Computer Security

The Computer Security track is intended for students who wish to develop state-of-the-art knowledge of computer and network security technologies. Security considerations pervade personal, corporate, military, governmental, and national infrastructure systems and networks. This track will help you develop leading-edge knowledge in security.

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS

Students must complete at least a total of 30 graduate points and must maintain at least 2.7 overall GPA in order to be eligible for the MS degree in Computer Science.

1. Security Track requires:
2. – Breadth courses
   – Required Track courses (15pts)
   – Track Electives (6pts)
   – General Electives (6pts)
3. 5 required courses (15 pts): COMS W4118 (OS), COMS W4156 (Adv. Software Engineering), COMS W4181 (Computer Security I), COMS W4182 (Computer Security II), and either COMS W4261 (Introduction to Cryptography) or COMS E6185 (Intrusion Detection).
4. 2 elective courses (6 pts) selected from the list of Elective Track Courses; at least 1 of these courses must be a 6000-level CS course.
5. 1 general elective graduate CS course (3 pts), at 4000-level or above.
6. Must have 6 points at the 6000-level, at least 3 of these 6000-level points must be selected from the list of Elective Track Courses.

Please use the Degree Progress Checklist to keep track of your requirements.

1. BREADTH REQUIREMENT

Visit the breadth requirement page for more information.

2. REQUIRED TRACK COURSES

Students are required to complete the following 5 courses. Students who have taken equivalent courses in the past and received grades of at least a B may apply for waivers and take other CS courses instead.

For students starting the program in Fall 2018 and later:

COMS W4118	Operating Systems
COMS W4156	Adv. Software Engineering
COMS W4181	Computer Security I
COMS W4182	Computer Security II
Either COMS W4261 or COMS E6185	Introduction to Cryptography or Intrusion Detection

For students who started the program prior to Fall 2018:

Course ID	Title
COMS W4118	Operating Systems
COMS W4156	Adv. Software Engineering
COMS W4180	Network Security
COMS W4187	Security Architecture and Engineering
Either COMS W4261 or COMS E6185	Introduction to Cryptography or Intrusion Detection

3. ELECTIVE TRACK COURSES

Students are required to complete 2 courses out of the following list; at least one course must be 6000-level. Please note that courses with * are offered alternate years.

Course ID	Title
COMS W4115	Programming Languages and Translators
COMS/CSEE W4119	Computer Networks
COMS W4186	Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering
COMS W4261	Introduction to Cryptography
COMS W4995	Visit the topics courses page to see which COMS 4995 courses apply to this track.
COMS E6118	Operating Systems, II
COMS E6181	Advanced Internet Services
COMS E6183	Security
COMS E6184*	Privacy & Anonymity
COMS E6185	Intrusion and Anomaly Detection Systems
COMS E6261*	Advanced Cryptography
COMS E6424	Hardware Security
CSEE E6863	Formal Verification of Hardware and Software Systems
COMS E6901	Projects in Computer Science (Advisor approval required)
COMS E6998	Visit the topics courses page to see which COMS 6998 courses apply to this track.
CSEE W4824	Computer Architecture
ELEN E4703	Wireless Communications
ELEN E6761	Computer Communication Networks
ELEN E6886	Topics in Multimedia Security
ELEN E6950	Wireless & Mobile Nets, I
ELEN E6951	Wireless & Mobile Nets, II

4. GENERAL ELECTIVES

Remaining points toward the MS program must be chosen from either the Track Electives listed above or from the CS department at the 4000-level or higher. Students may also request to use at most 3 points of Non-CS/Non-Track coursework if approved by the process listed below.

• Non-CS/Non-Track: CS MS students may request up to 3 points of Non-CS/Non-Track points to count toward their 30 point MS program. CS Track advisor may review and approve if the course is determined to be relevant to the CS MS track and sufficiently technical in nature. Students should send the Non-CS/Non-Track Form and the course syllabus to your Track Advisor for review.

**Due to a significant overlap in course material, MS students not in the Machine Learning track can only take 1 of the following courses – COMS 4771, COMS 4721, ELEN 4903, IEOR 4525, STAT 4240, STAT 4400/4241/5241 – as part of their degree requirements.

5. TRACK PLANNING

Please visit the Directory of Classes to get the updated course listings. Please also note that not all courses are offered every semester, or even every year. A few courses are offered only once every two or three years or even less frequently.

6. TRACK ADVISOR

Please direct all questions concerning the Computer Security Track to Prof. Suman Jana.

7. GRADUATION

Candidates preparing for graduation should submit a completed application for degree to the Registrar’s Office and submit a track graduation form/checklist to CS Student Services.

Last Updated: 8/14/20