Master of Science in Cybersecurity

The mission of the CYBM program is to provide students with in-depth knowledge as well as practical skills in both policy and analysis of computer and network security, privacy, computer forensics, and the investigation, prosecution, and punishment of cybercrime. The CYBM program:

1. Offers a multidisciplinary curriculum that combines the areas of computer science, computer information systems, cyber laws, and policies, with an understanding of cyber-crimes and criminals;

2. Enables students with either a technical or non-technical undergraduate field of study to obtain a graduate degree in cybersecurity;

3. Prepares students to enter management or technical positions at all levels in the field of cybersecurity, and

4. Provides students with leadership skills and an ability to work well in a team-based work environment.

The United States is facing an increasing vulnerability of a wide range of risks stemming from cyber-attacks, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Such attacks have caused the loss and corruption of valuable digital information in cyberspace, may it be in transit or stored. DHS further points out that “of growing concern is the cyber threat to critical infrastructure, which is increasingly subject to sophisticated cyber intrusions that pose new risks.

Every year in the U.S., 40,000 jobs for information security analysts go unfilled, and employers are struggling to fill 200,000 other cyber-security related roles.Market analysis from cyberseek.org shows that Colorado has over 10,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs. Training a capable workforce of cybersecurity professionals is critical to the safety of our nation’s infrastructure and national security.

Cyber operations involve a complex interplay between technology and human behavior. To meet the sociotechnical needs from industry, MSU Denver has taken a unique approach by combining the Departments of Criminal Justice & Criminology, Computer Information Systems, and Computer Sciences to jointly create a multidisciplinary Master of Science in Cybersecurity degree program.

The graduate program combines advanced computer/information system knowledge of combating cybercrime, analytical skills to analyze and manage cyber threats and security, the understanding of human factors in cyber operations, as well as the adaptation of laws to create policies to investigate, prosecute, and punish cybercriminals.