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Cybersecurity, Master of Science

Program Purpose

Students earning this degree will be prepared to advance in the growing and challenging field of Cybersecurity. The program offers students the opportunity to learn both tactical and strategic perspectives of Cybersecurity. The combination of tactical and strategic perspectives enables students to become practitioners and leaders in the field of Cybersecurity.

Program Competencies

The graduate student who successfully completes the Cybersecurity program will be expected to:

I. Oral Communication

  • Create and deliver a presentation that adheres to oral presentation best practices.
  • Prepare and deliver a professional presentation related to Cybersecurity.
  • Determine the appropriate verbal communication medium (phone call, meeting, presentation, etc.) for a given situation.
  • Develop an effective verbal communication strategy for a given situation.

II.    Written Communication

  • Determine the appropriate written communication medium (email, text, report, etc.) for a given situation.
  • Develop an effective written communication strategy for a given situation.
  • Correctly use citations, quotations, and references to support written/typed material.
  • Correctly format citations, quotations, and references in accordance with the APA Manual’s standards
  • Format written/typed material, including tables and figures, in accordance with the APA Manual’s standards, including APA style and format.

III.   Critical Thinking

  • Solve an IT/IS and/or Cybersecurity related problem / scenario.
  • Utilize quantitative, qualitative and /or scientific reasoning to solve problems.
  • Use/Apply critical thinking strategies, including reasoning, problem solving, analysis and evaluation.
  • Define a problem or issue and develop questions and methods to address the problem or issue and/or to create new knowledge.

IV.  Information Literacy

  • Identify and analyze the applicability and reliability of research information.
  • Use applicable and reliable research information as support for group and/or individual assignments.

V.    Ethics

  • Critique a scenario/case study involving a Cybersecurity ethical dilemma.

VI.  Cybersecurity Best Practices

  • Apply a Cybersecurity best practice to a scenario.
  • Compare and contrast a given set of Cybersecurity best practices.

VII. Cybersecurity Plan

  • Develop a Cybersecurity plan for a given situation/case study.
  • Analyze / critique a Cybersecurity plan.

VIII. Cybersecurity Tools, Techniques, and Methodologies

  • Compare and contrast a given set of Cybersecurity methodologies.
  • Apply/utilize the appropriate Cybersecurity tool for a given situation/case study.
  • Describe a given Cybersecurity technique.

Program Design

Students who successfully complete the Masters of Science in Cybersecurity will possess a working command of current cybersecurity practices that can be immediately applied to an organization regardless of size. Degree recipients will be capable of managing complex cybersecurity responsibilities and projects from inception to completion. Students have the option to pursue a concentration that caters to their vocational pursuit. Students graduating from the MS in Cybersecurity program should be prepared to provide leadership in the field of Cybersecurity. Graduates will have the following skills, knowledge, and values:

• A core knowledge of Cybersecurity

• Communication, interpersonal, and team skills

• Analytical and critical thinking skills

• Specific skills leading to a career

Information Systems Foundations

Students without a sufficient level of information technology proficiency, experience, or expertise may be required to complete a placement exam prior to entering the Cybersecurity Program. Students who do not successfully complete the placement exam will be required to take the IST Fundamentals course – IST 5500 within their first semester of the Cybersecurity Program.

 

 

Cybersecurity Core Course Requirements

CYB 6000 Network Security

CYB 6010 Protecting and Securing the OS

CYB 6020 Vulnerability Assmt and PT

CYB 6030 IDS and IPS

CYB 6040 Cyberthreat Intelligence

CYB 8100 Cybersecurity Capstone

CYB 8101 Research Seminar

Electives

If pursuing no concentration, then select five (5) of the following electives:

CYB 6015 Intelligence Writing

CYB 6025 Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)

CYB 6050 Information Warfare (Social Media Intelligence)

CYB 6090 Special Topics: Cybersecurity

IST 7060 Project and Change Management

SEC 6040 Web and Data Security

SEC 6060 Incident Handling and Response

Cyber Terrorism Concentration

Students pursuing the Cyber Terrorism Concentration should select five (5) of the following courses:

MHS 7000 Contemporary Issues in Homeland Security

MHS 7001 Sociology of Terrorism

MHS 7002 Legal Aspects and Policy of Homeland Security

MHS 7003 Risk Assessment and Management

MHS 7006 Topics in Intelligence

MHS 7007 Strategic Planning in Homeland Security

SCADA Cybersecurity Concentration

Students pursuing the SCADA Cybersecurity concentration will complete the following courses:

IST 7100 IT Policy and Strategy

SEC 6080 Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security

SEC 6082 SCADA Architecture

SEC 6084 SCADA Risk Management and Auditing

SEC 6086 SCADA Security Awareness and Standards

Qualifications for Degree

To qualify for the Master of Science degree in Cybersecurity, a student must successfully complete a minimum of 36 credit hours (12 courses), including the Cybersecurity Capstone and Research Seminar. Both are intended to enhance a student’s occupational interest through the correlation of theory and practice. Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0. The program must be completed within five years.

This information applies to students who enter this degree program during the 2023-2024 Academic Year. If you entered this degree program before the Fall 2022 semester, please refer to the academic catalog for the year you began your degree program.