Illinois Cyber Security Scholars Program
With the perils of the Internet growing by the day, the need for cybersecurity is now greater than ever before.
The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign recognizes this. It offers qualified, eligible and competent students the opportunity to be part of a university program that will help them chart out a career as a cybersecurity professional.
These students will not need to pay any tuition, continue with their present Master of Science ECE graduate program, and will get a generous scholarship and stipend as part of the Illinois Cybersecurity Scholars Program.
This program is a CyberCorps Scholarship for Service that aims to teach important technical and ethical skills in the field of cyber security and help build the next generation of talented cyber security specialists of the world.
Table of Contents
Why University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign?
The University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign is one of the leading institutes for getting your master’s degree in the world. They have a strong network of alumni who help students learn and grow about the domain of their choice.
Their courses offer technical skills and knowledge that are essential in the corporate work environment when they graduate to face the real world.
Students are constantly encouraged to research into the inner workings of everything, challenge the limitations of the field, and make revolutionary innovations and breakthroughs that can change the world.
As a student of Electrical and Computer Engineering, one can find every tool, resource, and facility required to explore the depths and breadths of the field while learning values like team building, ethics, discipline.
Rest assured, you will find a community here that will become a family for life and will mold you into the pioneers of the future.
Prerequisite Knowledge
Students who wish to apply for a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering degree from the University of Illinois are expected to have experience, skills, and knowledge in the following areas.
- Have a hunger to learn, explore, and research every aspect of their domain
- Have an aptitude and passion for math, physics, and Computer science
- Should have a fundamental understanding and competent knowledge of digital systems, computer organization, electrical circuits, networks, etc.
- Have work experience in the field that could help them understand the basics of the curriculum
- Online certifications, internships, and MOOC courses are also recommended to get insight into the discipline.
Admission requirement
Students looking to get admitted must satisfy the following minimum criteria:
- A Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college with a cumulative grade point or GPA of 3.5/5 (8/10) or higher.
- Students must fill out their graduate applications forms, tender their CVs and pay a non-refundable application processing fee.
- The Bachelor’s degree must be from a relevant discipline of Engineering
- Their transcripts must be attached and sent along with their degree certificate
- International applicants must prove their proficiency in English by showing their TOEFEL score
- ECE interest form, statement of purpose, and three letters of reference
GRE and TOEFL Requirements
Applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit a minimum TOEFL score of 96 (internet Based Test), 243 (Computer Based Test), or 590 (Paper Based Test).
Alternatively, Urbana Champaign also accepts a minimum International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam score of 6.5 (overall).
Electrical and Computer Engineering (ICSSP) course Requirements
The Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering for the Illinois Cyber Security Scholars Program is given upon completion of the following course requirements:
- Students must have completed a total of 32 credits of coursework
- Furthermore, those 32 hours must also satisfy the following:
- 8 hours ECE 500-level courses
- 4 hours non-ECE 500-level courses
- 4 hours of professional development
- 16 hours electives.
Students must also have completed the following courses as part of the ICSSP:
- CS 461/ECE 422 and CS 463/ECE 424 (Computer Security I and II) if they haven’t taken them or their equivalents as part of their Undergraduate degree
- CS 563/ECE 524 course in Advanced Computer Security
- CS/ECE 598 ETC course in Ethical Thinking in Cyberspace
(or)
IS 584 IFO course in Intellectual Freedom and Censors
- CS 491 course in Information Assurance & Trust Seminar
They must also complete two sequences of courses from the below list:
- Applied Cryptography
- Human Aspects of Security
- Machine learning and AI
- Privacy
- Cyber Infrastructures
- Secure Software
Students are also expected to complete a summer internship for a government institution for Cybersecurity. They must also submit a thesis on either Cybersecurity or ECE at the end of their course.
Conclusion
We hope that the information presented to the readers thus far has helped them gain perspective, clarity, and knowledge about the University and its course.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is perhaps the best place to explore the discipline of ECE and expand your reservoir of knowledge regarding Cyber Security.
Pursuing Cybersecurity as a career choice is highly lucrative in contemporary times due to the extent to which computers and the Internet have penetrated into our life.
It will also provide you with sound technical skills and hands-on experience as you get to work with professionals working in the Industry to improve cyber security algorithms and protocol.
This field is constantly growing in demand, and the amount of expertise and resources students can find on deck at the University of Illinois is unmatched.
In a way, the ICSSP program is the perfect launching pad for students to propel them into a world of possibilities in innovating novel solutions to resolve various privacy issues across various domains.
Thus, Students can choose this course if they wish to get transformed into specialists who will lay down the building blocks of the firewall of the future.
