Now Accepting: NYU-Poly announces fall launch of MS in cyber-security

Polytechnic Institute of NYU’s announcement this week that it is accepting fall applicants for its new master’s in cyber-security program comes just weeks after the Pentagon revealed it had spent $100 million over the past 6 months to clean up damage from Internet attacks and other network problems.

Designers of the MS program say that graduates will be just the type of security experts government, commercial, and research organizations will need as cyber-criminals become more and more sophisticated. And increasingly, they will be in demand not only to fix damage from cyber-attacks, but also to prevent it.

The program’s creators, Professors Nasir Memon, Keith Ross, Nitesh Saxena, and Stuart Steele of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, have years of work, research, and teaching experience in the field. They note that there’s a strong industry shift towards building stronger defenses in advance of attacks.

NYU-Poly’s Information Systems and Internet Security (ISIS) lab, a National Security Agency designated Center of Excellence in Information Assurance, will play a critical and unique role as students earn their degree.

"The hands-on experience and the creative environment the ISIS lab provides is an essential part of NYU-Poly's cyber-security program,” says Professor Memon who directs ISIS.

“On a daily basis, the lab is where technical topics are discussed, points of view are argued, and knowledge is spread among students.  Many research projects during the past 6 years have originated in informal ISIS lab discussions."

While more universities and colleges have introduced cyber- and information-security master’s programs over recent years, there are still only a few for students to choose from. A need for more options, a growing industry demand for security professionals, NYU-Poly’s reputation in cyber-security education and research, and an increased popularity of the field among the student community motivated the program’s development.

According to its creators, key advantages of NYU-Poly’s cyber-security master’s program include a strong curriculum focused on theory as well as practical components, and the campus’ proximity to Manhattan’s financial industry where information security is a paramount concern.

Graduates of the program are expected to enter the cyber-security field as developers of security products, security application programmers, security analysts, penetration testers, vulnerability analysts, or security architects. They can also pursue positions as security researchers or continue their studies at the PhD level.

Learn More
Cyber-Security, MS overview, admissions requirements, curriculum, and faculty
cnet news: Pentagon spends over $100 million on cyberattack cleanup
Applying to NYU-Poly