Department website: https://lcsee.statler.wvu.edu/
Degree Offered
- Bachelor of Science
Nature of the Program
Students will be able to recognize the relevant issues in cybersecurity and have knowledge in the areas: data security, software security, system security, human security, organizational security and societal security. Students will be able to apply the ethical aspects and cyber laws in each cybersecurity area. The Bachelor of Science degree in cybersecurity is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org, under the General Criteria and the Program Criteria for Cybersecurity
Program Educational Objectives
The objective of the bachelor’s degree program in Cybersecurity (CYBE) at West Virginia University is to produce graduates who have the attitudes that will ensure success in professional positions in business, industry, research, governmental service, or graduate study or professional school.
Curriculum in Cybersecurity
General Education Foundations
Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.
NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations | ||
| F1 - Composition & Rhetoric | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
or ENGL 103 | Accelerated Academic Writing | |
| F2A/F2B - Science & Technology | 4-6 | |
| F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 | |
| F4 - Society & Connections | 3 | |
| F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past | 3 | |
| F6 - The Arts & Creativity | 3 | |
| F7 - Global Studies & Diversity | 3 | |
| F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 31-37 | |
Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.
Degree Requirements
Students must meet the following criteria to qualify for a Bachelor of Science with a major in Cybersecurity degree:
- Complete a minimum of 122 credit hours
- Satisfy WVU's undergraduate degree requirements
- Satisfy Statler College's undergraduate degree requirements
- Complete all courses listed in the curriculum requirements with the required minimum grades
- Attain an overall grade point average of 2.00 or better
- Attain a WVU grade point average of 2.00 or better
- Attain a Statler grade point average of 2.00 or better
- A maximum of one math or science courses with a grade D+, D-, or D may apply towards a Statler College degree.
- Complete a survey regarding their academic and professional experiences at WVU, as well as post-graduation job placement or continuing education plans.
The Statler GPA is computed based on all work taken at WVU with a subject code within Statler College (BIOM, BMEG, CE, CHE, CPE, CS, CSEE, CYBE, EE, ENGR, ENVE, ETEC, IENG, IH&S, MAE, MINE, PDA, PNGE, ROBE, SAFM, SENG) excluding ENGR 140, ENGR 150, and CS 101. The WVU GPA is computed based on all work taken at WVU. The Overall GPA is computed based on all work taken at WVU and transfer work.
Curriculum Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| University Requirements | 19 | |
| Fundamentals of Engineering Requirements | 2 | |
| Math and Science Requirements | 22 | |
| Cybersecurity Program Requirements | 79 | |
| Total Hours | 122 | |
University Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations (GEF) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (31-37 Credits) | ||
| Outstanding GEF Requirements 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 | 18 | |
| ENGR 191 | First-Year Seminar | 1 |
| Total Hours | 19 | |
Fundamentals of Engineering Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| A minimum grade of C- is required in all Fundamentals of Engineering courses. | ||
| ENGR 101 | Engineering Problem Solving 1 | 2 |
| Total Hours | 2 | |
Math and Science Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| A minimum grade of C- is required in all Math and Science courses. | ||
| MATH 155 | Calculus 1 (GEF 3) | 4 |
| MATH 156 | Calculus 2 (GEF 8) | 4 |
| MATH 373 | Introduction to Cryptography | 3 |
| STAT 215 | Introduction to Probability and Statistics | 3 |
| Lab Science Electives I (GEF 2B) & II (GEF 8): Select two GEF 2B courses and accompanying labs | 8 | |
| Total Hours | 22 | |
Cybersecurity Program Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CYBE 266 | Foundations of Cybersecurity | 3 |
| CYBE 366 | Secure Software Development | 3 |
| CYBE 435 | Computer Incident Response | 3 |
| CYBE 460 | Foundation of Cybersecurity 2 | 3 |
| CYBE 466 | Host Based Cyber Defense | 3 |
| CYBE 467 | Ethical Hacking & Penetration Testing | 3 |
| CPE 271 & 271L | Introduction to Digital Logic Design and Digital Logic Laboratory | 4 |
| CPE 310 | Microprocessor Systems | 3 |
| CPE 453 | Data and Computer Communications | 3 |
| CS 110 & 110L | Introduction to Computer Science and Introduction to Computer Science Laboratory | 4 |
