Bridging Complexity and Distance: Designing an Online MS Program in Cyber and Information Operations

Ryan Straight; Dalal Alharthi; Rob Honomichl

doi:https://doi.org/10.21125/iceri.2023

Abstract

With a goal of addressing a widening global cybersecurity workforce gap and the increasing complexities in the domain, this paper presents the considerations, process, and results involved in developing a fully online Master of Science (MS) in Cyber and Information Operations program at a leading R1 (very high research activity) institution in the United States. The program’s coursework, curricular structure, and course delivery methods are presented. Technical and conceptual differences between Cyber Operations education and Cybersecurity education are addressed, along with the standards and frameworks used in program development. Institutional and peer contexts are discussed, as are the inspiration and motivation for developing the program in part as the evolution of a successful undergraduate program with National Security Agency (NSA) Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO) designation. Finally, we elaborate on the curricular and pedagogical opportunities and challenges stemming from the fully online nature of the program, specifically as it pertains to the innovative use of a proprietary AI-driven, realistic virtual learning environment. The main contributions of this paper are: (1) Sharing a model that highlights methodologies for developing or enhancing a MS program in Cyber and Information Operations. (2) Contributing to the existing body of literature in the Cyber Education domain. These contributions aim to support educators and researchers who aim to replicate and/or expand upon these endeavors.

Published in the 2023 ICERI conference proceedings. You can view the associated talk here after the conference.

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CC BY 4.0

Citation

BibTeX citation:

@inproceedings{straight2023,
  author = {Straight, Ryan and Alharthi, Dalal and Honomichl, Rob},
  publisher = {IATED},
  title = {Bridging {Complexity} and {Distance:} {Designing} an {Online}
    {MS} {Program} in {Cyber} and {Information} {Operations}},
  booktitle = {16th annual International Conference of Education,
    Research and Innovation},
  pages = {1-10},
  date = {2023},
  url = {https://iated.org/iceri/publications},
  doi = {https://doi.org/10.21125/iceri.2023},
  issn = {2340-1095},
  langid = {en},
  abstract = {With a goal of addressing a widening global cybersecurity
    workforce gap and the increasing complexities in the domain, this
    paper presents the considerations, process, and results involved in
    developing a fully online Master of Science (MS) in Cyber and
    Information Operations program at a leading R1 (very high research
    activity) institution in the United States. The program’s
    coursework, curricular structure, and course delivery methods are
    presented. Technical and conceptual differences between Cyber
    Operations education and Cybersecurity education are addressed,
    along with the standards and frameworks used in program development.
    Institutional and peer contexts are discussed, as are the
    inspiration and motivation for developing the program in part as the
    evolution of a successful undergraduate program with National
    Security Agency (NSA) Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber
    Operations (CAE-CO) designation. Finally, we elaborate on the
    curricular and pedagogical opportunities and challenges stemming
    from the fully online nature of the program, specifically as it
    pertains to the innovative use of a proprietary AI-driven, realistic
    virtual learning environment. The main contributions of this paper
    are: (1) Sharing a model that highlights methodologies for
    developing or enhancing a MS program in Cyber and Information
    Operations. (2) Contributing to the existing body of literature in
    the Cyber Education domain. These contributions aim to support
    educators and researchers who aim to replicate and/or expand upon
    these endeavors.}
}

For attribution, please cite this work as:

Straight, Ryan, Dalal Alharthi, and Rob Honomichl. 2023. “Bridging Complexity and Distance: Designing an Online MS Program in Cyber and Information Operations.” In 16th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, 1–10. IATED. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21125/iceri.2023.