Data Science for Cybersecurity (Adv Cert)
Well-trained cybersecurity professionals are needed to secure our information systems and national infrastructure. However, in order to respond to increasingly sophisticated and varied attacks, these professionals should not only be familiar with traditional cybersecurity methods but should also be adept at accessing, manipulating, and analyzing the enormous amounts of data generated by modern computing systems. The Advanced Certificate in Data Science for Cybersecurity helps to meet this need by ensuring that those entering into the field, as well as cybersecurity professionals, establish a solid background in data science and have experience in applying data science methods to cybersecurity problems.
Two courses taken toward the certificate may double count with any of the existing master's and doctoral degree programs in computer and information science (M.S. in Cybersecurity, M.S. in Data Science, M.S. in Computer Science, and Ph.D. in Computer Science).
Admissions requirements for the program include:
- Completed and signed application
- Application fee
- Written statement of intent
- Official undergraduate transcript (and graduate transcript, if applicable)
- Two reference letters
- Resume
The curriculum consists of five courses (two required core and three electives) spanning two to four semesters, resulting in a 15-credit Advanced Certificate in Data Science for Cybersecurity.
Prerequisites
Cybersecurity
Students are expected to enter the advanced certificate program with a basic knowledge of cybersecurity equivalent to CISC 5650 Cybersecurity Essentials. Alternatively, students must complete CISC 5650 prior to completing the advanced certificate or before taking any courses that require this course as a prerequisite.
Computer Programming
All students are expected to have some knowledge of computer programming, as assessed by a Python examination. Those with insufficient background must take CISC 5380 Programming with Python.
Curriculum
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| CISC 5660 | Data Science for Cybersecurity | 3 |
| CISC 6640 | Privacy and Security in Big Data | 3 |
| Electives | ||
| One Cybersecurity-Focused course 1 | 3 | |
| One Data Science-Focused course 1 | 3 | |
| One Cybersecurity or Data Science-Focused course | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 15 | |
- 1
See below lists of courses fulfilling each requirement.
Cybersecurity-Focused courses
Courses in this group have the DCCF attribute.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CISC 5710 | Introduction to Behavioral and Physical Biometrics | 3 |
| CISC 6600 | Cloud Computing Security | 3 |
| CISC 6660 | Applied Cryptography | 3 |
| CISC 6670 | Artificial Intelligence for Cybersecurity | 3 |
| CISC 6800 | Malware Analytics and Software Security | 3 |
| CISC 6880 | Blockchain Technology | 3 |
Data Science-Focused courses
Courses in this group have the DCDF attribute.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CISC 5450 | Mathematics for Data Science | 3 |
| CISC 5500 | Data Analytics Tools and Scripting | 3 |
| CISC 5900 | Information Fusion | 3 |
| CISC 5950 | Big Data Computing | 3 |
| CISC 6525 | Artificial Intelligence | 3 |
| CISC 6745 | Data Visualization | 3 |