Marquette receives special designation from federal agencies for cyber security educational program

November 5, 2018

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, National Security Agency cite Marquette for its information assurance and cyber defense program

MILWAUKEE — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. National Security Agency have cited Marquette University's information assurance and cyber defense program for its outstanding educational opportunities.

DHS and NSA designated the Information Assurance and Cyber Defense specialization of Marquette's master's in computing program as a Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education. Marquette is the only master's degree specialization program with this designation in Wisconsin.

"Your ability to meet the increasing demands of the program criteria will serve the nation well in contributing to the protection of the National Information Infrastructure," the federal agencies said in a letter to Marquette.

Dr. Thomas Kaczmarek, director of Marquette's Center for Cyber Security Awareness and Cyber Defense, said the designation represents a broad campus commitment at Marquette.

"This designation is the result of efforts across campus," he said. "For example, we needed to present evidence that our information technology systems have a cyber program, department faculty use cyber-related publications, and other departments such as political science, finance, management and nursing have cyber content in their curriculum."

The classification by the federal agencies gives Marquette students new scholarship opportunities and opens up restricted grant funding for faculty, Kaczmarek said.

The specialization at Marquette is designed to teach students about cyber security planning and management, and cyber issues and defenses for networks, databases and computing infrastructure.

About Marquette's Center for Cyber Security Awareness and Cyber DefenseThe center provides excellence in education about cyber security, service through partnerships with the university and community, and research opportunities in cyber security technology, cyber security preparedness and cyber security education.