ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Recent high-profile hacking and ransomware attacks on U.S. companies have shown the need for governments, businesses and organizations to improve their cybersecurity.
With the high demand for cybersecurity expertise, Winthrop University has developed a pathway to help meet the demand for more skilled workers.
Starting this fall, the Department of Computer Science and Quantitative Methods will begin offering a Bachelor of Science degree in cybersecurity. Department Chair Steve Dannelly said the content of the degree is based on curriculum recommendations from the U.S. National Security Agency.
Andrew Besmer, an associate professor of computer science who conducts research on cybersecurity and worked in security at Google, is leading the development of this new degree program.
In addition, the department has begun offering a software development degree targeted at associate degree holders. Graduates from S.C. technical colleges with an associate degree in programming have opportunities for careers as programmers.
With many management positions requiring a four-year bachelor degree, those who already have a two-year associate degree can work toward that goal at Winthrop. By enrolling in coursework to attain Winthrop’s bachelor’s degree in applied software development, students can earn the four-year degree from Winthrop in two years.
Dannelly said the program’s content uses coursework from Winthrop’s successful computer science degree.
For more information, contact Dannelly at dannellys@winthrop.edu or Besmer at besmera@winthrop.edu.
