Master of Science in Cyber Security

Master’s in Cyber Security at St. Mary’s

Cyber threats are a constant concern in today’s digital world, and organizations are faced with constantly staying a step ahead of cybercriminals to prevent attacks. 

In response, the Department of Computer Science at St. Mary’s University offers a master’s program that provides students with knowledge, skills and best practices on how to monitor, secure and safeguard organizations’ digital assets. Students get hands-on experience with protecting networks, computers, programs and institutional data from attack, damage or unauthorized access.

• Nationally Designated Cyber Program

  St. Mary’s University, through the Master of Science in Cyber Security program, has been designated by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD).

  

• Degree Plans

  Students in the master’s in Cyber Security can choose between a thesis or project option. The project option consists of 30 credit hours of course work and 3 credit hours of a capstone project. The thesis option consists of 27 credit hours of course work and 6 credit hours of thesis work.

  Master of Science in Cyber Security

  St. Mary’s also offers a 12-hour graduate certificate that can be used toward completion of a Master of Science in Cyber Security:

  Graduate Certificate in Cyber Security

  Students can also pursue a combined 5-year program:

  Combined Bachelor’s (various majors) and Master of Science in Cyber Security

• Courses

  Highlighted courses include:

  Cloud Computing Security
  Cyber Security Risk Management
  Cryptography
  Digital Forensics and Cyber Crime
  Network Security
  Software Security 
  course catalog

• Combined Degree Program

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  Students can pursue a combined five-year program to pursue a bachelor’s degree and Master of Science in Cyber Security. Combined degree programs allow undergraduate students to begin graduate studies in their junior year and pay the undergraduate tuition rate, a substantial savings. They also shorten the time it takes to earn two degrees.

  combined degree programs

What can I do with a master’s in Cyber Security?

Cyber Security graduates provide their expertise in the public and private sectors, benefiting the needs of large and small businesses, the U.S. government and military, contractors and research organizations. In San Antonio alone, the cyber security field is rapidly growing.

Employers include: 

16th Air Force (Air Force Cyber)
Amazon
Booz Allen Hamilton
Digital Defense
FutureX
General Dynamics
Google
IBM
IPSecure
Microsoft
NSA/CSS Texas
Rackspace
Raytheon
Root9B
Southwest Research Institute
USAA
U.S. Air Force Cryptologic and Cyber Systems Division

Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission to the Master of Science in Cyber Security program, applicants must:

Have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering or a related discipline.
Have a minimum GPA of 3.0 for their bachelor’s degree.
Submit a completed application, a written statement of purpose, two letters of recommendation and official college transcripts.

International students must submit the TOEFL with a minimum of 80 or the IELTS test and show a minimum score of 6.0 or 115 on Duolingo.

The GRE is not required for admission to this program.

To discuss specific admission procedures and requirements for the Cyber Security program, contact the Office of Graduate Admission at 210-436-3126 or graduate@stmarytx.edu.