Cyber Security Minor

Gain the Skills to Prevent, Protect & Respond to Cyber Security Demands

The protection of the information and systems businesses and individuals rely on is a unique and growing challenge. The Cyber Security minor integrates the fields of technology, security and management to empower engineers, technology or business professionals with the knowledge to adapt and lead in this emerging field.

Develop In-Depth Understanding

The Cyber Security minor provides graduate students with the skills to assume a leadership role in cyber security or continue their field of study with a focus on cyber security. Each course gives students an opportunity to practice communications, teamwork and project management skills as applied in the context of cyber security.

8 Credits for Master's Minor
12 Credits for Doctoral Minor
6 Required Course Credits

Two courses are required for the minor. The courses may also be taken by students who do not plan to complete a full minor. Course details can be found in the menu below:

Cyber Security Minor Curriculum

ST 8661 Securing Cyberspace - Fundamentals (3 credits)
Gain the comprehensive technical and logical foundation for defending an organization against cyber security threats through focused instruction and practice in cyber defense theory. Topics covered include access control, cryptography, network security, securing operating systems, securing web applications, and securing wireless and mobile.

ST 8662 Securing Cyberspace - Advanced (3 credits)
In the second of a two-course sequence, expand on the foundations acquired in ST 8661 by focusing on operations security, vulnerability and pen testing, incident handling, cyber forensics, cyber warfare, and privacy, law and compliance.

Students have several elective courses to select from to complete the minor. The TLI elective courses are included in the menu below:

Elective Courses

ST 8113 Cyber & Information Security Management (2 credits)
Develop an understanding of vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure systems to failure—focusing on cyberterrorism—and recommended security solutions for operational levels of trust.

ST 8513 Cyber Threat Intelligence (2 credits)
Gain forward-looking insights into cyber threat intelligence analysis, including all phases of the intelligence lifecycle: requirements development, collection, analysis methods, and reports/briefings for organizational leaders to influence risk-based decisions.

Other courses that have been approved as electives include:

CSCI 5271 Introduction to Computer Security (3 credits)
CSCI 5470 Modern Cryptography (3 credits)
CSCI 8271 Security and Privacy in Computing (3 credits)

Be a Leader in Cyber Security

The career opportunities for cyber security leaders, experts and engineers are growing:
- Cyber sercurity positions represented approximately 10 percent of all technology-related positions opened during 2015.
- More than 20 new disciplines have been created, ranging from specialized technical engineers to new cyber risk management positions.
- Many of these roles did not exist even three or four years ago, and there is a need for more trained professionals to step into these roles.

Enrollment Information

To pursue the Cyber Security graduate minor students must be enrolled in a University of Minnesota master’s degree program. Some courses are open to non-degree seeking students. Contact our admissions team at tli-info@umn.edu for more information.

Technological Leadership Institute

Cyber Security Minor | Technological Leadership Institute

Become a Cyber Security Expert