Cyber Risk Management - MS

Program Philosophy and Content
Being able to understand various types of risks and assessing the threat that they pose to their organization’s assets and operations and designing strategies to mitigate them is one of the most critical jobs of a manager. Cyber threats are increasingly becoming one of the biggest threats to various organizations given the reliance on computing and networking technologies by various organizations. Managers who understand how cyber criminals threaten various types of organizations and what to do defend organizational assets, monetize cyber risk, and design policies to mitigate it are in extremely high demand. This is, in part, because in traditional academia cyber security and risk management have been taught in isolation from each other. Integrated cyber risk management academic program have simply not existed. Our masters in cyber risk management is a unique-one of a kind- program that fully integrates cyber security and risk management training to train professionals that are in high demand in the world of work in the 21st century.

As a result of globalization and advances in computing and networking technology during the 21st century, various organizations including those in the banking, financial and insurance sectors have come to store information about their customers and business processes in computer networked devices of various sorts. With the growth of internet of things and automated devices such as self-driving cars, an increasingly larger component of the devices owned by individuals as well as organizations are vulnerable to cyber attacks. Managers in the modern organizations (especially those in the banking, financial and insurance sectors) must understand how to identify these risks, how to assess them, and how to design strategies (including various insurance options) to mitigate cyber risks.

The cyber risk management program at Mercyhurst is not just for those with previous training in computer science or management. Instead, our program has been designed to allow students to acquire these fundamental skills as part of the program. An ideal candidate is a working professional who aspires a risk management position in the banking, financial and insurance sectors. Our 36 credit program can be completed in two years by taking one online class at a time. Coursework highlights the technical, legal and business aspects of cyber risk management, with special emphasis on monetizing cyber risk through insurance. Program graduates will be leaders in an emerging field, well positioned for careers as cyber security managers with small and large enterprises, as well as in the insurance industry.

In just five years, students can earn both a bachelor’s and master’s degree at Mercyhurst University through the new 4+1 Cyber risk management program. Undergraduate students in almost any discipline major of study may apply for the 4+1 program. Interested students must apply by April 1 of their sophomore year or after they have 30 credits completed on their Mercyhurst transcripts. Students of the 4+1 Cyber risk management program will take four graduatelevel courses (12 credits) during their junior and senior years. These credits will count toward the master’s degree, but will be billed at the undergraduate flat rate. These credits will only count for the Master of Science degree and students must complete at least 121 undergraduate credits to earn a bachelor’s degree. As a graduate student, students must complete 24 credits during the fifth year, charged at the graduate rate. Completing these requirements in five years may require students to take some courses during the summer.

The program chair shall conduct an annual review of the academic progress of all students enrolled in the program. Students whose GPA falls below a 3.0 or who might otherwise exhibit behavior that is not conducive to ensuring employment in this field will be placed on probation or removed from the program, depending on the outcome of review.