The Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations major will help students to ensure the safety of critical information and assets. Students will master the technical skills, risk management strategies, and analytical methods used to safeguard data and systems, while analyzing security and communicating cyber threat and vulnerability issues to top-level decision-makers. The major explores the essential concepts and analytical fundamentals of cybersecurity, while providing an in-depth and domain-independent approach to the development of cyber skills.
Meet a successful Penn State York graduate with a degree in cybersecurity analytics and operations!
Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations might be the right program for you if:
- you enjoy working with and on computers, as well as with their operating systems and applications
- you want to protect digital information, data stores, and computer networks from threats
- you want to learn the defense strategies used to anticipate, recognize, and defend against cyberattacks
- you are passionate about keeping sensitive information out of the hands of cybercriminals, terrorist organizations, and malicious agents
- you enjoy working on a team to solve technical problems for organizations you are interested in business, computer programming, and mathematics
Career Opportunities
The Cybersecurity degree prepares graduates to pursue a variety of career fields. Job opportunities include:
- Cybersecurity Analyst
- Cyberthreat Advisor
- Digital Network Exploitation Analyst
- Forensic Analyst
- Incident Responder
- Infrastructure Analyst
- Penetration Tester
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in information security will be growing at a rate much faster than average. The National Institute for Cybersecurity Career and Studies (NICCS) predicts that the “…demand for cybersecurity experts is growing 12 times faster than the current U.S. job market, making cybersecurity one of the most highly sought-after careers in the country.” Learn more about the various career opportunities in this field by exploring the NICE Framework, which outlines the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities required for cybersecurity roles.
The Cybersecurity major is new at Penn State but was developed from the Cyber option in the Security and Risk Analysis (SRA) degree, which has been available for a number of years. Starting salaries for SRA majors have averaged about $66,000, according to the latest data compiled by the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State.
Degree Requirements
For the bachelor of science degree in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations, a minimum of 124 credits is required:
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| General Education | 45 |
| Electives | 3 |
| Requirements for the Major | 99 |
21 of the 45 credits for General Education are included in the Requirements for the Major. This includes: 6 credits of GQ courses, 6 credits of GS courses, 9 credits of GWS courses.
Sample Courses:
- Cyber 342 – Incident Handling and Response
- Cyber 362 – Cyber Analytics Studio
- Cyber 366 – Malware Analytics
- SRA 472 – Integration of Privacy and Security