| CS 111 & 111L | Introduction to Data Structures and Introduction to Data Structures Laboratory | 4 |
| CS 210 | File and Data Structures | 4 |
| CS 220 | Discrete Mathematics | 3 |
| CS 330 & 330L | Introduction to Software Engineering and Introduction to Software Engineering Laboratory | 4 |
| CS 350 | Computer System Concepts | 3 |
| CS 450 | Operating Systems Structure | 4 |
| CSEE 380 | Engineering for Societal Impact | 2 |
| CSEE 480S | Capstone Project - Design | 2 |
| or CSEE 480 | Capstone Project - Design | |
| CSEE 481S | Capstone Project - Implementation | 3 |
| or CSEE 481 | Capstone Project - Implementation | |
| BETH 357 | The Ethics of Information Technology | 3 |
| CRIM 431 | Cybercrime | 3 |
| SOC 101 | Introduction to Sociology (GEF 8) | 3 |
| CS/CYBE Electives (400-level or higher courses in CS or CYBE subject codes) * | 6 | |
| Lane Department Elective (400-level or higher course in BIOM, CPE, CS, CSEE, CYBE, EE, or ROBE subject codes) * | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 79 | |
- *
Excludes CYBE 465
Suggested Plan of Study
It is important for students to take courses in the order specified as closely as possible; all prerequisites and concurrent requirements must be observed. A typical B.S. degree program that completes degree requirements in four years is as follows.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| CS 110 & 110L | 4 | CS 111 & 111L | 4 |
| ENGR 101 | 2 | ENGL 101 (GEF 1) | 3 |
| ENGR 191 | 1 | MATH 156 (GEF 8) | 4 |
| MATH 155 (GEF 3) | 4 | Lab Science II | 4 |
| Lab Science I (GEF 2) | 4 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| CYBE 266 | 3 | CPE 271 & 271L | 4 |
| CS 210 | 4 | CS 350 | 3 |
| CS 220 | 3 | MATH 373 | 3 |
| ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 | SOC 101 (GEF 8) | 3 |
| GEF 4 | 3 | STAT 215 | 3 |
| 16 | 16 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| CPE 310 | 3 | CYBE 366 | 3 |
| CPE 453 | 3 | CYBE 460 | 3 |
| CS 330 & 330L | 4 | CS 450 | 4 |
| CRIM 431 | 3 | BETH 357 | 3 |
| CSEE 380 | 2 | GEF 6 | 3 |
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| CYBE 435 | 3 | CYBE 467 | 3 |
| CYBE 466 | 3 | CSEE 481S | 3 |
| CSEE 480S | 2 | CS/CYBE Elective | 3 |
| CS/CYBE Elective | 3 | Lane Department Elective | 3 |
| GEF 7 | 3 | GEF 5 | 3 |
| 14 | 15 | ||
| Total credit hours: 122 | |||
Area of Emphasis
- Artificial Intelligence
Area of Emphasis in Artificial Intelligence
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CS 472 | Artificial Intelligence | 3 |
| CS 474 | Introduction to Responsible and Safe AI | 3 |
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Introduction to Neural Networks | ||
| Introduction to Big Data Engineering | ||
| Introduction to Data Mining | ||
| Applied Artificial Intelligence Studio | ||
| Introduction to Digital Image Processing | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Lane Department Dual Degree Programs
Students can simultaneously pursue two bachelor’s degrees in the Lane Department. To successfully complete both degrees, students must meet all requirements of both programs and complete a minimum of 150 credit hours. As part of those 150 credit hours, 30 credit hours must be unique from the primary degree course requirements. Exact credit hours and classes will vary per student based on their choice of technical electives and emphasis courses.
The most common Lane Department major combinations are:
- Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering
- Computer Engineering and Computer Science
Please refer to the catalog descriptions of each individual program for course and academic requirements which can include minimum grades and GPA, and elective choices.
Program Educational Objectives
The objective of the bachelor’s degree program in Cybersecurity (CYBE) at West Virginia University is to produce graduates who have the attitudes that will ensure success in professional positions in business, industry, research, governmental service, or graduate study or professional school
Major Learning Outcomes
Cybersecurity
Students will be able to recognize the relevant issues in cybersecurity and have knowledge in the areas: data security, software security, system security, human security, organizational security and societal security. Students will be able to apply the ethical aspects and cyber laws in each cybersecurity area.
Upon graduation, all students obtaining a major in cybersecurity will be able to:
- Identify a range of current problems and threats in cybersecurity.
- Detect and analyze cybersecurity attack and practice defense strategies against them.
- Write secure software.
- Analyze networks and network security.
- Plan, implement, and assess security protection mechanisms in computer systems and networks.