Master of Science in Cybersecurity and Privacy

This ms program will be useful for all students, particularly in the fields of computer science, mathematics, and engineering. The program aims to develop expertise in various aspects of computer security and privacy, such as networking, operating systems, network and systems security, and data and communications privacy. 

The School of Computing at UGA has several faculty whose research areas are in cybersecurity and privacy. To foster collaboration among these faculty and coordinate related academic courses, the School of Computing at UGA has established an Institute for Cybersecurity and Privacy (ICSP), which has been named a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Research by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security.

Admission Criteria:

• Admissions requirements will align with the current admissions standards set by the Graduate School and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Completed applications will include the UGA graduate application, bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution in Computer Science or a related discipline, three letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, resume, and a minimum 3.0 GPA, and GRE test score. Applicants will need to meet all Graduate School requirements.

Students with insufficient background in Computer Science must first take undergraduate Computer Science courses to remedy any deficiencies, in addition to their graduate program requirements. A sufficient background in Computer Science must include at least the following courses (or equivalents):

• CSCI 1301-1301L, Introduction to Computing and Programming (alternative option CSCI 7010, Computer Programming)
• CSCI 1302, Software Development
• CSCI 1730, Systems Programming
• CSCI 2610, Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science
• CSCI 2670, Introduction to Theory of Computing
• CSCI 2720, Data Structures
• CSCI 4720, Computer Systems Architecture (4 hours)
• MATH 2200, Analytic Geometry and Calculus
• MATH 2250, Calculus I for Science and Engineering

Curriculum (This program requires a minimum of 30 credit hours.)

• The total number of credit hours required to complete Cybersecurity and Privacy (M.S.) is 30 hours for both the non-thesis and the proposed thesis option. Below is a table for the program of study for the non-thesis and the thesis options:
• To complete the program in Cybersecurity and Privacy (M.S.), students must complete 19-20 hours of mainstream cybersecurity courses in Computer Science, including CSCI 7200, Master’s Project. Students must also complete 10-12 hours of elective coursework related to Cybersecurity and Privacy, and CSCI 3030 or equivalent if they have not already taken a suitable ethics course. Overall, students must complete at least 12 hours of graduate-only coursework.

Advisory Committee

• Students in the Master of Science Cybersecurity and Privacy (Thesis)  program require an advisory committee.  The advisory committee will consist of one major professor and two additional members. At least two of the three members must be from the School of Computing. Students in the Master of Science Cybersecurity and Privacy NT ( Non-thesis) program may select their Major professor, and 2nd professor for the MS Project through the student Enrolled Student Progress Portal.  

Core Competency

• The required core courses are: CSCI: 6760,6730,6250,6260. 
• Students who take the 4 required core courses, must achieve a grade average of at least 3.15 (e.g., B+, B+, B, B) on the MS Cybersecurity and Privacy Core Competency Form.
• Core competency is certified by the unanimous approval of the student's Advisory Committee, Major professor, as well as the approval by the Graduate Coordinator. The student’s advisory committee manages the core competency in cooperation with the student. Students are required to meet the core competency requirement within their first three enrolled academic semesters (excluding summer semester). Core Competency Certification must be completed before approval of the Program of Study.

Master's Project and Report ( Nonthesis students)

• To satisfy this requirement, minimum 4 credit hours of CSCI 7200 (2-6 credit hours; repeatable up to 12 credit hours) Master’s Project must be taken, spread over the student’s two semesters. The CSCI 7200 course involves an applied research project under the direction of the student’s Major Professor/Project Advisor and 2nd Professor to guide the student through two semesters. The professors for the MS Project can be: two tenured track professors, or one tenure track professor and one lecturer, from School of Computing only. School of Computing courtesy faculty are acceptable.  As part of the requirements, a comprehensive report must be prepared detailing the student's procedures and findings regarding the completed project work. The completed final MS project comprehensive report and the final MS project form with signatures of both professors, with project grade will be both uploaded into eLearning Commons (eLC) by the second semester of the MS project.  The final project grade is S/U. 

Student Learning Outcomes

• Students in this program should be able to defend against common cybersecurity and privacy attacks by having knowledge of information security, including secure programming and known practices.
• Students will be able to use their enhanced and improved hands-on experiences and skills to address various security and privacy issues.
• Students should be able to make risk assessment to IT design decisions.

Graduation Requirements

• Before the end of the second semester in residence, a student must begin submitting forms to the Graduate School, through the Graduate Coordinator, including a Program of Study Form. The Major Professor/Project Advisor must come from the Computer Science Faculty (Professors/Lecturers). The Program of Study Form indicates how and when degree requirements will be met and must be formulated in consultation with the student's Major Professor/Project Advisor. An Application for Graduation Form must also be submitted directly to the Graduate School.

Forms and Timing must be submitted as follows:

• Core Competency Form (Departmental) - beginning of third semester 
• Program of Study Form (G138) - semester before the student’s last semester
• Application for Graduation Form ( in Athena) - beginning of last semester
• MS Project Form-end of final semester of CSCI 7200 3-4 credit completion (upload to elC)
• MS Project- end of final semester of CSCI 7200 3-4 credit completion (upload to elC)
• Graduate Advisory Committee-(Enrolled Student Progress Portal)- to assign your Major professor.