What will I learn with a cybersecurity minor?
Cybersecurity threats exist at a wide range of levels. On one end are relatively unsophisticated threats, such as accidental leaks of information via email or a lost USB drive. More sophisticated attacks such as covert data interception by wireless radios, distributed denial of service server attacks, covert channel attacks and evolving malware exist on the opposite side of the continuum.
The need and significance of cyber defense education and research from the early undergraduate stage cannot be overlooked. To meet the increasing demand for cybersecurity experts with operational knowledge in next-generation smart systems, this cybersecurity minor is designed to prepare undergraduate students to mitigate vulnerabilities in the national digital infrastructure with in-depth, hands-on technical expertise in cyber defense.
The University offers two cybersecurity minors:
- Interdisciplinary cybersecurity minor: The interdisciplinary minor in cybersecurity provides a well-rounded look at cybersecurity from a range of disciplinary perspectives.
- Cybersecurity minor: The minor in cybersecurity consists of six computer science courses that provide hands-on in-depth technical expertise in cyber defense.
The Cybersecurity Center brings together expertise from a range of disciplines including political science, information systems, journalism, criminal justice, philosophy, psychology, history, and computer science and engineering.
On the strength of its cybersecurity program, the University has been named a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. This prestigious designation is given to institutions of higher education that provide exceptional theoretical and hands-on experience in cybersecurity.
