The cutting edge of IT Security extends well beyond the traditional defensive measuresemployed by most business and public sector entities today. And at the edge lies thecollection and assessment of threat data. However, collection requires an understanding ofthe probable data elements that constitute a realistic threat; while assessment requires asophisticated understanding of the systems and technologies used to collect this information.

Knowledge on Internet Security best practices, attack and defense strategies is rapidly becoming a required skill for today’s Information Technology worker. There are few opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in IT risk analysis, auditing methodologies and incident response. This class introduces students to the fundamental of computer and network security. It is a hands-on course where students learn how to analyze a client/server IT infrastructure for security weaknesses. Students also gain practical experience in analyzing common practices for security vulnerabilities that could result in the loss of sensitive company and customer information. The second course provides the advanced network security knowledge to allow students to build trustworthy systems and to protect critical infrastructures through an understanding of how to engineer and evaluate relevant security solutions. The course covers security and trust aspects of wireless mobile and ad hoc computer networks. Attack analysis and countermeasures will be studies at the transport, network, data link, and physical layers. Students will learn how to implement security and trust controls for malicious behavior prevention, detection, and recovery. 

This set of three courses in the certification in Cybersecurity Technologies, will provide students with the specialized knowledge required to attack this problem domain. 

Target Audience and Time to Complete:

The target audience is Virginia Tech graduate students who are interested in adding expertise in cybersecurity technologies to that gained in their current degree program. In addition, we also expect that a number of other professionals will pursue the certificate both for job knowledge and career enhancement.  Those students will be admitted as non-degree seeking certificate students. 

In most cases time to completion will be two semesters. Degree-seeking students may take courses in conjunction with their regular course load. Students attending full-time can complete the certificate in a minimum of one academic year and a maximum of four academic years. Degree-seeking students attending part-time can complete the certificate in approximately two academic years and a maximum of three academic years.

Non-degree seeking, full-time students can complete the certificate in a minimum of one academic year (two semesters). Non-degree seeking, part-time students, taking one course per semester, can complete the certificate in two academic years (four semesters).

Master of Information Technology (MIT) Program

MIT Graduate Certificates

Admission to the Graduate School and completing a Graduate Certificate Application are required for both degree- and non-degree seeking students. 

Degree-seeking applicants: The Graduate School requires completion of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a GPA of 3.0 or better for admission to Certificate Status.  Applicants with an undergraduate GPA < 3.0 may qualify for Commonwealth Campus admission. Students pursuing a degree and a certificate simultaneously are classified within their degree program.

For students interested in pursuing both the Master's degree in MIT and the certificate in Information Technology Management no more than fifty percent of certificate courses will be included toward completion of the MIT degree. 

Non-degree seeking applicants: A qualified person who wishes to enter Virginia Tech to obtain a graduate certificate, without being enrolled in a degree program, may apply for graduate admission to Graduate Certificate by completing the certificate application. 

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• GPA of 3.0 for admission for the last half of the credits earned for the undergraduate (bachelors) degree*
• Official transcripts must be submitted
• Academic background meets the requirements of the admitting academic unit
• International Applicants must submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS). A minimum TOEFL score of 550 paper-based (PBT) or 80 internet-based test (iBT) is required for consideration of the application. On the iBT, sub-scores of at least 20 on each subject test (Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing) are required for admission. A minimum IELTS score of 6.5 is required for admission. Some departments have higher TOEFL or IELTS score requirements than those set by the Graduate School. 

Admissions - MIT Graduate Certificates 

Number of Credit Hours: 

A total of nine credit hours are required. Transfer credits are not permitted. Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 in the designated courses.

Required Courses: 

ECE 5484 Fundamentals of Computer Systems: Fundamental principles and concepts of computer systems. Computer hardware; Boolean logic; number systems and representation; design and operation of digital logic; analysis of instruction set architectures and computer organization; and specification of data communication and networking standards.   

ECE 5585 IT Security and Trust I: Fundamental Internet and computer security principles and applications; legal and privacy issues, risk analysis, attack techniques, intrusion detection concepts, basic computer forensics, and system application hardening techniques (3H, 3C)   

AND

ECE 5586 IT Security & Trust II: Advanced security and trust concepts and implementation in wired and wireless computer networks and computer systems, malware defenses, impact of channel fragility, node mobility, cooperative functionality, and resource constraints on security and trust at the different layers of the internet protocol stack. Pre: ECE 5585 

OR

ECE 5480 Cybersecurity and the Internet of Things: Cybersecurity principles and technologies motivated by the evolving ecosystem of the Internet of Things (IoT): devices, operating systems, sensors, data storage, networking and communication protocols, and system services. IoT device and system security and privacy vulnerabilities, analysis and attach mitigation techniques. Pre: ECE 5484 or CS 5044