Cybersecurity
at WVU Tech

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Cybersecurity Area of Emphasis and Minor

Cybersecurity Area of Emphasis

WVU Tech's Cybersecurity Area of Emphasis (AOE) is a track designed for Computer Science majors.

For students in other majors, we offer a minor in cybersecurity.

Check out our faculty members sharing insights about the cybersecurity field in these YouTube videos.

How do I get a job in the cybersecurity field?

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Cybersecurity professionals work on the frontlines of our connected world.

The bachelor's degree in computer science with the cybersecurity area of emphasis will give you a powerful, marketable set of skills. You'll learn all the technical aspects you would find in cybersecurity degree programs, but still have a computer science degree that opens even more doors.

If you are not a computer science major, adding the cybersecurity minor to your degree program can prepare you for an exciting second career.

You'll also learn alongside experts in the cybersecurity industry. Our professors are published authors of cybersecurity research and experienced professionals in the field.

You'll learn cybersecurity fundamentals, how to guard against cyber attacks and the principles of data and network security (see a sample of our courses).

And once you're done, you'll have the toolkit you need to land an exciting job in the cybersecurity industry.

Career Outlook

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, cybersecurity jobs are expected to grow by 31% through 2029. That's more than 40,000 new openings in the next few years; not to mention the 400,000 current openings in the industry.

By earning a computer science degree with an emphasis in cybersecurity - or an undergraduate degree of your choice with a cybersecurity minor - you're setting yourself up to take on meaningful, rewarding and high-paying work in this growing field. In addition to tens of thousands of new positions, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median pay for these positions at more than $100,000 per year. (We also have a dedicated Career Services department to help you land those jobs.)

Jobs

Information security analyst
Cybersecurity consultant
Application security administrator
Data security analyst
Network security administrator
Vulnerability analyst/penetration tester
IT security architect

For computer science majors, the above are in addition to regular computer science careers.

Cybersecurity Minor

This minor is only available to students who are not majoring in computer science at WVU Tech.

The cybersecurity minor offers the same technical courses as the area of emphasis, preparing students to supplement their current major with a powerful cybersecurity background.

You'll take computer science fundamentals, foundations of cybersecurity, computer organization, networking and cryptography courses. In just 23 credit hours, you'll have everything you need to add cybersecurity to your skillset.

It's a great addition to any major, but particularly well-suited for students studying information systems, computer engineering and mathematics.

Things You'll learn

All the technical skills you'll need to take on a career in cybersecurity.

Secure Software Development

Learn about the role of security in the software development lifecycle, how to design secure software and industry best practices for keeping your software safe.

Attacks and Countermeasures

You'll explore the day's trends in cybersecurity. You'll conduct hands-on experiments in the practice of cyber defense. You'll even learn about ethical hacking.

Host Based Cyber Defense

Today's connected world is vulnerable to all manner of cyber attacks. So we'll teach you how to defend hosts, clients, devices, servers and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Explore more cybersecurity course options in the catalog.