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BOLIVAR, Mo. — Southwest Baptist University will offer a bachelor of science in cybersecurity beginning Fall 2017.
“This degree program is a perfect fit for a student who is interested in being on the digital front-lines in the ongoing cyber battle between forces of good (innocent individuals, small business, corporations, government) and forces of evil and anarchy (digital thieves, corporate saboteurs, terrorists and even nation-states),” said Dr. Tim Declue, professor and chair of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences.
Cybersecurity specialists are in extremely high demand. According to Forbes, more than 200,000 cybersecurity jobs went unfilled in 2016. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the demand for cybersecurity professionals is expected to grow by 18 percent by 2024, much faster than average, the median salary is above $90,000 and the typical training is a bachelor’s degree.
“We continue to develop new degree programs that will prepare students for jobs that are in high demand,” said Dr. Lee Skinkle, SBU provost. “With the frequency of news stories about data breeches on a global scale, there is no doubt that SBU graduates with a degree in cybersecurity will be in high demand in the Ozarks and around the world. This cutting-edge degree will prepare students to be servant leaders as they work to protect sensitive data from illegal and unethical activity.”
While most cybersecurity degrees approach data security from an information technology approach, SBU’s program approaches data security from a software-engineering perspective.
“The students who leave our program will know how to build out protection at the lowest level with secure code. That’s much better than just working from the outside trying to build digital walls,” DeClue said. “Our cybersecurity graduates will be secure software engineers.”
The degree program has been developed with advisement by individuals who work in data security.
“There is a real need for software engineers that understand secure coding and can produce secure applications,” said Mark Garton, director of information security and compliance for O’Reilly Auto Parts, who provided advisement for program development. “This program addresses that need but also provides the foundation for a career in information security. If you want to pursue a career in the information security field, this program should be at the top of your list for consideration.”
The new program is part of the Computer and Information Sciences Department. Students will benefit from the expertise of CIS faculty members Dr. Jim Cain, who is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and is a published researcher in the secure coding area, and Meilani Conley, who worked for Booz-Hamilton as a security specialist and held a classified federal security clearance.
Cybersecurity is one of five degree programs offered by SBU CIS. The others are computer science, computer information science, web systems and design and computer science education. SBU CIS students have earned more than 20 national awards in the last four years. All SBU CIS graduates have secured jobs within 90 days of graduation 13 of the past 16 years with an average placement rate above 98 percent since 2000.
For more information about SBU CIS, please contact DeClue at (417) 328-1704 or tdeclue@SBUniv.edu or go online at www.SBUniv.edu.
