Cybersecurity, M.S.

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The Master of Science in Cyber Security is a 30-credit hour graduate program that prepares students to assess and manage information security within organizations.

Program Tracks

Students may pursue one of the following tracks to fulfill degree requirements:

General Track: Offers a flexible curriculum with specialized electives, enabling students to tailor their coursework to their individual academic and professional interests.
Thesis Track: Available to academically qualified students seeking to deepen their expertise. Prior approval from a faculty member (Thesis Advisor) with whom the student has earned a minimum 3.0 GPA, is required.

Admissions Information

For admission requirements, including general graduate admission standards and program-specific criteria, please visit M.S. in Cyber Security Admission Requirements .

Degree Requirements

The degree requirements below reflect the General Track of the Master of Science in Cybersecurity, which consists of 30 semester hours, including core courses and specialization electives. Students pursuing the optional Thesis Track will complete fewer specialization courses, applying those hours toward the thesis instead.

Additional prerequisite or leveling courses may be required.

Requirements are summarized below.

Prerequisite/Leveling Courses (12 semester hours)

Students without an undergraduate degree in computing may need to complete foundation courses in the following areas:

Mathematics (6 hours): 3 s.h. in Calculus, Algebra, Discrete Structures, or Discrete Mathematics, and 3 s.h. in Statistics.
Programming (6 hours): Programming or Data Structures.

Core Courses (18 semester hours)

Specialization (12 semester hours)

Additional courses may be approved for the specialization with faculty consent. For more information, consult your academic advisor.

Thesis Track (Optional) (30 Semester Hours)

Academically strong students seeking to deepen their expertise and contribute to cybersecurity research may pursue the thesis track. Program director approval and a minimum overall “B” average in the program are required. Students in the thesis track will typically enroll in the following courses over two consecutive semesters in their second year: COSC 6308 and COSC 6309 .

Core Courses (18 semester hours)

18 hours of graduate level COSC coursework (listed above)

Specialization (6 semester hours)

6 hours of COSC/MGMT from prescribed list (listed above)

Thesis (6 semester hours)

The following courses should be taken for the thesis option.