Saint Louis University Announces New Graduate Degrees in Cybersecurity and Strategic Intelligence
The School for Professional Studies (SPS) at Saint Louis University will offer new graduate level degrees for those seeking careers in the fields of cybersecurity and stategic intelligence beginning with the Fall 2018 semester.
With daily stories in the news about political, corporate and personal account hacks and the resulting vulnerability of vital information, the demand for trained professionals to combat the problem continues to grow.
SLU’s Master of Science in Cybersecurity prepares students for both corporate and public cybersecurity-related positions and teaches them the skills necessary to deal with organized and sophisticated cyberattacks.
Brett Mitchell, M.A., M.S., director of SLU’s Cyber Security program, says cyber-attacks are now a daily issue and can affect anything connected to the internet with citing the quote “The internet of things is expanding rapidly, it is imperative for companies and nonprofits to protect themselves and their customers.”
“Every company and organization faces cyber threats that are becoming more complex each day,” Mitchell added. “Cybersecurity is no longer just an I.T. problem, and managing cyber threats requires a truly wholistic approach. SLU’s online Masters in Cybersecurity is designed to teach managers and users to not only how to respond to these threats, but also how to mitigate and recover from them. Our curriculum was designed with input from our various industry partners. We have built an applied program that teaches not only the skills, but the art of managing the right mix of cyber skills to achieve the best results.”
Joe Lyons, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of SLU’s Security and Strategic Intelligence programs, says the graduate program in strategic intelligence provides advanced learning for global security issues.
“In today’s interconnected world, government and industry face complex, multidisciplinary issues that challenge even the best managers and leaders,” Lyons said. “These strategic decisions form the intersection of intelligence and policy. Solving these challenges requires a focus on data and intelligence that is constantly evolving. Students in our new online Master’s program apply their education and skills to real world scenarios that require both a technical and operational implementation. Offering these programs online provides our students around the world the opportunity to network and work together to understand and solve these issues that cross national and international borders.”
A unique aspect of both programs is the ability to simultaneously earn a graduate certificate that compliments the Master’s degree. The certificates let students tailor their studies to specific aspects of technical or leadership issues outside of the major field of study, and are an additional academic credential. Certificates within the degree options include: Organizational Leadership, Applied Analytics, Organizational Development and Evidence Based Decision Making.