Cybersecurity (MS)

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Degree Requirements

The Master’s program requires 30 credit hours in either a thesis or non-thesis option. The non-thesis option requires all 30 credits to be completed through coursework, while the thesis-option requires 24 credit hours of coursework and six credits of master’s thesis (). The curriculum requirements for the thesis and non-thesis option are:

15 credits of Fundamentals of Cybersecurity courses
15 credits of elective courses in a chosen Concentration Area.
- Concentration Areas are: (I) Secure Software, (II) Secure Systems, (III) Security Analytics, and (IV) Security Management.
- Elective courses are to be taken primarily from a single chosen Concentration Area, with a maximum of six (6) credits taken from an alternative Concentration Area or as additional Fundamentals of Cybersecurity courses.
- In the thesis option, six (6) credits of master’s thesis are to be completed in lieu of six (6) Concentration Area elective credits.

Fundamentals of Cybersecurity and Concentration Area courses are listed below. Note that individual courses are typically three (3) credits, i.e., the 30 credit hours required for the master’s non-thesis degree typically equates to 10 courses (or eight (8) courses and a thesis for the thesis option).

Fundamentals of Cybersecurity

Students must complete 15 credits, or five (5) courses, of Fundamentals of Cybersecurity. Courses designated as Fundamentals of Cybersecurity are:

CPEG 665 - Introduction to Cybersecurity Credit(s): 3 (CYBER I)
CPEG 697 - Advanced Cybersecurity Credit(s): 3 (CYBER II)
CPEG 694 - System Hardening and Protection Credit(s): 3 (DEFENSE)
CPEG 695 - Digital Forensics Credit(s): 3
CPEG 676 - Secure Software Design Credit(s): 3
CPEG 671 - Pen Test and Reverse Engineering Credit(s): 3
CPEG 672 - Applied Cryptography Credit(s): 3

Concentration Areas

Students must complete 15 credits, or five (5) courses, of electives. Elective courses are to be taken primarily from a single chosen Concentration Area. Of these five (5) elective courses, a maximum of two (2) can be taken outside the single Concentration Area (from one of the other Concentration Areas or from the set of Fundamentals of Cybersecurity courses). The Concentration Areas and courses within each area are listed below.

Concentration in Secure Software

The Secure Software Concentration is designed for a professional responsible for developing secure software systems. Secure Software electives are:

CPEG 670 - Web Applications Security Credit(s): 3
CISC 621 - Algorithm Design and Analysis Credit(s): 3
CISC 663 - Operating Systems Credit(s): 3
CISC 672 - Compiler Construction Credit(s): 3 or
CPEG 621 - Compiler Design Credit(s): 3
CISC 675 - Software Engineering Principles and Practices Credit(s): 3
CISC 611 - Software Process Management Credit(s): 3
CISC 612 - Software Design Credit(s): 3
CISC 613 - Software Requirements Engineering Credit(s): 3
CISC 614 - Formal Methods in Software Engineering Credit(s): 3
CISC 615 - Software Testing and Maintenance Credit(s): 3
CPEG 676 - Secure Software Design Credit(s): 3

Concentration in Secure Systems

The Secure Systems Concentration is designed for a professional responsible for secure systems that can include wireless and network communication systems, embedded systems, and related physical systems. Secure Systems electives are:

ELEG 635 - Digital Communication Credit(s): 3
ELEG 658 - Advanced Mobile Services Credit(s): 3
ELEG 617 - The Smart Grid Credit(s): 3
CPEG 696 - Topics in Cybersecurity Credit(s): 3
CISC 650 - Computer Networks II Credit(s): 3
CISC 853 - Network Management Credit(s): 3
CPEG 673 - Cloud Computing and Security Credit(s): 3
CISC 886 - Multi-Agent Systems Credit(s): 3
CPEG 853 - Computer System Reliability Credit(s): 3

Concentration in Security Analytics

The Security Analytics Concentration is designed for a professional responsible for utilizing big data, analytics, and statistical learning methods to identify and characterize anomalous behavior and security risks. Security Analytics electives are:

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