Cybersecurity
Download as PDF
Program Requirements
The Bachelor of Science with a major in Cybersecurity degree provides students the opportunity to gain cutting-edge Cybersecurity knowledge and skills with a solid theoretical foundation as well as a good understanding of the social, ethical, legal, and policy aspects of Cybersecurity. This bachelor program prepares students for a productive career in industry, lifelong learning, and for graduate study in Cybersecurity. The new degree is strategically designed to build on the strengths of existing computing programs on campus and produce well-rounded students with a balance between strong theoretical foundations as well as practical and hands-on technical skills. The program also includes a strong professional component for the development of skills in technical communication, ethics, and teamwork.
Program Educational Objectives
In the course of their careers, graduates of the BS in Cybersecurity program will:
Work productively in the creation, maintenance, administration, and improvement of secure computing systems and associated infrastructure.
Remain current in their profession through lifelong learning, including graduate school.
Exhibit leadership and exercise their profession with the highest level of ethics, and social responsibility.
Requirements for the major in Cybersecurity, B.S.
To earn the Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Cybersecurity students must complete a minimum of 128 credits and meet the following requirements:
General Education Requirements
In order to graduate on-schedule without taking additional courses, it is highly recommended that students meet with an Undergraduate Academic Adviser concerning the selection of all of their General Education courses.
Each candidate for an Oakland University baccalaureate will need to satisfactorily complete approved courses in each of the following areas: Foundations, Explorations, Integration, Writing Intensive, and US Diversity. For details, refer to the General Education Requirements section of the catalog. In order to satisfy both General Education and other program requirements, in some of the General Education areas students should select from the courses listed below.
Foundations
Explorations: 1 course from each of the 7 Explorations areas
Arts
Language and Culture
Global Perspective
Literature
Natural Science and Technology (Satisfied by an Approved Science Elective)
Social Science
Western Civilization (Satisfied by course; see Additional Major Requirements)
Integration
Knowledge Applications (Satisfied by course; see Quantitative Foundations)
U.S. Diversity
May be met by an approved course in the Explorations area
Writing Intensive and Capstone
Capstone (Satisfied by course; see Required Professional Subjects)
Writing Intensive in the Major (Satisfied by course; see Required Professional Subjects)
Writing Intensive in General Education (may be met by an approved course in the Explorations area)
Additional Major Requirements
All students must complete the following requirement.
Professional Ethics: course Introduction to Ethics in Science and Engineering
Quantitative Foundations
course Calculus I (4)
course Calculus II (4)
course Discrete Structures with Applications (4)
or course Discrete Mathematics (4)
course Applied Probability and Statistics (4)
Approved Science Elective
Take one of the following:
course Biology I (4)
course Biology II (4)
course Biology and Society (4)
course General Chemistry I (4) and course General Chemistry Laboratory I (1)
course Chemistry, Society Health (4)
course Introduction to Environmental Studies (4)
course Introduction to Health and Health Behaviors (3)
course Language and the Brain (4)
course Earth Science/Physical Geography (4)
course The Physics of Everyday Life (4)
course Introductory Physics I (4) and course General Physics Lab I (1)
Cybersecurity Core
course Introduction to C Programming and Unix (4)
course Object-Oriented Computing (4)
course Computer Systems (4)
course Fundamentals of Cybersecurity (4)
course Introduction to Computer Networks (4)
Required Professional Subjects
course Software Engineering and Practice (4)
course Database Design and Implementation (4)
course Security and Privacy in Computing (4)
course System Administration (4)
course Cloud Computing (4)
course Information Security (4)
course Information Security Practices (4)
course Network Security (4)
course Software Security (4)
course Cyber Laws and Digital Forensics (4)
course Senior Capstone Project (4)
Professional Electives
Students must complete three courses as part of the professional electives requirements. Courses can be selected from within one area if the student has a particular academic interest or any combination of courses listed under different areas.
Secure System Integration Area
course Script Programming (4)
course Android Application Development (4)
course IT Project Management (4)
course Enterprise System Administration (4)
Software Security Area
course Software Verification and Testing (4)
course Mobile Security (4)
course Reverse Engineering and Malware Analysis (4)
AI in Cybersecurity Area
course Artificial Intelligence (4) *
course AI for Cybersecurity and Privacy (4)
course Multimedia Forensics (4)
* Students interested in taking course should select course as a flexible elective.
