M.S. in Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity

Program Director

Ayad Barsoum, Ph.D.

Cyber threats are emerging more than ever in today’s digital world, and organizations are faced with constantly staying a step ahead to avoid falling prey to cybercriminal attacks.

In response, the Department of Computer Science at St. Mary’s University offers a master’s program that will provide students with knowledge, skills and best practices on how to monitor, secure and safeguard an organization’s cyber assets.

A uniquely St. Mary's program, the Master of Science in Cybersecurity combines technical rigor with sound ethics and implications to the law.

Students will take courses in risk management, wireless security, computer forensics, mathematics for cryptography, and cyber law to get a hands-on experience of how to protect networks, computers, programs, and institutional data from attack, damage or unauthorized access.

MS in Cybersecurity program is a 33-hour program. Students may elect a project or a thesis option. Non-thesis students must complete 30 credit hours of course work and 3 credit hours of a capstone master project that culminates in an oral presentation to the project committee. The thesis option consists of 27 hours of course credit and 6 hours of thesis direction. The thesis must be defended orally. The thesis committee may ask course-related questions during the thesis defense.

Project Option

Courses required for the degree:
Foundational Courses (required)
CS 6330Advanced Computer Networks3
CS 6361Computer Network Security3
CS 6362Computer Security and Privacy3
CS 6364Digital Forensics and Cyber Crime3
CS 6368Cybersecurity Policy and Law3
CS 6369Cryptography Principles and Practice3
EG 7314Software Security3
Elective Courses
Select three courses from the following9
Cloud Computing Security
Preparation for Security Certification
Cybersecurity Risk Management
Wireless Security
Internship
Capstone
CS 6395Project3
Total Semester Hours33

Thesis Option

Foundational Courses
CS 6330Advanced Computer Networks3
CS 6361Computer Network Security3
CS 6362Computer Security and Privacy3
CS 6364Digital Forensics and Cyber Crime3
CS 6368Cybersecurity Policy and Law3
CS 6369Cryptography Principles and Practice3
EG 7314Software Security3
Elective Courses
Select two courses from the following6
Cloud Computing Security
Preparation for Security Certification
Cybersecurity Risk Management
Internship
Wireless Security
Thesis
CS 6391Thesis I3
CS 6392Thesis II3
Total Semester Hours33