Requirements for Graduate Students in Information Assurance with a Home Department of Mathematics

A student whose home department is Mathematics who wishes to earn an M.S. in Information Assurance must accumulate 30 acceptable credits, with at least 22 of these earned in residence. The total of 30 credits must include 15 hours of 500 - 600 level mathematics courses, with at most 3 credits coming from Math 599 or Math 699. Each student must elect a thesis or non-thesis masters program. For the thesis program, 4 - 6 credits of Math 699 may be included in the 30 hours. The non-thesis program requires a creative component including a formal paper appropriate to Information Assurance. Three credits of Math 599 may be included in the 30 credits for the creative component; these credits must be identified on the program of study.

Core course requirements:

The student must take two courses from each of the following lists, earning a grade of B or better in each:

Mathematics:
Math 504, 505, 510
Information Assurance:
InfAs 531, 534
Computer Security:
(InfAs 530 or ComS 586), Math 533, MIS 538

Major professor:

Upon entering the Information Assurance Program, the student will be assigned a temporary major professor. The student should choose a permanent major professor and form a POS committee before the beginning of the third semester of study. The major professor must be a member of both the Information Assurance faculty and the faculty of the Mathematics Department.

Sample Program of Study for an Information Assurance student in Mathematics

Semester 1 (Fall):
Math 504 Abstract Algebra
InfAs 531 Information System Security
InfAs 530 Advanced Computer Networking
Semester 2 (Spring):
Math 505 Abstract Algebra
Math 533 Cryptography
InfAs 532 Information Warfare
Semester 3 (Fall):
Math 501 Introduction to Real Analysis
Math 551 Design Theory and Association Schemes
Math 699 Research
Semester 4 (Spring):
Math 552 Enumerative Combinatorics
InfAs 534 Legal and Ethical Issues in Computer Security
Math 699 Research