The estimated global losses from cybercrime in 2020 were projected at almost $1 trillion, as the coronavirus pandemic — with everyone working from home, doing everything on their phones and computers — opened up new vulnerabilities for cybercriminals to exploit. That figure is according to a recent report in The Washington Post, citing data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies and computer security company McAfee. It is almost double the financial losses from cybercrime in 2018.

To address the demand for cybersecurity professionals across industries both nationally and internationally — from the public to the private sector — Fairfield University’s School of Engineering launched a Cybersecurity graduate program in the fall of 2020.

“The main goal of the master’s program is to prepare professionals for the cybersecurity space with both technical hands-on experience and a broad understanding of the policies required for security governance in most companies,” said Dean of the School of Engineering Andres L. Carrano, PhD. “The students who graduate from this program will be able to assess and remediate threats, but also to participate actively in all the managerial aspects of the cybersecurity program of an organization.”

The scale of the demand for cybersecurity professionals is staggering. According to The New York Times, citing a report by leading research company Cybersecurity Ventures, there will be as many as 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally this year, as cybercrime damages climb into the trillions of dollars.

With such staggering anticipated demand, Fairfield’s MS in Cybersecurity program has much to offer, and with its location in the middle of a thriving Northeast life-science and data-science corridors, Cybersecurity graduates are well-positioned to gain full-time employment in the field after graduation.

Dean Carrano said, “We offer a master’s degree in cybersecurity that can be completed entirely online with the flexibility to choose between two concentrations: a technical and a managerial track. We aim to become a steady and reliable source of cybersecurity experts to a wide array of companies.”

The School of Engineering program is supported by a new state-of-the-art Cybersecurity Lab, designed in partnership with Pulse Secure, the leading provider of Zero Trust Secure Access solutions. The lab supports the cybersecurity curriculum both in-person and online, and provides students with a realistic environment to solve sophisticated, real-world security threats.

Admission to the program is open to students who hold a bachelor’s degree and come from a broad array of professional or academic backgrounds such as — but not limited to — information technology, business, engineering, science, and law.

Similar to other graduate-level engineering programs at the School of Engineering, the Cybersecurity program requires a two-semester capstone experience. During the capstone, students work in teams with local businesses or nonprofits to take on cybersecurity tasks that could vary from running vulnerability scans to implementing cybersecurity frameworks.

Learn more about the program at fairfield.edu/cybersecurity.