A New Master’s Degree for a New Kind of Professional

It is now a widely acknowledged trend: the lines between technology companies and other enterprises are rapidly diminishing, with enterprises from healthcare to automotive to entertainment making increased use of digital data and high-tech solutions like cloud computing. A recent report by the former Ernst & Young pointed to "record-setting technology [mergers and acquisitions] and new post-dotcom-bubble records” in both volume and value.

The Internet of Things and other disruptive technologies are also disrupting life in the executive suite, and there is now a great need for businesspeople with a deep understanding of cybersecurity risk and strategy.  Because cybersecurity — both prevention and response — requires coordination between public- and private-sector organizations and expertise in technology, law, and policy, that’s an admittedly tall order.

To help meet that need, however, the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and the NYU School of Law have teamed up to offer a new master’s degree program built around the interdisciplinary training and perspective needed to address the new threats facing increasingly tech-reliant companies.

The highly selective Cybersecurity Risk and Strategy (MS CRS) program, a 30-credit course of study expected to take 12 months to complete, is aimed at exceptional mid-career professionals who have taken on increasing levels of responsibility in cybersecurity, strategic risk management, operations and analytics, or enterprise management. Admitted students will attend 10-15 hours a week of classes — primarily online — as well as three brief residency modules during the year

“Tandon was one of the first schools ever to offer degree programs in cybersecurity, we host the largest student-run cybersecurity competition in the world, and we are home to innovative programs that open the field to bright, interested people,” said Nasir Memon, a professor of computer science and engineering who now heads NYU Tandon Online, which developed the on-line courses and modules for the MS CRS program. 

MS CRS students will study such topics as network security and systems-security engineering with Tandon faculty; touch upon such areas as privacy, cybercrime, and the evolving regulatory landscape with faculty from the law school; and take a yearlong Integrative Cybersecurity Management class taught jointly by professors from both schools.

NYU Tandon Dean Katepalli Sreenivasan has pointed out that intersectional training of this type is essential to meeting the challenges of running a business in a 21st-century world. “The threat in cyberspace needs to be strategically managed by individuals and institutions alike,” he said, “and it will take individuals with both technical knowledge and grounding in law and policy to determine how best to balance organizational security and individual freedom.”

NYU Law Dean Trevor Morrison concurs, asserting, “Too often those with the capabilities to fend off or deal with the aftermath of cyberattacks operate in silos, resulting in both readiness and response capability being severely compromised. The foundational idea of our joint program is that managing cybersecurity risk and strategy requires a breadth of training and perspective that is best provided by NYU’s law and engineering schools coming together.” 

For details on MS CRS course offerings, faculty members, and admissions, visit the program’s website: cybersecurity-strategy-masters.nyu.edu