About the Program
The Department of Computer Science has offered the PhD in Cybersecurity degree program since 2008 for students who are interested in conducting cybersecurity research. This nation-wide unique specialty offers the security curriculum for students to study and conduct multi-disciplinary research in areas of cyber security, physical security, cyber-physical, and homeland security, which have become critical and increasingly urgent in today’s personal, business, and government operations. This multi-disciplinary degree program integrates the existing curriculum and research initiatives, and meets the grand challenges of security with the quality expected from the University of Colorado.
The program is research oriented with a strong self-learning component. The plan of study is decided by the PhD advisor and the Advisory Committee according to the student’s specific research topic. Beyond the traditional learning component, the students in the program will be required to have at least 3 months of operational security experience, such as internship or training, as determined by the Advisory Committee. The second uniqueness of the program is the use of short intense workshops where students and faculty meet to discuss emergent theories and techniques in security, and carry out exercises simulating critical security events. These workshops provide opportunities for students to apply what they learn in the self-paced courses, and to learn how to coordinate and cooperate in cyber war and homeland defense scenarios. Students must attend a workshop at least once a year to report on their research progress in the past year, and their plan for the following year.
General Information
- A minimum of 60 hours of applicable course work is required for the degree.
- A minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA must be maintained on all courses taken for the degree.
- No more than 9 hours of Independent Study courses may apply toward the degree.
- Grades of “B” or higher are required for all courses taken for the degree.
- All students must pass the Qualifying Examination, the Comprehensive Examination, the Proposal, and the final Defense of the Dissertation.
- Written Qualifiers are required. Undergraduate coursework in the specified areas (see 5000-level courses below) does NOT qualify as a waiver of their respective exams. These courses must be taken at the graduate level and have a grade of A- or better to qualify for a waiver.
- The PhD program must be completed within nine years.
Course Requirements
30 credit hours of course work at the 5000-level or above is required. Candidates entering with an MS degree in STEM and/or homeland security may transfer up to 24 credit hours of course work from that degree to help fulfill the 30 hours. All students are required to take 3 credit hours of CS 6000 as part of these 30 hours:
30 credit hours of dissertation is required. No more than 24 credit hours of dissertation can be taken prior to the semester in which the Proposal Examination is passed.
Four courses are required for students who have not taken these courses or their equivalents before:
and ONE of the following:
Beyond the traditional learning component, students are required to have at least three months of operational security experience (as internship, training, etc.), as determined by the PESC. This requirement can be substituted with a peer-reviewed publication or by passing CISSP certificate examination.
For additional information, please contact the Computer Science Department.
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