The Information Assurance curriculum includes courses designed to prepare individuals, who engineer computer/network systems or develop policy for these systems, with knowledge of methods, techniques, and tools used in information assurance. Courses at the graduate level (and the undergraduate courses required for admission to the graduate program) are regularly offered in the late afternoon and evening to enable students to continue their studies.

Required Courses: 30 Hours

• CS 5200 Computer Architecture (Prerequisites: CS 2160)
• CS 5220 Computer Communications (Prerequisites: CS 4200/5200, or instructor permission)
• CS 5520 Operating Systems Support for Security (Prerequisites: CS 2060, CS 2080)
• CS 5910 Fundamentals of Computer/Network Security (Prerequisites: CS 2080, MATH 2150)
• CS 5920 Applied Cryptography for Secure Communications (Prerequisites: MATH 2150)
• Thesis Choice: Complete CS 7000 Master Thesis (6 credit hours) and 3 courses from the approved list of courses provided below. The student's Graduate Committee must approve the courses selected.
• Project Choice: Complete CS 7010 Master Project (3 credit hours) and 4 courses from the approved list of courses provided below. The student's Graduate Committee must approve the courses selected.
• Portfolio Choice: Complete a project portfolio (see requirements below) and 5 courses from the approved list of courses provided below. The student's Graduate Committee must approve the courses selected.

Portfolio Specification:
This is a 5-8 page paper that describes at least one, and at most four, projects in which the student has been engaged. For each project it will describe the overall project objectives, the team, the students' role on the team, the formal information assurance/development methodology used, and the lifecycle stages in which the student was engaged. It should explicitly relate the project(s) to at least 2 of the MEIA courses which the student has completed. It should also include examples - at least one example work artifact from the information assurance process, with the artifact not counting toward the 5 page minimum length. The document should be a formal technical paper. It is recommended that students include appropriate references to relevant information assurance sources, such as books, papers and blogs.

Portfolio Timing:
Students may submit their portfolio at any time after having completed 6 credits, and for work-related experience it is strongly recommended it be submitted after completing 15-18 credits to allow the opportunity for taking one or more project intensive courses if the work experience is not deemed sufficient. In any case, the portfolio must be completed before the student can apply for graduation. If the proposal/experience is deemed insufficient experience, the student will be required to take an information assurance project intensive course and then resubmit. The program will ensure that course designated as an information assurance project intensive course will be offered once per year, however a project intensive course may not be available every semester.

Portfolio Approval Process:
The portfolio will be submitted to the MEIA program adviser, in electronic form, with a copy to the department administrator. Review/analysis may take 2-4 weeks. The MEIA program adviser can either approve it directly, or may call for a committee of relevant faculty. If minor revisions are requested, they may be resubmitted that term. If the portfolio is rejected or requires major revisions, the student will have to complete a project intensive course before resubmission and hence the portfolio may not be resubmitted until completion of said course.

Approved Course List

 
• CS 5310 Software Requirements Analysis and Specification (Prerequisite: CS 1450)  
• CS 5320 Software Design (Prerequisite: CS 5310)
• CS 5330 Formal Methods of Software System Engineering (Prerequisites: CS 1450, MATH 2150)
• CS 5340 Software Maintenance (Prerequisites: CS 1450, MATH 2150)
• CS 5350 Software Project Management (Prerequisites: CS 1450, MATH 2150)
• CS 5360 Software Quality Assurance (Prerequisite: CS 5310)
• CS 5390 Software System Engineering Project Laboratory (Prerequisites: CS 5310, CS 5320, CS 5340, CS 5350, CS 5360)
• CS 5770 Movie making Animation, Visualization (Prerequisites: CS 5800 or consent of the instructor)
• CS 5790 Wearable Computing and Complex Systems (Prerequisites: CS 5800 or consent of the instructor)
• CS 5810 Advanced Graphics Morphing, Radiosity, Ray Tracing (Prerequisites: CS 5800 or consent of the instructor)
• CS 5930 Security Issues in Web-based Systems (Prerequisites: CS 5310, CS 5320, CS 5910)
• CS 6220 Distributed Networks (Prerequisite: CS 5220)
• CS 6300 Topics in Software Engineering (Prerequisites: CS 5310, CS 5350)
• CS 6770 VR/HCI (Prerequisites: CS 5800, CS 5770 or consent of the instructor)
• CS 6910 Advanced System Security Design (Prerequisites: CS 5910, CS 5920)
• CS 6920 Advanced Topics in Network Security (Prerequisites: CS 5910, CS 5920)
• ECE 5625 Communications Systems I (Prerequisites: ECE 3510, ECE 3610)
• ECE 5630 Communications Systems II (Prerequisites: ECE 3610, ECE 4625/5625)
• ECE 5635 Wireless Communications (Prerequisite: ECE 4625/5625)
• ECE 5640 Spread Spectrum Communications Systems (Prerequisite: ECE 5630)
• MATH 5130 Linear Algebra (Prerequisite: MATH 3130)
• MATH 5270 Algebraic Coding Theory (Prerequisite: MATH 4140)
• MATH 5420 Optimization (Prerequisite: MATH 4420)
• MATH 5480 Mathematical Modeling (Prerequisites: MATH 3130, 3400, and 3100 or 3810)
• MATH 5820 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics (Prerequisites: MATH 3100 or 3810)
• MATH 5830 Linear Statistical Models (Prerequisites: MATH 3810, or ECE 3610, or MATH 3100 and MATH 3130)
• MATH 5850 Stochastic Models (Prerequisites: MATH 3810 or ECE 3610)
• MAE 5091 Space Environment (Prerequisites: PES 1120, MATH 3400)
• MAE 5410 Fundamentals of Astrodynamics (Prerequisites: PES 1120, MATH 3130, MATH 3400, CS 2010)
• MAE 5594 Space Communication System Design (Prerequisite: MAE 4410/5410)
• MAE 5595 Space Mission Analysis (Prerequisites: MAE 5410, MAE 4425/5091)
• MAE 5596 Space Mission Design (Prerequisite: MAE 5595)

For application information: How To Apply

For more information please contact the Computer Science Department.