Cybersecurity

The mission of the Cybersecurity program at the University of Central Missouri is to 

• Provide up-to-date undergraduate and graduate programs which enable students to enrich their knowledge and prepare them for careers in computing profession and/or advanced graduate study;
• Provide computer-related service courses to enhance student learning and fulfill the needs of the 21st century workforce;
• Support and encourage the professional development of its faculty in areas of service, leadership roles in professional organizations, scholarly research, and grant writing.

Within a few years of graduation, a graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Cybersecurity will use the knowledge and skills obtained in the program to:

• Have established themselves in successful cybersecurity-focused careers and/or pursuing advanced degrees.
• Continue to update their professional knowledge and skills to adapt to innovation and change to meet the needs of industry and/or academia.
• Contribute to the greater good of their communities through professional involvement and service.

Graduates of the program will have an ability to:

1. Analyze a complex computing problem and to apply principles of computing and other relevant disciplines to identify solutions.
2. Design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the program’s discipline.
3. Communicate effectively in a variety of professional contexts.
4. Recognize professional responsibilities and make informed judgments in computing practice based on legal and ethical principles.
5. Function effectively as a member or leader of a team engaged in activities appropriate to the program’s discipline.
6. Apply security principles and practices to maintain operations in the presence of risks and threats.

Numerous scholarships are available specifically for Computer Science majors. In addition, there are paid opportunities to work as a tutor or teaching assistant. For a full list of scholarships, visit ucmo.edu/mocents.

The program has state-of-the-art computing labs to support both instruction and research needs. Cyber Range (Cyber Central) is used to provide a virtual network environment for hands-on exercises in cybersecurity. Labs in courses like Ethical Hacking, Computer and Network Forensics, and Web Applications Security are supported in Cyber Central. Cyber Central is powered by NDG Netlab+ and provides a virtual lab that would help students practice lab exercises on the virtual network from anywhere using Internet access. Many of the cybersecurity lab exercises are dangerous to perform on a live network and could pose a security risk to the institutional or home networks. Cyber Central provides an isolated virtualized network that would not interfere with other networks and is safe for practicing hacking exercises.

Azure Dev Tools for Teaching

VMWare Academic Program

Explore Cybersecurity outside the classroom by joining a Cybersecurity student organization. These include:

• Cyber Mules, a cybersecurity student club that is chapter of the National Cybersecurity Student Association (NCSA)
• Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) student chapter
• Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE), an honor society for Computing and Information disciplines 

By participating in these organizations, you will learn from guest speakers, attend regional and national conferences, and participate in state and/or national Cybersecurity competitions.

The school offers a completion program for a Bachelor's of Science in Cybersecurity at UCM - Lee's Summit. For more information, please contact Professor Belinda Copus at copus@ucmo.edu

School of Computer Science and Mathematics sponsors UCM Esports team. For more information, please visit the following link.

UCM Esports