CSEC’s 2017 report signals a current and growing shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals.
Government and non-government sources both expect 1.5 million cybersecurity-related positions to go unfilled by 2021.
This (CSEC2017) report shows that there is a growing demand for labor and a rise in salaries.
In order to address this gap, academic institutions across the spectrum of computing disciplines are enrolling students in cybersecurity programs or courses within existing programs in an attempt to develop the required talent.
Detroit Mercy is one of the institutions to pioneer cybersecurity education more than a decade ago. U.S.
Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency both recognize the University as an Academic Excellence Center for Cyber Defense.
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Reason for choosing the University of Detroit Mercy:
The University of Detroit Mercy is recognized as an Academic Excellence Center in Cyber Defense (CAE/CD) by the National Security Agency and the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Every class you take at the University of Detroit Mercy encourages you to go beyond your own capabilities, as part of its designation as an Academic Center of Academic Excellence for Information Assurance since 2004.
We will ensure that you receive an outstanding and well-rounded education that not only teaches you the fundamentals of the field but also helps you adapt to change and communicate effectively.
Cybersecurity Major Programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels:
During your undergraduate degree, you could earn a Bachelor of Science in Computer & Information Systems with a cybersecurity major, choose from a range of plans that allow you to graduate in only five years, or opt to minor in cybersecurity as a nice adjunct to another major.
Graduate students can pursue a Master of Science in Information Systems and Assurance with a specialization in Cyber Security, as well as a Master of Science in Computer and Information Systems with a specialization in Software Management.
There is the option of enrolling in both graduate programs online for convenience and flexibility.
Courses Offered at the University of Detroit Mercy
Detroit Mercy’s curriculum was the first in the Metro-Detroit area to comply with the newly established CSEC2017 guidelines for cybersecurity education beginning in the fall of 2018-2019.
A cybersecurity major at Detroit Mercy consists of 16 courses or 48 credits, with 14 mandatory courses (42 credits) and two electives (6 credits).
Obtaining this bachelor’s degree requires fulfilling the University Core Curriculum requirements, the major requirements of 48 credit hours, and completing a minimum of 126 credit hours of coursework.
The courses offered at the cybersecurity major program are as follows:
- Foundations of Cybersecurity
- Enterprise Architecture
- Human Factors in IT Security
- Secured Database Programming or CIS 4560 Database Design
- Software Requirements and Design
- Software Testing and Quality Assurance
- Intro to Digital Forensics
- Software Project Management
- Networks
- Information and Society
- Ethical Hacking
- Introduction to Incident Response
- IA Risk Management
- Technical Writing
A Cutting-Edge Curriculum: The First in Metro Detroit Meeting the 2017 CSEC Guidelines for Post-Secondary Degree Programs:
In response to the changing requirements of the cyber workforce, Detroit Mercy has recently adjusted its undergraduate cybersecurity curriculum.
It is fully aligned with the eight knowledge areas of the Joint Task Force on Cybersecurity Education (CSEC2017) guidelines, which address concepts that span across Information Technology, Information Systems, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, and other technology-based disciplines.
It is important that you study at Detroit Mercy under the CESC2017 framework because the Joint Taskforce includes leading researchers in Information & Technology systems:
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
- IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS)
- Association for Information Systems Special Interest Group on Security (AIS-SIGSEC)
- International Federation for Information Processing Technical Committee on Information
- Security Education (IFIP WG 11.8)
Eligibility Criteria:
- GMAT(Graduate Management Admission Test) or GRE(Graduate Record Examinations) is not required for admission. However, a candidate may apply with the GMAT or GRE test scores in case their GPA is below 3.0 to increase their admission chances.
- Non-native speakers of English must submit an official TOEFEL or IELTS score. The minimum score requirements for TOEFEL is 79 iBT and for IELTS is 6.0 for graduate studies.
- Students lacking in any of the requirements may be still eligible for admission if there is supportive evidence in other areas of work.
- In case of missing requirements demonstrating proficiencies equivalent courses at USML will have to be undertaken for admissions into Major program.
Conclusion
With the increasing cases of cyberattacks and systems being prone to disruption by external malicious users, confidentiality and privacy of sensitive data and information are being continuously threatened.
field of cybersecurity aims at safeguarding systems in real-time from such unprecedented attacks. However, there is a growing need for more individuals to carry out extensive research in this domain.
