Cybersecurity & Information Assurance, MS (53-875) (30 hours) [Also available as an accelerated program]

Location(s): Warrensburg Campus, Online, Lee’s Summit Innovation Campus, Lee’s Summit at Summit Technology Campus, Hybrid Lee’s Summit at Summit Technology Campus

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Student Learning Outcomes

The graduate with a Master of Science degree in Cybersecurity & Information Assurance will use the knowledge and skills obtained in the program to show:

An ability to apply algorithmic principles and formal models to solve advanced problems in cybersecurity and computing.
Design and analyze an organizations information security policies to meet security requirements.
An ability to design, select, and execute a cybersecurity mechanism to conform to security policy.
An ability to evaluate and maintain cyber systems for secure and reliable operations.
An ability to communicate effectively to a range of audiences, work effectively in a team environment, and recognize the need for continual professional development.

This program is designed to prepare graduates with advanced skills in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance. The graduates from the program can apply these skills to protect resources in the cyber domain and work as senior cybersecurity professionals in various sectors of industry that have significant online resources.

Admission Requirements

Admission is granted on the basis of applicant’s academic aptitude and potential which will be evaluated through academic record, test scores and/or work experience.To be admitted to the program a student must have an undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 2.8. Candidates must complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) with a minimum combined score of 291 in Verbal and Quantitative reasoning. Applicants must submit official GRE test scores by Educational Testing Services (ETS) directly to the University of Central Missouri. The ETS institution code for sending GRE scores to UCM is 6090, program code is 0402. Applicants with exceptional undergraduate performance may be considered with a lower GRE score. The GRE test requirement can be waived if any one of the following conditions is satisfied:

The student is a graduate of a regionally accredited college or university with a degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Engineering, Information Technology, Information Systems, Mathematics or Statistics and a GPA of 3.0 or more. Students not in the above-mentioned discipline list should have a 3.25 or more.
The student has earned an M.S. or more advanced degree in a closely related discipline.
The student has a minimum 3 years of relevant work experience in a US based corporation or a reputed multinational organization.

International students whose native language is not English and do not have a US degree are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A minimum TOEFL score of 79 is required. Duolingo and IELTS scores are also accepted at UCM. Regular graduate students should have a composite exam score of 120 in Duolingo or a band score of 6.0 in IELTS. The English requirement is waived for applicants who have completed a minimum of 60 semester credit hours or have earned a bachelor or graduate degree from an accredited college or university in the USA. Submission of a statement of purpose and three letters of recommendation is OPTIONAL for admission. They may however be required if the student applies for graduate assistantship or student worker positions.

Applicants who have degrees in some non-computing fields will also be considered for admission. Students may make up their deficiencies in cybersecurity and related area by completing the required undergraduate background courses.

Full time students with no deficiencies can expect to complete this program in two academic years.

Required Undergraduate Backgound Courses: 0-3 Semester Hours

The following undergraduate course (or equivalent) is required for students who are unable to demonstrate intermediate Python programming knowledge and/or prior coursework in Python.

CS 4170 - Object Oriented Programming - Python (3)

Required Graduate Courses: 15 Semester Hours

Electives from the Following: 15 Semester Hours

Minimum Graduate Hour Total: 30 Semester Hours

Notes:

1. Student cannot apply both CS 5040 Master’s Project and CS 6010 Thesis towards degree requirements.

2. Only up to 3 credit hours of CYBR 5060 Internship in Cybersecurity can apply to a student’s degree program. Students are expected to take 3 credit hours in CYBR 5060 to meet the elective requirements. If the student is unable to secure an internship, any other graduate level CS approved by the adviser, may be taken.

3. At least 6 credit hours of CS 6010 should be completed in order to be applied towards the degree requirement.

Accelerated Program Notes:

The Accelerated model for this program is designed for the BS Cybersecurity.

Undergraduate UCM students having completed at least 9 hours of cybersecurity courses above the 1000 level with a major GPA of at least 3.00 may consult with their faculty advisor and complete a school application to declare the accelerated BS/MS major in cybersecurity. Prior to beginning the graduate portion of the program, students in the accelerated program will need to apply to the UCM Graduate School for formal admission to the Accelerated BS/MS program.

Courses that an accelerated student may be eligible to include as overlap between the undergraduate and graduate programs:

CS 5200 - Database Theory and Applications (3) (CS 4600)

CS 5220 - Advanced Applications Programming in Java (3) (CS 4120)

CS 5610 - Introduction to Cloud Computing (3) (CS 4610)

CS 5660 - Introduction to Cloud Services (3) (CS 4660)

CS 5700 - Artificial Intelligence (3) (CS 4700)

CS 5710 - Machine Learning (3) (CS 4710)

CS 5720 - Neural Network and Deep Learning (3) (CS 4720)

CS 5760 - Natural Language Processing (3) (CS 4760)

CYBR 5240 - Web Application Security (3) (CYBR 4140)

CYBR 5610 - Cloud Security (3) (CYBR 4610)

CYBR 5820 - Introduction to Information Assurance (3) (CYBR 4820)