As an institution at the forefront of preparing professionals to enter the highly skilled cybersecurity workforce, Slippery Rock University has been recognized as a leader and higher education contributor for cyber defense by a government agency.
The National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity, a program housed in the National Security Agency, has awarded SRU its NCAE-C Cyber Defense designation, CAE-CD, for its validated program of study, Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity degree program. The CAE-CD indicates that SRU’s program meets the high standards for:
- cybersecurity curriculum focused on cyber defense,
- skills development among students and faculty,
- collaborative engagement and cybersecurity awareness, and
- engagements addressing cybersecurity education challenges for securing national digital landscape.
SRU, which began offering a cybersecurity degree program in 2019, has underwent continuous evaluation for the last eight years since the program was first proposed and approved by Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.
“Earning the CAE-CD designation illustrates not only high standards of SRU’s cybersecurity program curriculum and academic excellence but also excellence in competency, outreach and leadership of students and faculty addressing solutions to challenges facing nation’s cybersecurity education and training,” said Nitin Sukhija, professor of computer science, who serves as SRU’s point of contact for the CAE-CD. “This designation helps ensure that they we are continuously evolving our curriculum that is supported by impactful learning objectives and standards as identified by government agencies and industry. This validates the way we are developing talent and positioning our students to enter the workforce in variety of critical cybersecurity fields that are in high demand and opens more venues for national collaborations for our faculty.”
Sukhija, who is the director of SRU’s Center for Cybersecurity and Advanced Computing, was an integral part of the University achieving the designation, which followed a rigorous process with intensive assessments and contributions from faculty and administration.
SRU’s cybersecurity program can be completed in 120 credit hours with 60 credits in the major and two concentrations: secure software development and security governance. The courses in the program are taught face-to-face, online and blended, which maximizes flexibility for students.
SRU’s CAE-CD designation is validated through the 2030-31 academic year before the University’s cybersecurity program will be eligible to reevaluation.
More information about SRU’s cybersecurity program is available on the program’s webpage. More information about the NCAE-C is available at caecommunity.org.
