The cybersecurity and criminal justice combined degree applies a multidisciplinary approach to ensuring the reliability and security of cyberspace. The program will provide students with a strong programming foundation coupled with academic and experiential knowledge of the criminal justice system. Students learn how social behavior, policy, and legal rules can affect cybersecurity and utilize comparative social science to understand, predict, and explain crime.
Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.
Universitywide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
Cybersecurity Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science Overview | ||
| CS 1200 | First Year Seminar | 1 |
| or CRIM 1000 | Criminal Justice at Northeastern | |
| CS 1210 | Professional Development for Khoury Co-op | 1 |
| or EESH 2000 | Professional Development for Co-op | |
| Computer Science Fundamentals Courses | ||
| CS 1800 and CS 1802 | Discrete Structures and Seminar for CS 1800 | 5 |
| CS 2500 and CS 2501 | Fundamentals of Computer Science 1 and Lab for CS 2500 | 5 |
| CS 2510 and CS 2511 | Fundamentals of Computer Science 2 and Lab for CS 2510 | 5 |
| Computer Science Required Courses | ||
| CS 3000 | Algorithms and Data | 4 |
| CS 3500 and CS 3501 | Object-Oriented Design and Lab for CS 3500 | 5 |
| CS 3650 | Computer Systems | 4 |
| CS 3700 | Networks and Distributed Systems | 4 |
| Cybersecurity Required Courses | ||
| CY 2550 | Foundations of Cybersecurity | 4 |
| CY 3740 | Systems Security | 4 |
| CY 4740 | Network Security | 4 |
| Cybersecurity Elective | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Logic and Computation | ||
| Large-Scale Parallel Data Processing | ||
| Programming Languages | ||
| Software Development | ||
| Mobile and Wireless Systems | ||
or CS 6710 | Wireless Network | |
| Cryptography | ||
| Large-Scale Information Storage and Retrieval | ||
| Machine Learning and Data Mining 1 | ||
| Security Risk Management and Assessment | ||
| Information System Forensics | ||
| Software Vulnerabilities and Security | ||
| Human Computer Interaction | ||
| Fundamentals of Digital Design and Computer Organization and Lab for EECE 2322 | ||
| Computer Architecture and Organization | ||
| Microprocessor-Based Design and Lab for EECE 4534 | ||
| Number Theory 1 | ||
| Introduction to Cryptography | ||
| Free Speech in Cyberspace | ||
| Introduction to Law | ||
| Introduction to Law, Policy, and Society | ||
| Topics in Law and Public Policy | ||
| Technology and Human Values | ||
| Science, Technology, and Public Policy | ||
| Public Policy and Administration | ||
| Law and Society | ||
| International Law | ||
| International Security | ||
| U.S. National Security Policy | ||
| Terrorism and Counterterrorism | ||
Supporting Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete the following course: | ||
| MATH 1341 | Calculus 1 for Science and Engineering | 4 |
Computer Science Writing Requirement
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| College Writing | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| First-Year Writing | ||
| First-Year Writing for Multilingual Writers | ||
| Advanced Writing in the Disciplines | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Advanced Writing in the Technical Professions | ||
| Advanced Writing in the Social Sciences | ||
| Advanced Writing for Prelaw | ||
| Interdisciplinary Advanced Writing in the Disciplines | ||
Criminal Justice Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Crime, Law, and the Justice System | ||
What do we know about crime and justice? In these three courses, students have an opportunity to develop a foundational understanding of three related phenomena: why crime exists, how our criminal justice system responds to crime, and the constitutional and legal oversight of this process. | ||
| CRIM 1100 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 4 |
| CRIM 1110 | Criminal Due Process | 4 |
| CRIM 1120 | Criminology | 4 |
| Current Crime and Justice Issues | ||
These courses introduce students to topical issues related to crime and justice. | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| The Death Penalty | ||
| Human Trafficking | ||
| Corruption, Integrity, and Accountability | ||
| Crime, Media, and Politics | ||
| Crime Problems and Criminal Justice Institutions | ||
