the guided lab, to deploy a more complex and robust solution that implements important features such as high availability and fault tolerance, for example including version control and cross-region replication for backup.