Program Requirements

Master of Science, Cybersecurity

Xiang Guo, Graduate Program Director
Glass Hall, Room 359, Phone: 417-836-4131
Email: Cybersecurity@MissouriState.edu
Website: ITC.MissouriState.edu

Program description

The Cybersecurity Master's Degree Program provides a 30-hour graduate-level experience in the field of Cybersecurity. The program provides hands-on labs and exercises to teach aspiring Cybersecurity professionals how to secure and defend Information Systems from malicious attackers and serve in senior management roles sometimes referred to as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) or Chief Security Officer (CSO).

Entrance requirements

  1. Admission to the MS, Cybersecurity program is competitive. Applications are reviewed and decisions are made on a rolling basis when application packets are complete. Candidates are encouraged to apply early, as seats often fill quickly.
  2. The Program Coordinator looks at a variety of criteria that measure a candidate's potential for being a successful student. The following characteristics are considered in making admission decisions:
    • Admissibility to the Graduate College.
    • Professional work experience.
    • Past academic performance as evidenced by official transcripts.
    • Official GMAT or GRE scores. The GMAT may be waived for candidates who satisfy ALL of the following requirements:
      1. Cumulative GPA of 3.25 or above.
      2. Prior admission to or graduation from a Missouri COB business unit major in the past five years OR graduation with a Bachelor's degree from an AACSB-accredited college or university.
      3. Completion of a minimum of 80 hours at the time of application.
      4. English proficiency requirements met.
    • To be considered for admission, students are required to submit the following. Additional documents may be required for international students:
      • Graduate Application
      • Official transcript
      • Official GMAT or GRE scores
      • Resume
    • Students who do not meet the admission requirements, but who show indication of high promise, will be considered for probationary admission.
    • All other University and Graduate College requirements for admission to a degree program will also apply. Qualified applicants may enter the program at the beginning of any semester. For information on GMAT or GRE, please contact Graduate Admissions (417-836-5331) or the Missouri State University Counseling and Testing Center (417-836-5116).

Accelerated Master's Degree option

Undergraduate majors in the College of Business may apply for admission to the Master of Cybersecurity program during the second semester of their junior year. If accepted, up to 6 hours of 600- or 700-level COB classes taken in the senior year may be counted toward both the undergraduate and graduate degrees. For example, upon admission into the Accelerated Master’s program a student could take ITC 683 and have that course count for credit for ITC 583; ITC 760 could be taken for credit as ITC 560 and/or ITC 664 could be counted as credit for ITC 564. But, again, only 6 hours (2 of these previously listed courses) can be counted toward both the undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Before enrolling in a course that will apply to both the undergraduate program and the master’s program, an undergraduate student must:

  • Be accepted into the accelerated program.
  • Receive prior approval from the graduate advisor, department head of the undergraduate program, and the Dean of the Graduate College. This is done by using a mixed credit form.

Acceptance into the program and all approvals must be completed prior to the end of the Change of Schedule Period for the course(s). See the Graduate College for further information.

Admission requirements

  • Completion of 80 or more hours at time of application
  • An overall GPA of 3.00 or better
  • A competitive score on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or meet the requirements for a GMAT waiver (see Admissions Requirements for MS in Cybersecurity Program).

Degree requirements (minimum 30 hrs)

Complete 8 courses from below (24 hours)
Course Code Course Title Credit Hours
ITC 663 Telecommunications and Network Security 3 hrs
ITC 664 Ethical Hacking and Incident Response 3 hrs
ITC 760 Foundations of Cybersecurity 3 hrs
ITC 762 Legal Issues in Cybersecurity 3 hrs
ITC 765 Computer Forensics 3 hrs
ITC 766 Web Application Security 3 hrs
ITC 767 Management of Information Security 3 hrs
ITC 770 Seminar in Cybersecurity 3 hrs
Complete 2 courses from below (6 hours)
Course Code Course Title Credit Hours
ITC 683 Cloud Computing 3 hrs
ITC 761 Management Information Systems 3 hrs
ITC 794 Internship: Information Technology & Cybersecurity* 3 hrs
ITC 797 Independent Study - Information Technology & Cybersecurity* 3 hrs

*Requires Permission of the Department Head

Up to 6 semester hours of graduate work can be transferred from another accredited graduate school and applied to the MS, Cybersecurity degree requirements. All transfer credit must be approved by the Program Director.

GPA Requirements

Attain a grade point average of at least 3.00 on all graduate work utilized in the degree program (includes Missouri State University and transfer courses).