The 2000-level courses in this list ask how does justice work and for whom? These courses introduce students to the systems and institutions tasked with providing justice. Each includes experiential learning components in cooperation with local criminal justice institutions. The 3000-level courses in this list provide students a deeper look at a range of crime problems. | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Courts: The Third Branch of Government | ||
| Youth Crime and Justice | ||
| Punishment in the Age of Mass Incarceration | ||
| Criminal Violence | ||
| Global Criminology | ||
| Psychology of Crime | ||
| Corporate and White-Collar Crime | ||
| Addiction and Recovery | ||
| Creating Knowledge about Crime and Justice | ||
How do we know what we know about crime and justice—and how do we develop new knowledge? Harnessing data to learn about issues, identify solutions, and advocate for change. | ||
| CRIM 3600 | Criminal Justice Research Methods | 4 |
| CRIM 3700 | Analyzing and Using Data on Crime and Justice | 4 |
| Systemic Issues | ||
A consideration of systemic issues facing the criminal justice system. | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Gender, Crime, and Justice | ||
| Race, Crime, and Justice | ||
| Criminal Justice Elective | ||
Rounding out knowledge of crime and justice. | ||
| Complete one additional criminal justice elective from the 3000, 4000 or 5000-level. | 4 | |
| Criminal Justice Capstone | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Senior Capstone Seminar | ||
| Cybersecurity Capstone | ||
| Research Projects on National Security | ||
Criminal Justice Co-op Integration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Co-op students should complete at least one of the following courses. CRIM 3000 is required for the first co-op. CRIM 4000 is required if a second co-op is taken: | ||
| CRIM 3000 | Co-op Integration Seminar 2 | 1 |
| CRIM 4000 | Co-op Integration Seminar 3 | 1 |
Integrative Requirement
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Cybersecurity Integrative Course | ||
| CY 4170 | The Law, Ethics, and Policy of Data and Digital Technologies | 4 |
| or CY 5240 | Cyberlaw: Privacy, Ethics, and Digital Rights | |
| Criminal Justice Integrative Course | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Corporate Security: Securing the Private Sector | ||
| Policing a Democratic Society | ||
| Organized Crime | ||
| Political Crime and Terrorism | ||
| Crime Prevention | ||
| Topics in Criminal Justice and Criminology | ||
Required General Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete 24 credits of general electives. | 24 | |
Khoury College GPA Requirement
Minimum 2.000 GPA required in all CS, CY, DS, and IS courses.
NUpath Requirements Satisfied
- Engaging with the Natural and Designed World
- Conducting Formal and Quantitative Reasoning
- Understanding Societies and Institutions
- Analyzing and Using Data
- Employing Ethical Reasoning
- Writing in the First Year
- Advanced Writing in the Disciplines
- Writing-Intensive in the Major
- Demonstrating Thought and Action in a Capstone
Integrating Knowledge and Skills Through Experience is satisfied through co-op.
Program Requirement
134 total semester hours required.
Sample Plan of Study:
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| CRIM 1100 | 4 | CRIM 1110 | 4 | CS 3500 and CS 3501 | 5 | General Elective | 4 |
| CS 1200 | 1 | CRIM 1120 | 4 | General Elective | 4 | General Elective | 4 |
| CS 1800 and CS 1802 | 5 | CS 2510 and CS 2511 | 5 | ||||
| CS 2500 and CS 2501 | 5 | CY 2550 | 4 | ||||
| ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||||
| 19 | 17 | 9 | 8 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| CRIM 3600 | 4 | CRIM 3700 | 4 | General Elective | 4 | Co-op | |
| CS 3650 | 4 | CS 1210 | 1 | General Elective | 4 | ||
| MATH 1341 | 4 | CS 3000 | 4 | ||||
| CRIM Elective: General | 4 | CS 3700 | 4 | ||||
| CRIM Elective: Thematic | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 17 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Co-op | CRIM 3000 | 1 | ENGW 3302 | 4 | Co-op | ||
| CY 3740 | 4 | General Elective | 4 | ||||
| CRIM Elective: Survey | 4 | ||||||
| CRIM Elective: System-wide | 4 | ||||||
| Cybersecurity Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 0 | 17 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| Co-op | CRIM 4000 | 1 | |||||
| CY 4170 | 4 | ||||||
| CY 4740 | 4 | ||||||
| CRIM Integrative Course | 4 | ||||||
| Capstone | 4 | ||||||
| 0 | 17 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 136 | |||||||