Georgia Tech Creates Cybersecurity Master’s Degree Online for Less Than $10k
Here&#x27;s the requirements for GATech&#x27;s standard Cybersecurity MS:<p><pre><code>    Core:
     
    CS 6035	Intro To Info Security	
    PUBP&#x2F;CS&#x2F;MGT 6725 Info Security Policies	
    CS&#x2F;ECE&#x2F;PUBP 6727 Cyber Sec Practicum	
    Elective (CS&#x2F;PUBP&#x2F;ECE 6000-level)	
     
    Tech Specialization:
    CS 6260 Applied Cryptography	
    CS 6238 Secure Computer Systems	
    CS 6262 Network Security	
    CS 6265 Information Security Lab	
    Any 2:
    CS 6210 Adv Operating Systems	
    CS 6250 Computer Networks	
    CS 6255 Network Management	
    CS 6300 Software Dev Process	
    CS 6310 Software Arch &amp; Design	
    CS 6340 Software Analysis &amp; Test	
    CS 6365 Intro Enterprise Comput.	
    CS 6390 Programming Languages	
    CS 6400 DB Sys Concepts&amp; Design	
    CS 6675 Advance Internet Comput	
    CS 7210 Distributed Computing	
    CS 7230 Software Dsgn,Impl&amp; Eval	
    CS 7260 Internet Arch&amp; Protocols	
    CS 7270 Networked Apps&amp;Services	
    CS 7292 Reliable Secure Comparch	
    CS 8803 Mobile Applications and Services
     
    Energy Systems Specialization:	
    ECE 8813 Smart Grids	
    ECE 8813 Introduction to Cyber-Physical Electric Energy Systems	
    ECE 8813 Introduction to Cyber-Physical Systems Security	
    ECE 8803 Computational Aspects of Cyber-Physical Systems	
    And any 2:
    ECE 6550 Linear Sys and Controls	
    ECE 6607 Computer Comm Networks	
    ECE 6615 Sensor Networks	
    ECE 6102 Dependable Distribut Sys	
    ECE 6320 Power Sys Ctrl&amp;Operation	
    ECE 6323 Power System Protection	
    ECE 8813 Advanced Computer Security
    ECE 8813 Network Forensics
     
    Policy Specialization:	
    Select 4 courses:	
    PUBP 6502 IT&#x2F;Comm&#x2F;Telecom Policy	
    MGT 6726 Privacy Tech Policy Law	
    PUBP 6111 Internet &amp; Public Policy	
    INTA 6014 Scenario and Path Gaming	
    INTA 8803 Data Analytics and Security
    PUBP 6501 Information Policy &amp; Mgt	
    INTA 8803 Challenge of Terrorism in Democratic Societies
    And any 2: 
    PUBP 6701 Energy Technol &amp; Policy	
    PUBP 6014 Organization Theory	
    PUBP 6401 Sci,Tech &amp; Public Policy	
    INTA 6103 International Security	
    INTA 6015 Technology&amp; Military Org
</code></pre>
I&#x27;m pretty meh about this. In particular: when we think about the &quot;cybersecurity talent shortage&quot; (I don&#x27;t believe that one exists, but whatever), we&#x27;re thinking about what this degree program considers &quot;technical specialization&quot; roles. I don&#x27;t look at that course list and think of a consistent cohort of people it produces that are especially ready to take on jobs in my field.<p>I&#x27;m also: why do they make Cybersecurity MS candidates take that pointless Applied Cryptography class? I read the lecture slides for it, and, like most university crypto classes, it&#x27;s &quot;just enough cryptography to make you dangerous, with just enough math notation to make you think you learned something really hard that you didn&#x27;t really learn&quot;.<p>The MS core classes are an intro to computer security that might be workable as a 100-level class in a serious CS program, a &quot;policies&quot; class that looks <i>just absolutely deadly</i> (1 week on &quot;HIPAA, GLBA, FISMA&quot;, then a week on the &quot;NIST cybersecurity framework&quot;, then a week on &quot;cybercrime and cyberwar&quot;), and a capstone independent study program.<p>My advice: get an internship and skip the MS. They&#x27;ll pay <i>you</i> to learn this stuff.