Cyber Security Analytics Certificate

The Graduate Certificate in Cyber Security Analytics (CSAN) is intended for students who are interested in training in the core areas of cyber security, machine learning, and data analytics.

This certificate program is a 15-credit hour program intended to develop fundamental skills, including familiarity with industry practices, methods, and problem-solving skills critical for success in the joined areas of cyber security, machine learning, and data analytics. This certificate program also seeks to provide current employees in the public and private sectors an opportunity to obtain training in the core areas of cyber security and data analytics and enable students to gain practical work experience.

The Cyber Security Analytics Certificate, a Type A certificate requiring formal enrollment, focuses on:

• Fundamental knowledge in major computer security topics — including cyber threats, malware, information assurance, authorization, applied cryptography, web security, mobile and wireless security, network security, systems/software security, database and storage security, user-centered security, and best security practices and countermeasures.
• Fundamental knowledge in machine learning and AI — including supervised and unsupervised learning, problem modeling, data preprocessing, and model evaluation.
• Skills to apply machine learning and data analytical knowledge to solving practical real-world cyber security problems.

This certificate serves as a badge testifying that students have mastered fundamental knowledge in major cyber security and data analytics topics, as well as essential skills in investigating and remedying cyber security threats and events. This certificate can be taken as a stand-alone certificate (certificate program enrollment is required), or as a stackable certificate alongside a graduate degree program.

Students who are already in one of the three MS programs offered by the Department of Computer Science can request to add this certificate to their degree program by submitting a “Change/Update Graduate Program” form on the Graduate School’s online forms webpage and choosing “Add a Program”.

Certificate Program Requirements

This graduate certificate requires students to complete the following five courses (3 credit hours each) and earn a 3.0 Cumulative GPA or better:

• CS 623: Network Security
• CS 636: Computer Security
• CS 663: Data Mining
• CS 667: Machine Learning
• CS 598: Practical Work Experience

Who is Eligible to Enroll?

Applicants will have earned a bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university.

• A grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale).

The following courses, or their equivalents, are required of all applicants before they can apply to this program:

• CS 103: Introduction to Computer Science in Python (waived for applicants with two years of working experience in the computing/IT field). Any Introduction to Programming course that uses a 3rd generation programming language such as Java, C/C++, Basic, and Pascal, can be counted as an equivalent of this course.
• CS 203: Object-Oriented Programming
• CS 303: Algorithms and Data Structures
• CS 355/555: Probability and Statistics in Computer Science. CS 555 can be taken after admitted.

A mathematics background equivalent to two terms of calculus (differential and integral calculus) is also required.

Procedure for Dual Enrollment in Master's Degree and Certificate

Eligible applicants, including those who have begun or completed the required courses for the Cyber Security Analytics Certificate, are encouraged to apply simultaneously for their chosen Master's degree and the Graduate Certificate. This ensures that course selections are aligned from the start.

The Cyber Security Analytics (CSAN) Graduate Certificate, a Type A certificate requiring formal enrollment, can be added to current CS graduate students' degree programs by submitting the “Change/Update Graduate Program” form and choosing “Add a Program”. It is important that students complete this form to add the certificate before submitting an Application for Degree/Application for Certificate (AFD/AFC).

Change/Update Graduate Program Form

Recognition

Upon completion of the program requirements, this certificate will be identified on a UAB transcript.

Questions?

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Frequently Asked Questions

Key Pages

• MSCS Program Admissions
• MSCS Prerequisites
• Doctoral Admission Requirements
• Graduate Tuition and Fees
• UAB Graduate School
• Non-degree Admission
• Assistantships, Fellowships & Financial Aid
• Demystifying CS 598 and CPT

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Graduate Careers

M.S. in Computer Science

Students with the MSCS degree go on to solve computational problems in the sciences and engineering, while bringing a deeper, broader perspective to such problems than they received at the Bachelor of Science level.

Potential career paths include:

• software engineer
• systems analyst
• database administrator
• network and systems administrator
• operations research analyst
• data science and big data analyst information security analyst
• computer network architect

M.S. in Data Science

Students with the MSDS degree go on to solve computational data analytics, data modeling, and big data computing problems in sciences, engineering, education, marketing, banking, insurance, online retail business, political campaigns, and many other fields.

Potential career paths include:

• data analysts
• data scientists
• data engineers
• data architects
• data warehousing architects
• business intelligence analysts

M.S. in Computer Forensics and Security Management

Students with the MSCFSM degree go on to solve problems such as tracking criminals to e-mail crime, identifying malware provenance and attack vectors in computer systems, and working specific criminal investigations where computers, networks, and/or e-commerce are involved.

Potential career paths include:

• database security analyst
• network security analyst
• cloud security analyst
• online crime investigator
• system security and privacy analyst

Ph.D. in Computer Science

Students completing the CS Ph.D. go on to find new ways to mine “big data” from the Internet, solve cyber crime problems, create innovative visualization and graphics solutions, advance the use of modern IT infrastructure (such as cloud computing), and pursue inquiries at the frontiers of computer science understanding.

Potential career paths include:

• college/university faculty
• national research lab researcher
• industry lab researcher (e.g., market research analyst, competitive intelligence analyst, quantitative analyst, operations research analyst)
• finance company data scientist