School of Technology and computing

Master of Science in Cybersecurity

Enrollment

All Quarters

Course Format

Online 

Total Credits

39

Protect Technical Infrastructures

City University of Seattle’s Master of Science in Cybersecurity program is a technical management degree providing a balanced socio-technical approach to address the complex interdisciplinary challenges addressing private and public industry sectors across the globe. The MSCY requires students with non-technical backgrounds or degrees to complete several courses in technological fundamentals. MSCY courses integrate experiential, hands-on technical skills and labs required to understand how to perform in workplace teams and manage cybersecurity-oriented projects in the technology–dependent 21st–century society. The MSCY degree is designated as an approved Path of Study by the National Center of Academic Excellence designated by the NSA. All courses are designed by industry subject matter experts, taught by practitioner faculty, and updated annually to reflect the changing socio-technological landscape.

Program Overview

TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP: SECURING A COMPLEX TECHNOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE 

This holistic approach, based on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and the DoD CIO Workforce Framework, combines academic rigor and practical relevance to shape the next generation of cybersecurity leaders capable of advancing the industry.  This program develops leaders who can articulate complex cybersecurity issues succinctly and engage constructively with stakeholders at all levels.  

Integrated Technical leadership content prepares students to effectively plan and execute technological changes within organizations to secure complex cyber landscapes.  Students are equipped to plan, execute, and manage cybersecurity projects. Communication and Influencing skills inform technical and non-technical stakeholders to respond to risk management and resource allocation and achieve project objectives within constraints. 

Learning Outcomes

The Master of Science in Cybersecurity will prepare students to:

Analyze interdisciplinary approaches to secure all levels of organizations’ information systems (Cybersecurity Knowledge)

Apply  advanced cybersecurity risk concepts for real-world situations. (Cybersecurity Principles and Practices)  

Design integrated ethical, policy, and technical strategies for cybersecurity systems (Critical and Ethical Thinking)

Synthesize data to inform actions and support security and risk management decisions (Quantitative Literacy)

Create influential communications to guide and inform stakeholder decision-making processes and operational responses (Communication)

Collaborate effectively, leveraging diverse teams to support resilient, responsive socio-technological security systems (Collaboration)

Admissions Requirement

In addition to City University of Seattle’s graduate admission requirements, found under Admissions in the catalog menu, applicants to this program must also meet the following requirements: 

  • An earned bachelor’s degree and evidence of completion of undergraduate courses or their equivalent in: 
    • Equivalency of 5-quarter hour credits at the intermediate level in at least one computer programming language; and 
    • Equivalency of 5-quarter hour credits in networking (TCP/IP from physical through application layers); and 
    • Equivalency of 5-quarter hour credits of data management, including basic database design and SQL/NoSQL Queries; and 
    • Equivalency of 5-quarter hour credits of operating systems, including OS theory, process management, and memory management; OR 
  • An earned bachelor’s degree and successful completion of CityU’s Undergraduate Certificate in Foundations of Systems Development. 

Preparatory Courses (6 or 20 credits)

These preparatory courses may be required for students entering the MSCS degree program without sufficient related experience. Please see the program admissions criteria in the City University of Seattle catalog for specific information.

Breadth-First Preparatory Courses (6 Credits)

CS 11A Technology and Computing Components I
CS 11B Technology and Computing Components II

OR

Depth-First Preparatory Courses (20 Credits)

CS 132 Computer Science I *  OR  IS 201 Fundamentals of Computing
IS 360 Database Technologies *
CS 330 Network Communications *
CS 340 Operating Systems *

Requirements

Total Required Credits: 39 Credits 

Core Requirements (21 Credits)

CY 500 Cybersecurity Overview
CY 505 Securing Computer System
CY 510 Human and Organization Security
CY 520 Ethical, Legal, and Societal Security
CY 525 Network and Wireless Security
CY 545 Data Privacy and Security
CY 609 Software Security

Depth of Study (12 Credits)

Cyber Defense 
CY 605 Cybersecurity Auditing
CY 615 Cryptography  
CY 628 Cloud Security Integration
CY 640 Software Reverse Engineering

Elective (3 Credits)

Students may select one elective course from any other disciplines within the School of Technology & Computing or complete the internship.

Internship
CS 685 Cybersecurity Internship

Capstone (3 Credits)

CY 665 Cybersecurity Capstone

Career Opportunities

Program Manager

morgan zantua

Morgan Zantua

zantuamorgan@cityu.edu

As cyber threats grow in both complexity and frequency, cybersecurity professionals are among the most in-demand roles across all sectors. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for information security analysts is projected to grow 32 % from 2022 to 2032—much faster than the average for all occupations. Meanwhile, with 78 % of companies now integrating AI into their operations, professionals who understand the intersection of cybersecurity and intelligent systems are increasingly valued.

Graduates of CityU’s Master of Science in Cybersecurity (MSCY) program are prepared for mid to senior-level positions such as:

  • Cybersecurity Manager / Lead: Oversee security operations, incident response teams, and policy enforcement while aligning security practices with business goals..
  • Information Security Analyst: Analyze emerging threats, respond to complex incidents, and deploy AI-enhanced security tools such as behavior-based detection systems.
  • Cloud Security Engineer:  Design and implement secure architectures in AWS, Azure, or GCP, managing IAM, encryption, and cloud-native defense mechanisms.
  • Security Architect: Develop enterprise-level security frameworks, zero-trust models, and secure-by-design system architectures.
  • Governance, Risk, & Compliance (GRC) Specialist: Lead audits, ensure compliance with global standards, and advise on data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
  • Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst: Use threat modeling, OSINT, and AI-driven tools to proactively detect vulnerabilities and identify advanced persistent threats (APTs).
 
CityU’s MSCY graduates work with teams at Adobe, AWS, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, among others, helping to power intelligent systems and insights in areas such as:
  • Retail & e-Commerce – recommendation systems, demand forecasting
  • Healthcare – predictive diagnostics, AI-supported triage
  • Finance & Insurance – fraud detection, credit scoring, robo-advisors
  • Manufacturing & IoT – sensor analytics, predictive maintenance
  • Energy & Environment – smart-grid analytics, sustainability modeling
  • Civic Tech & Public Sector – AI for policy modeling, service optimization

MSCY prepares graduates to fill cybersecurity positions in multiple settings. Cybersecurity is a growing profession. Globally, the demand for cyber talent will exceed 3.5M by 2022. Visit www.cyberseek.org for updated data and cybersecurity job openings.

Click HERE for admissions and tuition information.

Click HERE for cthe omplete program catalog.

Updated: 7/9/2025