University of Detroit Mercy’s Cybersecurity program, housed in the College of Liberal Arts & Education, was one of the earliest National Security Agency Centers of Academic Excellence; today it is growing quickly.
The master’s program has gone from seven students 18 months ago to 50 students today. The program’s designations from the National Security Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education, continue to draw top students from around the country.
“We are both a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education and also a Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education,” said Daniel Shoemaker, director of the Master of Science in Information Assurance program. “Our academic program is mapped to both the Committee on National Security Systems standards and the NSA Common Body of Knowledge for Cyber Defense. There are five Centers of Academic Excellence in Michigan, but we are one of only two that have both designations.”
The cybersecurity programs focus on cyber operations, software and system assurance, supply chain risk management, secure governance and controls and regulatory compliance.
“University of Detroit Mercy has more than a decade of expertise behind each class and drives students to be the best in the field. The new recognition positions Detroit Mercy and the students to excel in a competitive and growing field,” Shoemaker said.
The field is growing so rapidly that Shoemaker says it’s in a state of negative employment, with nearly two jobs available for every qualified applicant.
“Two years ago, the Department of Homeland Security attempted to fill 700,000 positions and could only fill half. There will be a very high demand for people specifically educated in cybersecurity as far out as credible forecasts can look,” he said.
To respond, Detroit Mercy combined the resources in the Computer and Information Systems program and the Criminal Justice department to create the Center for Cybersecurity and Intelligence Studies. Graduates have gone on to work for federal security agencies, Fortune 500 companies and nonprofit organizations.
Detroit Mercy offers a Bachelor of Arts in Computer and Information Systems with a major in cybersecurity, Master of Science in Information Assurance with a major in cybersecurity, and a five-year Bachelor of Science in Computer and Information Systems and a Master of Science in Information Assurance, both with a cybersecurity major. The Master’s in Information Assurance is a completely online program, bringing in students from around the country in a one-year graduate program.
Students in the program also have access to the Center for Cybersecurity and Intelligence Studies’ state-of-the-art lab. The equipment gives students exposure to digital forensics workstations, data acquisition devices, threat analysis software, wireless antenna, advanced encryption software and malware debugging software.
Shoemaker says the coursework is mostly comprised of information that complies with the government regulations for cybersecurity students.
“We teach them things that experts in the area feel the students need in order to come into the field and be successful,” says Shoemaker. However, the field is constantly changing and Shoemaker and his colleagues adapt the program to the ever-changing needs and government regulations. “Information that was true in 2005 is not true in 2016. If you don’t move with the leading edge, you really don’t belong educating students in the field.”
