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MS in Cybersecurity Online Courses

Curriculum Details

  • 10 courses
  • 30 credits
  • 8-week course duration

The online Master of Science in Cybersecurity program requires you to complete 10 courses, including five core courses, four electives, and one capstone or thesis. Courses are taught in eight-week terms, allowing you to complete the program in as little as 14 months. You’ll graduate with the credentials required to pursue in-demand industry certifications, including:

  • CompTIA Security+ and Network+
  • Certified Ethical Hacker
  • CISSP
  • CSSLP
  • GIAC Security Essentials
  • ISC2 SSCP
  • Offensive Security Certified Professional

Core Courses

Credits

This course covers cybersecurity risk identification, assessment and mitigation. The enterprise risk management lifecycle will also be discussed. Data breach management, organizational liability and responsibilities will be examined. Threat analysis relating to change management, disaster preparation and recovery operation planning will be practiced. Best practices in organizational policy standards, authentication, access controls and training will be evaluated through case studies.
This course presents cybersecurity related ethics and policy standards. Laws at the state, federal and international levels and law enforcement related procedures are covered. Students will analyze relevant case studies and apply best practices in identifying solutions. Students will identify and discuss areas for future research and development as the field continues to evolve.
This course covers selected topics in networking that can help a student gain a deeper understanding of network security implications and threat mitigation. Hands-on lab work is emphasized.
The course focuses on the different aspects of software security including best practices during the software development process from concept and requirements all the way to deployment and maintenance. The course also focuses on selecting and implementing the right security strategies, guidelines and practices that are widely accepted and applicable to most environments used today.
This course explores the fundamentals of cybersecurity architecture, operations management and information systems testing. Students learn how to assess security architecture, operations infrastructure and perform testing.

Elective Courses (Select 4)

Credits

The graduate cybersecurity internship is a form of experiential education based on the premise that for practical, hands-on learning to happen, the student needs to be an active participant in the learning process. To earn three credits, a minimum of 150 hours of work must be completed. To earn six credits, a minimum of 300 hours of work must be completed.
This course will have students explore a specialized study of a new technology, methodology, current issue or research area within the field of cybersecurity.
This course will introduce students to computer forensics fundamentals and the computer forensics investigation process. Students will learn about legal considerations applicable to computer forensics, and how to identify, collect and preserve digital evidence. Students will also learn about Windows, Linux, and Malware Forensics.

This course covers techniques for decision making in the cybersecurity world using intermediate technical knowledge gained from the program including when to develop a Continuity of Operations (COOP) vs. Disaster Recovery Plan, motivations of threat actors and implications in government, manufacturing, healthcare, financial industries and the energy sector. This course is designed to provide intermediate content to support the student’s ability to understand and successfully pass the CompTIA Security+ Exam. This is a graduate level course with outcomes that will be assessed at a higher level of learning. The additional work of finding a real world problem prior to the development of the solution or synthesis for this problem is the added requirement for MBA/graduate level students.

This course covers advanced techniques for decision making in the cybersecurity world. This course is designed to provide advanced content to support the student’s ability to understand and successfully pass the CompTIA Security+ Exam. Additionally, students learn leadership in terms of cybersecurity and IT personnel and resources. This course offers insights in the hiring of cybersecurity and IT personnel and how to determine worth of experience, certifications, etc. This is a graduate level course with outcomes that will be assessed at a higher-level of learning. The additional work of finding a real world problem prior to the development of the solution or synthesis of this problem is the added requirement for MBA/graduate level students.

Capstone or Thesis Option

Credits

This course is the first part of a four-term thesis experience in the graduate cybersecurity program. Students begin by connecting with a local organization to identify a real-world cybersecurity problem the organization faces. Students need to understand the cybersecurity issue, state the research question, and review the current solutions and studies. By the end of this course, each student will submit a working thesis proposal.

Prerequisite(s): Complete a minimum of 9 credit hours of cybersecurity coursework at the graduate level.

This course is the second part of the four-term thesis experience. Students need to conduct a thorough review of the existing research and related work. The main tasks to be done in this course include information gathering, literature review, and revising the proposed solution.

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of CYBR 661.

This course is the third part of the four-term thesis experience. Students will develop, implement, test, and evaluate their cybersecurity solution. The main tasks to be done in this course include documenting progress, evaluating results and findings, getting user feedback, measuring improvement level, and discussing the effectiveness and limitations of the proposed solution.

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of CYBR 662.

This course is the final part of the four-term thesis experience. Students will complete writing the master thesis report that has five main sections: thesis overview, background and related work, research methodology, results and discussion, and conclusion and future work. Students will also present their research work and findings to a faculty panel.

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of CYBR 663.

This course is the first part of a two-term capstone experience in the graduate cybersecurity program. Students need to identify a cybersecurity issue faced by a local organization, conduct in-depth research, and then develop a well-structured project proposal. The main tasks to be done in this course include problem definition, literature review, requirements analysis, and initial design of a practical solution. Students may work individually or in teams of two.

Prerequisite(s): CYBR 501, CYBR 520, CYBR 601, CYBR 630.

This course is the second part of the two-term capstone course. Students will build, implement, test, and evaluate their cybersecurity solution. At the end of the term, students will demonstrate their ability to manage a complex cybersecurity project by submitting a well-written report and presenting their work.

Prerequisite(s): CYBR 640 and CYBR 671.

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