A new cybersecurity major is to debut, following final approvals, at the University of Oregon and be offered through the College of Arts and Sciences. It was passed by the UO Senate on March 1, and by the UO Board of Trustees on March 14. The program is still awaiting approval from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, Oregon’s agency that coordinates funding and policy for postsecondary education.
Professor Jun Li teaches in the Department of Computer and Information Science and was one of the presenters of this major to the senate. He said this degree would help “bridge the cybersecurity workforce gap.”
According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, cybersecurity is expected to see a 35% increase in employment from 2021-2031, which is much higher than averages for other occupations. It is also expected that there will be 19,500 openings for this job every year on average for the decade.
To meet the demand of careers, Jun Li, Joe Li and Reza Rejaie, professors of computer science and co-proposers of this major, have designed a Bachelor of Science degree in cybersecurity that has some overlap with the computer science degree, but focuses more heavily on classes about cybersecurity.
Students would work through various computer science, math and programming classes to complete this degree. At the higher level of courses, students will have the opportunity to participate in either research or an internship.
“So we see the numbers.” Li said. “Demand from the market is strong for cybersecurity professionals.”
Li said this program hopes to see students learn essential knowledge, skills and up-to-date technologies including hands-on skills in cybersecurity. The program will use an educational framework from the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education to design the courses that will be taught.
UO will join a group of other colleges in Oregon that offer a major in cybersecurity including Oregon State University, Western Oregon University, George Fox University and Eastern Oregon University.
UO’s curriculum would require 104 total credits for a Bachelor of Science degree in cybersecurity.
Rejaie said UO worked with OSU, Portland State University and Oregon legislators to propose House Bill 2049 which would see the creation of a Cybersecurity Center of Excellence that would “address a wide range of issues related to cybersecurity from workforce, training, awareness and technical support.” The center would have a branch in each of the major universities in Oregon.
The bill states that Oregon’s government and schools have a shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals and that educational programs lack the funding to create those professionals. The bill would establish a fund to support the center’s programs and distribute those funds to PSU, OSU and UO for cybersecurity education.
If the bill is passed, Rejaie expects there to be resources from the state that will support the degree.
The cybersecurity major is planned to begin in fall 2023 and has an anticipated headcount of 25 students enrolled at the beginning of that term.