MS in Cybersecurity Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Cybersecurity is a full graduate degree program balancing theory with practice in order to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to protect information systems. Because of the wide variety of subject areas to which Cybersecurity can be applied, this degree program has two paths:

1. cyber operations concentration with highly technical content
2. interdisciplinary degree with the opportunity for the students to tailor the degree to specific management goals

Students may also choose from a "thesis" option or a "capstone" option based on individual interests.

Prior to Enrolling

All students must meet with a graduate student advisor in the first semester of attendance. One of the purposes of this meeting is to complete your Plan of Study (a listing of all courses you plan to take for the degree and the semester in which each course will be taken.) If you are going to deviate from your approved Plan of Study, you will need to see an advisor prior to being able to register for the courses you want. Changes to the official Plan of Study must go through the approval process before registration.

This is very important as graduation may be delayed if changes are not approved before enrollment.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Cybersecurity degree consists of 33 hours of course content. If a student elects the thesis option, the student has a requirement of 27 hours of content, plus six hours of thesis work. If the student elects the capstone option then the degree is 30 hours of course content plus the graduate capstone class.

The degree has two concentrations: Cyber Operations, and Interdisciplinary. The Interdisciplinary track is designed for the student that is interested in cybersecurity from the policy, auditing, and business persectives, and allows a certain latitude in course selection. The Cyber Operations track is very technical in nature and matches the NSA knowledge units for the Center of Academic Excellence – Cyber Operations designation.

Detailed requirements can be found in the table below.

Foundation Courses

Foundation courses ensure all students in the MS CYBR program have a solid groundwork upon which to build the rest of the program. These courses not only provide essential prerequisite knowledge and skills for other courses in the program, but they also contain a distinct body of knowledge that is an important part of the Cybersecurity professional's education.

All foundation courses are required for all students. However, students who have obtained an undergraduate Cybersecurity degree will typically already have this foundation. In such a case, most, if not all, foundation courses are usually waived. Students with undergraduate degrees in other disciplines, including Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or Engineering, will usually require one or more foundation courses. Occasionally, a student's work experience may be sufficient to waive one or more of these foundation courses.

Waivers for foundation courses are potentially granted by the chair of the graduate program committee upon the recommendation of the faculty member who is responsible for an individual course. Students requesting a waiver for a particular course should be prepared to meet with a faculty member and answer questions in the area of the course. They should bring to the meeting any relevant transcripts, course syllabi, course material, or evidence of practical experience. Some foundation courses may have an option for testing out.

Foundation courses cannot be used to satisfy the 33 semester hours required for the MS in Cybersecurity degree. Students who have not completed all the foundation course requirements may be admitted on a provisional status until those requirements have been completed. All foundation courses must be completed prior to or concurrent with the first six hours of MS in Cybersecurity graduate coursework.

Master's Degree in Cybersecurity

This program of study is subject to change over time as the program develops.

A description of these classes can be found in the current graduate catalog.

Quality of Work Standards

The Graduate College's Quality of Work standards shall be applied to foundation courses as well as courses taken as part of the degree program. In particular, the GPC will recommend to the Graduate College that any

• Student receiving a grade of "C-" or below on any foundation courses will be dismissed from the program or, in the case of unclassified or non-degree students, be automatically denied admission.
• Student receiving a grade of "C+" or "C" in any foundation course will be placed on probation or dismissed from the program.
• Student not maintaining a "B" (3.0 on 4.0 scales) average in foundation courses will be placed on probation or dismissed from the program.

If you have questions or would like further information regarding the program please contact: