2024-2025 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog
Master of Science in Cybersecurity
Requirements for the M.S. in Cybersecurity
All candidates for the degree must complete a total of 33-34 credits, indicated as follows:
- Foundation courses (0 - 4 credits)
- Core (21 credits)
- Electives (3 - 9 credits)
- Capstone (3 - 6 credits)
Foundation Courses
All candidates are expected to complete two foundation courses, CIS 500 and CIS 511, for a total of four credits. However, a placement exam can be taken to demonstrate proficiency in the topics covered by the foundation courses. A successful score on the placement exam will result in waiving the requirement of one or both of the foundation courses (33 credits are still required for the degree and may be achieved through taking additional electives).
- CIS 500 - Fundamentals of Software Practice (3 credits)
- CIS 511 - Networking Fundamentals (1 credit)
Core Courses
Students are required to complete the following courses for a total of 21 credits:
- CIS 518 - Secure Software Engineering (3 credits)
- CIS 555 - Applied Cryptography (3 credits)
- CIS 615 - Information Security Principles (3 credits)
- CIS 616 - Data Security and Privacy (3 credits)
- CIS 617 - Digital Forensics and Investigations (3 credits)
- CIS 619 - Data Analytics for Cybersecurity (3 credits)
- CIS 654 - Computer Networking (3 credits)
Elective Courses
Students must complete at least three elective credits. Additional elective credits will be required if the CIS 500 course is waived, or if the project option is chosen to meet the capstone requirement (instead of the thesis option). Potentially, up to nine credits of electives may be needed in such cases. Any 500- or 600-level CIS course (other than foundations courses) can be used as an elective toward the M.S. in cybersecurity degree.
Capstone
Each candidate must complete either the project course or the thesis sequence for a total of three or six credits. Please contact the graduate program director one semester prior to starting any of these.