Computer Science / Bachelor of Science to Master of Science in Information Security / Fast Track

Total Credit Hours: 128

Major Credit Hours: 56

The Computer and Mathematical Sciences Department offers a Bachelor’s to Master’s Fast Track option for Lewis University undergraduate Computer Science majors interested in the Technical Track of the Master of Science in Information Security program. The Fast Track option allows qualified undergraduates to complete the graduate MSIS (Master of Science in Information Security) in less time than would be possible if the two programs were taken separately. Up to nine graduate hours may be used both to complete the Bachelor of Science degree (128 hours) and to satisfy specific course requirements in the Master’s program (32 hours). Students apply for admission to the Fast Track option by submitting both the department application form and the Block Tuition Exemption form to the Chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department when they reach senior status (complete 90 credits); have completed the following courses: CPSC 20000, CPSC 21000, CPSC 24500, CPSC 24000, and MATH 31000; and have achieved a minimum GPA of 3.0 in courses in the B.S. in Computer Science major. Qualified undergraduate students approved for the Fast Track option may apply financial aid to one, two, or three graduate courses and are exempt from the 18-hour block in the semesters when they take these select graduate courses. Students who take nine credit hours of selected graduate courses in the Master of Science in Information Security curriculum in their senior year and earn a grade of “B” or better in each of those courses will have to complete a minimum of 21 more credit hours to earn the MSIS. Students who enter the MSIS program through this Fast Track option will not be required to take INSY 51000 and CPSC 51500.  Students accepted into this Fast Track option are required to apply for admission to the MSIS.

Listed below are graduate courses in the MSIS program which students enrolled in the Fast Track option may take during their senior year. Listed next to each is the undergraduate course for which it substitutes, where applicable. 

Students in this Fast Track option may apply no more than three of these courses toward their undergraduate Bachelor of Science major in Computer Science:

INSY 50500 Introduction to Information Security

CPSC 52000 Intrusion Detection, Response, and Recovery substitutes for INFO 42000 Computer Security

INSY 52300 Computer Forensics substitutes for CPSC 25000 File Systems and Digital Forensics

CPSC 52500 Encryption and Authentication Systems substitutes for CPSC 42500 Encryption

CPSC 56000 Securing Windows substitutes for CPSC 48500 Advanced Communications and Networking

INSY 56300 Database Management and Security substitutes for CPSC 33000 Database Systems

CPSC 56500 Software Vulnerabilities and Defenses substitutes for CPSC 24700 Web and Distributed Programming

Degree Requirements

Program: BS-CPSC-A

I. Core Courses (56)

MATH-24000Applied Calculus

4

MATH-30700Applied Linear Algebra

3

MATH-31000Discrete Mathematics

4

CPSC-20000Introduction to Computer Science

3

CPSC-21000Programming Fundamentals

3

CPSC-24500Object-Oriented Programming

3

CPSC-24700Web and Distributed Programming

3

CPSC-25000File Systems and Digital Forensics

3

CPSC-33000Database Systems

3

CPSC-34000Algorithms and Data Structures

3

CPSC-35000Operating Systems

3

CPSC-42000Computer Security

3

CPSC-42500Encryption

3

CPSC-46000Programming Languages

3

CPSC-48000Communications and Networking

3

CPSC-48500Advanced Communications and Networking

3

CPSC-49300Computer Infrastructure Capstone Project

3

II. Advanced Writing Requirement

The advanced writing requirement of the General Education curriculum is satisfied by successful completion of:
CPSC-48500Advanced Communications and Networking

3

CPSC-49300Computer Infrastructure Capstone Project

3