Cyber Physical System Security Area
course Industrial Control Security (4)
course Automotive Security (4)
course Fundamentals of Embedded System Design (4)
course Embedded Security (4)
Note
course Special Topics, course Undergraduate Research, and course Independent Study may also count toward fulfilling the Professional Electives requirement, provided each course is at least 3 credits. Students following this catalog may apply any future courses introduced within the Professional Electives to meet the Professional Electives requirement.
Flexible Electives
Students must complete a minimum of 4 additional credits in Flexible Electives. Flexible Elective courses can be chosen from 3000-level or higher courses in CSI, BE, ECE, ISE, ME, APM, MOR, MTH, STA, BIO, CHM, or PHY, or from the approved courses listed below. No more than 2 credits of course Internship can be used to fulfill the Flexible Electives requirement. Additionally, courses at the 5000-level require approval from the instructor.
Approved flexible electives courses*:
course Data Structures (4)
course Immersive Python (2)
course Ruby for Web Developers (2)
course Programming in Visual C# for .NET Technology (2)
course Programming in C (2)
course Computational Linear Algebra (4)
course Introduction to Data Science in Python (4)
course Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering (4)
course Introduction to Differential Equations with Matrix Algebra (4)
course Linear Algebra (4)
*Students can receive credit for either course or course, but not both. Similarly, credit can be received for either course or course, but not both.
Major Standing
To enroll in 3000- or higher level courses and to become candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science with a major in Cybersecurity, students must gain major standing. An application for major standing should be submitted prior to intended enrollment in 3000- or higher level courses. Students can obtain the major standing form from the SECS Undergraduate Advising Website. When the application for major standing is approved, students with majors of Pre-Cybersecurity will have their major changed to Cybersecurity. Approval of both a major standing application and change of major to Cybersecurity is required prior to enrolling in any 3000- or higher-level courses.
To gain major standing in Cybersecurity, students must:
• have a minimum average GPA of 2.0 in major standing courses which consist of course, course, course or course, course, course, course, course, and course;
• have no more than 2 grades with C-, D+, or D in the major standing courses;
• have not attempted any major standing course more than 3 times; and
• have not repeated more than 3 different major standing courses, with courses bearing a W (withdrawal) grade not being counted.
Conditional major standing, which permits students to register for 3000- or 4000-level SECS courses, will be granted in the semester during which the student will fulfill requirements for major standing courses.
Performance Requirements
Satisfactory completion of the program requires an average grade of at least 2.0 within each group: quantitative foundations and approved science elective; cybersecurity core; and professional courses (including required professional subjects, professional electives, and flexible electives). Within the professional courses at most two different courses may be repeated, a total of three attempts per course is permitted, and at most two grades below C are permitted. A grade of C or better in course Senior Capstone Project must be received.
Sample Cybersecurity Schedule
Students entering the School of Engineering and Computer Science with the required background may follow a schedule such as the one indicated below. However, students will need additional time to complete the program if they do not have the required background upon entrance to the program.
Freshman year
Fall semester – 16 credits
course Calculus I (4)
course Introduction to C Programming and Unix (4)
General education (4)
General education (4)
Winter semester – 16 credits
course Calculus II (4)
course Object-Oriented Computing (4)
General education (4)
General education (4)
Sophomore year
Fall semester – 16 credits
• course Discrete Structures with Applications (4) or course Discrete Mathematics (4)
• course Computer Systems (4)
• course Fundamentals of Cybersecurity (4)
• General education (4)
Winter semester – 16 credits
course Introduction to Computer Networks (4)
course Applied Probability and Statistics (4)
Approved science elective (4)
General education (4)
Junior year
Fall semester – 16 credits
course Software Engineering and Practice (4)
course Database Design and Implementation (4)
course System Administration (4)
General education (4)
Winter semester – 16 credits
course Cloud Computing (4)
course Information Security (4)
course Network Security (4)
Professional elective (4)
Senior year
Fall semester – 16 credits
course Security and Privacy in Computing (4)
course Information Security Practices (4)
course Software Security (4)
Professional elective (4)
Winter semester – 16 credits
course Cyber Laws and Digital Forensics (4)
course Senior Capstone Project (4)
Flexible elective (4)
Professional elective (4)
Applicable Minors
All Minors are applicable to this major with the exception of the following Minor(s): Child Welfare, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, and Information Technology.