Master of Science in Cybersecurity
The Master of Science in Cybersecurity at ESU is intended to provide students with up-to-date knowledge and skills in cybersecurity and privacy. It gives hands-on experience in cyber threat prevention and detection tactics, as well as reacting to and recovering from cyber-attacks. Program graduates will be employable by corporations and governments with important information assets that need to be protected from increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks.
Upon completion of the Master of Science in Cybersecurity program, students will have learned to:
- Analyze and resolve security issues in networks and computer systems to secure an IT infrastructure;
- Design, develop, test, and evaluate secure software;
- Develop policies and procedures to manage enterprise security risks;
- Evaluate and communicate the human role in security systems with an emphasis on ethics, social engineering vulnerabilities, and training;
- Interpret and investigate security incidents forensically;
- Explain concepts and arguments associated with cybersecurity; and
- Evaluate an organization’s capability in protecting its information infrastructure.
The following courses’ contents will be delivered through a mix of online lectures, discussions, and real scenario cases. Additionally, some courses will include intensive practical trainings via virtual labs. The real-scenario case is a detailed presentation of real-world security challenges that outline a group of difficulties and the need for a plan of action. The case approach offers a practical foundation for the learning process, and its effectiveness depends on student preparedness and active participation in class discussions.
Each course’s prescribed textbooks and associated resources will be its major information and reference sources. Lecturers will prepare supplementary materials such as lecture notes and slides.
To graduate with a master’s degree in cybersecurity, students must complete a minimum of 31 credit hours.
If the student's previous major is different from information technology majors, a qualifying trimester of required three core courses is added to begin the program.
The program fees are $1200 per semester.
After completion of the program, the graduate becomes eligible to work in several jobs, including:
- Application Security Administrator
- Artificial Intelligence Security Specialist
- Chief Security Officer
- Cyber Operations Specialist
- Electronic Crime Investigator
Courses are in English, with explanations provided in Arabic.
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours | Prerequisite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | |||
| CYB670 | Cybersecurity Fundamentals | 3 | |
| CYB690 | Cybersecurity Laws and Policies | 3 | |
| CYB615 | Network Programming | 3 | |
| Term 2 | |||
| CYB770 | IT Forensics | 3 | CYB670 |
| CYB650 | Introduction to Cryptography | 3 | CYB670 |
| CYB630 | Network Security | 3 | CYB670 |
| MGM510 | Risk Management | 3 | |
| Term 3 | |||
| CYB610 | Secure Operating Systems | 3 | CYB670 |
| CYB740 | Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking | 3 | CYB670 |
| CYB700 | Practice Training | 1 | CYB650 - CYB630 |
| PMG101 | Foundations of Project Management | 3 |
A preparatory trimester is added if the applicant student has a bachelor’s degree in a specialization related to neither computer science and engineering nor information technology and systems. Therefore, the student’s acceptance into the program is conditional on studying and passing all the courses specified in the preparatory trimester to be able to register in the first trimester of the program. Note that if preparatory trimester is counted for the applicant, the student is informed in the acceptance notice.
