Security Informatics

What is Cybersecurity?

From power grids to wireless networks and the World Wide Web, cyberspace is all around us and permeates our daily lives. Keeping that space safe and secure – both against natural disasters and hackers – is an increasing concern. A world leader in teaching and research, the Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering provides students with the technical foundation and knowledge you will need to meet our nation’s growing demand for highly skilled information security professionals.

Why Hopkins?

Full-time graduate students can take advantage of the Master of Science in Security Informatics (MSSI) program, offered through the Johns Hopkins Information Security Institute (JHUISI). JHUISI is the university’s focal point for research and education in information security, assurance, and privacy, and is instrumental in homeland security efforts across Hopkins, including emergency health preparedness, bio-terrorism, and national defense.

Upon admission to the Master of Science in Security Informatics, a student is assigned a graduate advisor from the Information Security Institute who must approve the courses to be applied to the M.S.S.I. degree.

The Master of Science in Security Informatics program has a course requirement of a minimum of 10 courses, plus a capstone project including a report and presentation. Students must choose one of two tracks – Technology & Research Track or Policy & Management Track.

All courses supporting the M.S.S.I. are categorized as one of four areas of Technology, Policy, Health, and Management. Each course is further classified into Core, Elective or Foundational category.

The Technology & Research Track program of study must satisfy the following course distribution requirements:

• Five Technology courses: at least four Core Technology courses including at least one Core Technology course in Cryptography.
• Three Core Policy/Management/Health courses: at least one Core Policy course and one Core Management course.
• Two additional courses from Core or Elective Technology categories; or when deemed appropriate relative to a student’s background, interests, and goals AND with the prior approval of the faculty advisor and the institute, from other course areas.

The Policy & Management Track program of study must satisfy the following course distribution requirements:

• Three Technology courses: at least two Core Technology courses including at least one Core Technology course in Cryptography.
• Five Core/Foundational Policy/Health/Management courses: at least one course from each of Core Policy/Management/Health categories and at least one Foundational Management course.
• Two additional courses from Core/Elective Technology or Core/Foundational Policy/Management/Health categories; or when deemed appropriate relative to a student’s background, interests, and goals AND with the prior approval of the faculty advisor and the institute, from other course areas.

Project Requirement

The students register for EN.650.736/EN.650.737/EN.650.738 for the capstone project. These courses are not counted toward the 10-course requirement.

In general, the M.S.S.I. Capstone Project will include both technology and non-technology components, and will be conducted within a team-structured environment comprised of students and faculty mentors (plus external mentors if appropriate). These projects will generally be sponsored by government/industry partners and affiliates of the Information Security Institute, and can also be related to faculty research programs supported by grants and contracts. They should relate to real-world problems and exhibit both theoretical and practical significance. The project must be documented by a report and presentation, as well as other applicable deliverables including but not limited to system prototypes, utility libraries, experimental demonstrations, conference or journal submissions, and so on. It should follow the best practice of software engineering.

Students should actively initiate the project while communicating with the potential faculty mentor for technical issues and the faculty advisor for project management. They are expected to develop a project plan at the end of the second semester. The project is expected to have a proposal approved at the start of the third semester and be finished by the end of the third semester. A presentation will be scheduled when the project concludes. The faculty mentor should approve each milestone of the project with the faculty advisor being informed. When the project is completed with all the deliverables, the faculty advisor assigns a score upon the recommendation of the faculty mentor.

Additional Course Requirements

• All courses toward the degree requirement must be 400-level or above. Other courses can be used with the approval of the Institute.
• Courses not found on the area-specific lists can be used to meet area requirements with prior approval from the student’s advisor and the Institute.
• At most two independent study courses can be counted toward the course requirements.
• No courses with grades of P may be counted with the exception of independent study courses.
• At most two courses may be transferred from other institutions. The student’s faculty advisor and the director of Information Security Institute must approve such transfer courses.
• The overall grade point average of the courses counted towards the coursework requirements must be 3.00 or higher.
• At most two courses with grade less than B- may be counted towards the course work requirements. No courses with grade less than C- may be counted.
• A grade of D or F results in probation. A second D or F is cause for being dropped from the program.

JHUISI Courses

All courses supporting the M.S.S.I. are categorized as one of four areas of Technology, Policy, Health, and Management. Each course is further classified into Core, Elective or Foundational category.

• For seven-week course modules, e.g., several courses offered through the Whiting School of Engineering Center for Leadership Education (CLE), two of them count as one course of 3 credit hours.
• Two quarter-based courses, e.g., several courses of course numbers starting with ME from the School of Medicine Division of Health Sciences Informatics, are equivalent of one WSE course of 3 credit hours.

Core Technology Courses

Elective Technology Courses

Core Policy Courses

Core Health Courses

Core Management Courses

Foundational Management Courses

Elective Policy/Health/Management Courses

• Letters of Recommendation (2),
• GRE,
• TOEF/IELTS,
• Statement of Purpose,
• Transcripts