Our Department of Cyber Security Engineering — the first of its kind in the country—prepares students to fight sophisticated cybercrime, and as a result, demand for our graduates is high. There’s an urgent need around the world for a workforce with advanced technical skills in everything related to security and communications.
Become a Cyber Defender
The cyber threat is real, and it’s not going away. One of the ways to stay on the cutting edge is to think differently about cybersecurity. That’s what we are doing in the Department of Cyber Security Engineering.
Students with our bachelor's degree in cyber security engineering learn how to safeguard existing systems and build resilient new ones. We take a systems approach to cybersecurity and teach students the fundamentals of cyber from the ground up. Students study ways to develop adaptive defenses against attackers. The degree provides a solid foundation in cyber security engineering.
Undergraduates have the option of earning an accelerated master's degree in one of these specialties: computer engineering; digital forensics; operations research; or systems engineering.
Our master’s degree in cyber security engineering prepares graduates to design and implement secure complex and cyber-physical systems consisting of software, hardware, and networking components; respond to incidents involving these systems, and develop offensive and defensive tools and techniques to attack and secure these systems.
Our classes are taught by world-class professors with expertise in data security, digital forensics, cryptography, computer security, privacy, distributed systems, and adaptive cyber defense.
Because Mason proactively pursues research within government and industry organizations that depend on strong and reliable information security, our students are recruited long before graduation.
Most seniors have a clear picture of where they'll be because they've already landed a job.
In fact, there is a national shortfall of personnel who are trained to handle the increasing number of cybersecurity issues and intrusions.
One group estimates that the global cybersecurity workforce shortage has been projected to reach upwards of 1.8 million unfilled positions by 2022. Other reports put that number above 3 million.
Unlimited Career Options
As the world’s need for cyber defenders increases, our graduates have the option of working with:
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Federal, state, county, and city governments.
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Defense contractors.
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Healthcare
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Financial services
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Public utilities.
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Other industries including energy, information technology, and manufacturing.
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Academic institutions.
“We are training and preparing a 21st-century workforce that will impact the world’s population. There is a national shortfall of personnel who are trained to handle the increasing number of cybersecurity issues and intrusions. Graduates from the department have broad expertise across all areas of cybersecurity in engineered systems and are able to design systems proactively that are resilient to cyberattacks.”
Information for Prospective Students
Undergraduate Admissions Policies
Graduate Admissions Policies