Graduation ceremony photo with woman with short hair in cap and robe walking with Champ the Bobcat mascot wearing a cap and gown, walking through cheerleaders wearing blue and gold and the Montana State logo in the background

Montana State University's Gianforte School of Computing offers an MS in Cybersecurity. The MS in Cybersecurity requires a minimum of 30 post-baccalaureate credits and is designed for students who have earned a baccalaureate degree in Computer Science (CS) or a related program. Students may pursue the Master's degree under a thesis option or a courses-only option.

The MS in Cybersecurity is aligned with the requirements necessary to pursue the National Security Agency (NSA) Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE) Cyber Defense Education (CDE) certification. Two tracks (CDE-Masters) are currently being offered which will be validated as Technical Program of Studies (PoS) by CAE.

Thesis Master's candidates must present and defend their thesis in a public departmental seminar. The number of credits listed at the 500 level or higher (including thesis credits) on the program of study must total at least 21.

MS in Cybersecurity Program Requirements - Thesis Track - 30 credits

Students on the thesis track must complete a Program of Study of at least 30 credits which includes at least 21 credits of coursework and 9-10 credits of thesis. The Program of Study is to be filled out during a student's first semester of graduate school in consultation with his or her advisor.

Note: To enter the program, a student will need to have earned a computer science or closely related bachelor's degree and have the equivalent knowledge of MSU's CSCI 112 (Programming in C) and CSCI 460 (Operating Systems) courses.

Required Courses (that MSU currently offers)

  • ESOF 422, Advanced Software Engineering, Secure Software Practices, 3 credits
  • CSCI 532, Algorithms, 3 credits
  • CSCI 538, Computability, 3 credits
  • CSCI 476, Computer Security, 3 credits
  • CSCI 466, Computer Networks, 3 credits
  • 6 credits of elective courses at the discretion of the student in collaboration with an advisor. Recommended courses listed below:
    • CSCI 591, Automated Vulnerability Discovery, 3 credits (offered Fall semester, every other year)
    • CSCI 591, Data Storytelling, 3 credits (offered Spring semester, every other year)
    • CSCI 591, Malicious Code Analysis, 3 credits (offered Fall semester, every other year)
    • CSCI 545, Advanced Human Computer Interaction, 3 credits
    • CSCI 546, Advanced Artificial Intelligence, 3 credits
    • CSCI 547, Machine Learning, 3 credits (offered Fall semester, every other year)
  • CSCI 590, Thesis, 9-10 credits.  The Thesis must be aligned with a cybersecurity topic and the student must make an academic contribution that advances the body of knowledge in the domain. 

MS in Cybersecurity Program Requirements - Courses-Only Track - 30 credits

Students on the courses-only track must complete a Program of Study of at least 30 credits. The Program of Study is to be filled out during a student's first semester of graduate school in consultation with his or her advisor.

Note: To enter the program, a student will need to have earned a computer engineering, electrical engineering or closely related bachelor's degree and have the equivalent knowledge of MSU's CSCI 112 (Programming in C) and CSCI 460 (Operating Systems) courses.

Required Courses (that MSU currently offers)

  • ESOF 422, Advanced Software Engineering, Secure Software Practices, 3 credits
  • CSCI 532, Algorithms, 3 credits
  • CSCI 538, Computability, 3 credits
  • CSCI 476, Computer Security, 3 credits
  • CSCI 466, Computer Networks, 3 credits
  • 15 credits of elective courses at the discretion of the student in collaboration with an advisor. Recommended courses listed below:
    • CSCI 591, Automated Vulnerability Discovery, 3 credits (offered Fall semester, every other year)
    • CSCI 591, Data Storytelling, 3 credits (offered Spring semester, every other year)
    • CSCI 591, Malicious Code Analysis, 3 credits (offered Fall semester, every other year)
    • CSCI 545, Advanced Human Computer Interaction, 3 credits
    • CSCI 546, Advanced Artificial Intelligence, 3 credits
    • CSCI 547, Machine Learning, 3 credits (offered Fall semester, every other year)

 

Students who are not able to meet the requirements for the Masters in Cybersecurity will have the option to change to a Masters in Computer Science.