Master of Science in Digital Forensics

Program Description

The Master of Science in Digital Forensics is a thirty-six hour program that prepares students for service in a variety of public and commercial arenas such as digital forensics or network security professionals. In particular, graduates from the Digital Forensics program will be able to effectively plan, establish, and administer security and information assurance systems in commercial settings and law enforcement. This program utilizes state-of-the-art facilities, like Sam Houston State University's Center of Excellence in Digital Forensics. The facility includes a Network Security Lab, accommodating training in data, network and cyber security intrusion detection, prevention and tracing, and a Data Recovery Lab that will provide training in the identification, recovery, and preservation of data for legal purposes.

Admissions

Applicants seeking admission to the M.S. in Digital Forensics must submit the following directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

1. Graduate Application
2. Application fee
3. Official transcript(s) of all previous college work
4. Official GRE scores
5. Two letters of recommendation that address the applicant's qualification for graduate study

This degree is accessible to students who have completed undergraduate Computer Science or Criminal Justice majors or minors and to those with baccalaureate degrees in technical fields with the equivalent of a Computer Science or Criminal Justice minor in formal coursework or professional experience. Applicants who do not possess the appropriate academic, technical, or experiential backgrounds may be required to take stem work courses. In addition, admission preference is given to applicants with a GPA of 3.0 or greater.

Degree Requirements

The degree requires a minimum of thirty-six hours of graduate credit. Students may be required to complete a written comprehensive examination in certain core subjects before graduation. Students may be also be required to supplement their written responses in an oral examination. Students must be enrolled the semester in which they take comprehensive examinations.

The department chair assigns a committee advisor to each student at the time the student registers for DFSC 6347. The advisory committee consists of graduate faculty from the Department of Computer Science. Once enrolled in DFSC 6347, a student must be continually enrolled in each major semester until graduation.

M.S. in Digital Forensics