Cybersecurity Emphasis
Most cyber attacks explore vulnerabilities. It is a common belief that if a system/software was developed with consideration of security risks at each phase of the design process, the system/software will be more robust with less vulnerabilities.
The objective of this emphasis is to educate students with correct computing ethics, prepare them with enough knowledge to understand the importance of cybersecurity, and effectively design robust software and/or computer systems. Graduates who received this emphasis will be excellent candidates for software/ IT security positions or graduate studies in the cybersecurity field.
[Learning Outcomes:] Graduates of this program are expected to be able to:
- Develop software in a variety of languages.
- Understand cyber policies and regulations, and demonstrate proper computing ethics.
- Understand basic cryptographic algorithms and their usages.
- Understand common vulnerabilities and attacks against computer networks and web applications, and their countermeasures.
- Use their written and oral communication skills to contribute to solutions, in individual and collaborative settings.
- Be familiar with network monitoring and web traffic capturing tools.
- Use their computer-science expertise to analyze real-world environments and problems, and to design and implement software-based solutions, in a wide range of application domains.
The Cybersecurity emphasis is validated by the National Security Agency (NSA) and recognized as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. This five-year designation is awarded by the National Security Agency based upon the university’s proven efforts to reduce threats to national infrastructure by promoting higher education and research in cyber defense and providing the nation with a pipeline of qualified cybersecurity professionals. All graduates of this program will receive an NSA endorsed/validated certificate. You can add this credential to your CV.
[Contact:] Dr. Jyh-haw Yeh for additional details at (208) 426-3034 or jhyeh@boisestate.edu
[Degree Program:] The following table lists the degree requirement for Cybersecurity Emphases in Computer Science.
Cybersecurity Emphasis in Computer Science Bachelor of Science
| Course Number and Title | Credits |
|---|---|
| University Foundations requirements indicated in bold. See page 48 for details and lists of approved courses. | 3 |
| UF 100 Foundations of Intellectual Life | 3 |
| UF 200 Foundations of Ethics and Diversity | 3 |
| FW ENGL 101 Writing and Rhetoric I | 3 |
| FW ENGL 102 Writing and Rhetoric II | 3 |
| FC Foundations of Oral Communication (COMM 101 Recommended) | 3 |
| FM MATH 170 Calculus I | 4 |
| FN CHEM 111, 111L General Chemistry I & Lab or FN PHYS 211, 211L Physics I with Calculus & Lab | 4-5 |
| FN Foundations of Natural, Physical, & Applied Sciences course in a second field from the following: BIOL 191 Biology I: Intro to Cell and Molecular Biology BIOL 227 Human Anatomy and Physiology I CHEM 111, 111L General Chemistry I & Lab GEOL 101 Physical Geology PHYS 211, 211L Physics I with Calculus & Lab | 4-5 |
| FA Foundations of Arts course | 3 |
| FH Foundations of Humanities course or FH STEM-ED 220 Perspectives on Science and Mathematics (Secondary Education Emphasis) | 3-4 |
| FS Foundations of Social Sciences course or FS STEM-ED 210 Knowing & Learning in Math & Science (Secondary Education Emphasis) | 3 |
| FS Foundations of Social Sciences course in a second field or FS ED-CIFS 201 Foundations of Education (Secondary Education Emphasis) | 3 |
| CS 121 Computer Science I | 4 |
| CS 221 Computer Science II | 3 |
| CS 230 Ethical Issues in Computing | 3 |
| CS 253 Introduction to Systems Programming | 3 |
| CS 321 Data Structures | 3 |
| CS 331 Computer Security & Information Assurance | 3 |
| CS 332 Ethical Hacking | 3 |
| CS 333 Networking Security and Defense | 3 |
| CS 354 Programming Languages | 3 |
| CS 361 Introduction to the Theory of Computation | 3 |
| CS 421 Algorithms | 3 |
| CS 453 Operating Systems | 3 |
| CS 471 Software Engineering | 3 |
| FF CS 481 Senior Design Project | 3 |
| CS 488 Senior Outcome Assessment | 0 |
| CS-HU 130 Foundational Values | 1 |
| CS-HU 153 Navigating Computer Systems | 1 |
| CS-HU 250 Introduction to Version Control | 1 |
| CS-HU 271 Agile Development | 1 |
| CS-HU 310 Introduction to Database System Usage | 1 |
| ECE 230, 230L Digital Systems and Lab | 4 |
| ECE 330, 330L Microprocessors and Lab | 4 |
| ENGL 202 Technical Communication | 3 |
| MATH 175 Calculus II: Concepts and Applications | 4 |
| MATH 189 Discrete Mathematics | 4 |
| MATH 360 Engineering Statistics or MATH 361 Probability and Statistics I | 3 |
| One (1) mathematics course chosen from the following: MATH 275 Multivariate and Vector Calculus MATH 301 Introduction to Linear Algebra (Required for the Machine Learning Emphasis) MATH 307 Foundations of Cryptology MATH 308 Introduction to Algebraic Cryptology MATH 333 Differential Equations with Matrix Theory MATH 370 Functions and Modeling MATH 387 Introduction to Combinatorics | 3-4 |
| Additional CS, CS-HU courses chosen from: CS 401 Introduction to Web Development CS 402 Mobile Application Development CS 410 Databases CS 424 Cyber Security of Critical Infrastructures CS 425 Computer Networks CS 455 Distributed Systems CS 474 Software Quality CS 475 Software Security CS-HU 274 Software Testing CS-HU 375 Secure Programming CS-HU 398 Current Topics in Computer Science | 9 |
| Electives to total 120 credits | 0-2 |
| Total | 120 |