Information Assurance and Cybersecurity
PROJECT REQUIREMENT Each graduate student is expected to conduct a directed research / development project or thesis for completion of the degree; (see Plans A and B below). To propose an independent project, the student requests a specific CySec faculty member as the project advisor to chair his/her review committee in agreement with the CySec faculty member. Decisions about the topic, project advisor and the committee members are shared between the student and the review committee chair. The committee members participate in reviewing quality and content for the directed research project/thesis and its written component. These project proposals and formulation of graduate project/thesis committees must be completed prior to registration for any Directed Project or Directed Research credits. Proposal sessions are scheduled during the last weeks of each semester. Various communication channels are utilized to disseminate the procedure and deadline on signing up for proposal sessions. Students, who wish to register for GCYSEC 698/GCYSEC 699 credits for the coming semester, must follow the communicated procedure and deadline to be scheduled in one of the proposal sessions. The directed research project/thesis advisor directs the student’s work and determines when to recommend the manuscript for review by a faculty committee. The review committee is appointed by the usual academic approval sequence and consists of at least two full- time Gannon CIS faculty members familiar with the subject material and one optional member from outside the CIS department. The outside member can be from industry. The committee is responsible for supporting the student in their work and assessing the quality of the project. After final corrections are made in the project and/or supporting documentation, the student will give an oral defense of their work before the committee. The CIS faculty member who chairs the review committee becomes the student’s academic advisor. Plan A (Directed Research): GCYSEC 699 The student is required to complete a 3-credit independent/team IAC research project and to pass a final oral examination covering the student’s project area and related subject areas. The content of the independent/ team research should be in-depth scholarship culminating in a publishable-quality manuscript. The content should represent a researched and creative expression of the student’s advanced capability as a result of the graduate program. The directed research must be proposed and approved prior to the commencement of the independent/team project work. Proposals must be approved prior to registering for research credits. Per department guidelines, directed research students register for GCYSEC 699 Directed Research when completing the research effort and after having received agreement from a faculty member to be the chair of the student’s research effort.
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Plan B (Directed Project): GCYSEC 698 The student is required to complete a 3-credit independent/team IAC project and to pass a final oral examination covering the student’s project area and related subject areas. The content of the independent/ team project can be either (1) study and development of a prototype-level application culminating in a publishablequality technical report. The content should represent a researched and creative expression of the student’s advanced capability as a result of the graduate program. The directed development project must be proposed and approved prior to the commencement of the independent/team project work. Proposals must be approved prior to registering for project credits. Per department guidelines, directed project students register for GCYSEC 698 Directed Project when completing the development effort and after having received agreement from a faculty member to be the chair of the student’s development effort. While enrolled in GCYSEC 698 and GCYSEC 699 Directed Research, the student is required to satisfy other departmentstipulated activities such as attendance at research seminars, participation in research presentations, and writing- or researchimprovement seminars.
THE CURRICULUM PLAN The MS-CYSEC is a professional degree program. Students may begin studies with a wide variety of academic and work backgrounds. Courses are presented in three general categories: • Cyber Essentials Courses: 12 credits of required coursework. • I nformation Assurance Courses: 12 credits of required coursework. • Cyber Electives: 3 credits required of upper-division coursework. The student must complete 30 credits of graduate course work. Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 for the duration of their master’s degree program. A total of ten graduate level courses (500-level or higher), exclusive of foundations-series courses are required. Students seeking placement for required coursework may be granted placement for certification, significant work experience on review of the program director.
COURSE OF STUDY Information Assurance and Cybersecurity is a dynamic and fastgrowing field at the interface of hardware and software. The emergence of massive cyber-attacks on every area and size business. The MS-ISA program prepares students to understand major practice areas in Information Assurance and Cybersecurity. The program’s comprehensive curriculum will provide you with a solid scientific and technical foundation for pursuing either doctoral work or advanced positions in business, industry and government.
