Graduate Program - Master Track in Security
As information technology continues to become ingrained in society, there are real-world impacts whenever the security or privacy of these systems fail.
The Masters Track in Security teaches students the skills necessary to build, analyze, and reason about secure and private systems. Topics include both an overview of computer and network security and a variety of more in-depth topics, including systems security, software security, privacy, and cryptography. The track can be customized to be more practice-oriented or theoretically-oriented based on the interests of the student.
Security Track Curriculum
The curriculum requirements for the Security Track are summarized in this table.
| Requirement | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Security core courses | 12 |
| Security Foundations courses | 9 |
| Computer Science core courses, graduate electives, or restricted electives | 9 |
| Orientation Course (CSC 600) | 1 |
| Total | 31 |
Completion of the curriculum requires 31 credits. Students must also satisfy all the MCS requirements. All incoming MCS students must register for an orientation course: CSC 600 (Computer Science Graduate Orientation).
Security Courses
Four security core courses must be taken as follows:
- CSC 574 - Computer and Network Security Plus any three courses from the following:
- CSC 514 - Foundations of Cryptography
- CSC 515 - Software Security
- CSC 533 - Privacy
- CSC 537 - Systems Attacks and Defenses
- CSC 591/791 - Human Centered Security
- CSC 705 - Operating Systems Security
- CSC 774 - Advanced Network Security
- CSC 789 - Cellular and Telecommunications Security
Security Foundations Course Categories
Three courses must be taken from the Security Foundations Categories:
- Systems Foundations
- Theory Foundations
- Privacy Foundations
Students must take take courses from at least two categories.
Systems Foundations
- CSC 501 - Operating Systems Principles
- CSC 510 - Software Engineering
- CSC 540 - Database Management Concepts and Systems
- CSC 548 - Parallel Systems
- CSC 570 - Computer Networks
- CSC 573 - Internet Protocols
- CSC 575 - Introduction to Wireless Networking
- CSC 712 - Software Testing and Reliability
- CSC 724 - Advanced Distributed Systems
Theory Foundations
- CSC 505 - Design and Analysis of Algorithms
- CSC 512 - Compiler Construction
- CSC 541 - Advanced Data Structures
- CSC 565 - Graph Theory
- CSC 707 - Automata, Languages and Computability Theory
- CSC 722 - Advanced Topics in Machine Learning
Privacy Foundations
- CSC 522 - Automated Learning and Data Analysis
- CSC 554 - Human-Computer Interaction
- CSC 555 - Social Computing
- CSC 591 - Foundations of Data Science
Certificate
Upon completion of the Security Track curriculum, students may request an official letter from one of the Graduate Office Staff, or mail [csc-gradoffice@ncsu.edu]. The letter will be on department letterhead, signed by the DGP, and will mention you by name, your degree program, and that you have successfully completed the Masters Track in Security.
