Master of Science in Information Assurance and Security

This is an archived copy of the 2018-2019 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit catalog.shsu.edu.

Graduate study in Information Assurance and Security is accessible both to students who have completed undergraduate Computer Science or Management Information Science majors or minors and to those with baccalaureate degrees in technical fields with the equivalent of a Computer Science or Management Information Science 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 to ensure a minimum standard of technical competence. Stem work decisions are made on an individual basis by the department chair.

Applicants seeking admission to the graduate program in Information Assurance and Security must submit the following directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

  1. Graduate Application
  2. Application fee
  3. Official transcript from the baccalaureate degree granting institution
  4. Up-to-date Resume
  5. Official GRE scores
  6. Two letters of recommendation that address the applicant's qualification for graduate study

Admission preference is given to applicants with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. 

GRE Waiver Requests:

In order obtain a waiver of the GRE score requirements, applicants must have either

  1. an awarded M.S. degree from an accredited institution of higher education, or
  2. 5+ years of full-time relevant work experience beyond the baccalaureate degree.

The Master of Science in Information Assurance and Security program has a total of 36 semester credit hours. Students will be required to complete a written comprehensive examination in core subjects where they received a grade of B or lower, before graduation. Students also may 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 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.

Master of Science in Information Assurance and Security
Specified Courses
COSC 5325Operating System Security3
COSC 5335Database Security3
DFSC 5310Princple& Policy-Info Assuranc3
DFSC 5325Organization System Security3
DFSC 5336Business Continuity Management3
DFSC 6347Directed Mgt & Development Prj3
Electives
Select six approved graduate courses in Information Assurance and Security 118
Total Hours36