Overview
Kimberly Chichester, Chair of the Division of Natural and Mathematical Sciences
The cybersecurity major is housed in the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics. This administrative department and its majors emphasize critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication while stressing interdisciplinary learning.
Cybersecurity is a new, significant field which is vital to national and corporate security. The need for this expertise is increasingly sought after by government and business entities. Cybersecurity itself is a merger of information technology and computer science. The fundamentals of computer science are required to impart background knowledge in areas such as databases, operating systems, and networking. Once a student has mastered these essentials, they go into more specialized areas of instruction, including digital forensics, cyber-law, malware analysis, and others. A graduate of this program will become a valuable member of the workforce critical to protection of corporate or government assets.
The goals of this program are to provide the following:
- A strong foundational IT knowledge necessary for understanding cybersecurity theories, tools, and technologies.
- A theoretical understanding of both basic and advanced cybersecurity principles.
- A wealth of hands-on, practical experience in current cybersecurity tools and technologies.
- A knowledge of the legal and business issues with respect to cybersecurity.
The major in cybersecurity leads to a B.S. degree.