in this division...

Division of Business & Engineering

Security and Risk Analysis, B.S. (SRA)

Degree Information

Security and Risk Analysis

The Bachelor of Science in Securtiy and Risk Analysis (SRA) in the College of Information Sciences and Technology is intended to familiarize students with the general frameworks and multidisciplinary theories that define the area of security and related risk analyses. Courses in the major will engage students in the challenges and problems associated with assuring information confidentiality and integrity (e.g., social, economic, technology-related, and policy issues), as well as the strengths and weaknesses of various methods for assessing and mitigating associated risk.

The major provides a grounding in the analysis and modeling efforts used in information search, visualization, and creative problem solving. This knowledge is supplemented through an examination of the legal, ethical, and regulatory issues related to security that includes analyzing privacy laws, internal control and regulatory policies, as well as basic investigative processes and principles. Such understanding is applied to venues that include transnational terrorism, cyber crimes, financial fraud, risk mitigation, and security and crisis management. It also includes overviews of the information technology that plays a critical role in identifying, preventing and responding to security-related events.

Advisory groups from within and outside the University involved in the design of the major have agreed that graduates who can understand the cognitive, social, economic, and policy issues involved in security and risk management as well as the basics of the information technology and analytics that are included in the security/risk arena will be very successful. These observations drove the design and objectives of the SRA major.

INFORMATION AND CYBER SECURITY OPTION. This option includes a set of courses that provides an understanding of the theories, skills, and technologies associated with network security, cyber threat defense, information warfare, and critical infrastructure protection across multiple venues.

Entrance Requirements: To be eligible for entrance to the Security and Risk Analysis (SRA) major, students must:

be taking, or have taken, a program appropriate for entry to the major as shown in the Bulletin, including approximately 60 credits of course work.
have completed the following entrance-to-major requirements with grades of C or better in each: IST 110(3); SRA 111(3); and SRA 211(3). These courses must be completed by the end of the semester during which the entrance-to-major procedure is carried out.
have achieved a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00 prior to and through the end of the semester during which the entrance-to-major procedure is carried out.

For the B.S. degree in Security and Risk Analysis, a minimum of 120 credits is required.

Scheduling Recommendation by Semester Standing given like (Sem: 1-2)

GENERAL EDUCATION: 45 credits
(22 credits are included in the REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)
(See description of General Education in front of the Bulletin.)

FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR:
(Included in ELECTIVES or GENERAL EDUCATION course selection)

UNITED STATES CULTURES AND INTERNATIONAL CULTURES:
(Included in REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)

WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM:
(Included in REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)

ELECTIVES: 3 credits

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR: 94 credits
(This includes 22 credits of General Education courses: 6 credits of GQ courses; 6 credits of GS courses; 3 credits of GWS courses, 3 credits of GH, and 4 credits of GN courses)

COMMON REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR (ALL OPTIONS): 73 credits

PRESCRIBED COURSES (43 credits)
CMPSC 101 GQ(3), SRA 111 GS(3)[1] (Sem: 1-2)
IST 110 GS(3)[1] (Sem: 1-3)
ACCTG 211(4) (Sem: 1-4)
MICRB 106 GN(3) and MICRB 107 GN(1) (Sem: 1-6)
SRA 211(3)[1], SRA 221(3)[1], SRA 231(3)[1] (Sem: 2-4)
STAT 200 GQ(4) (Sem: 3-6)
IST 495(1) (Sem: 3-8)
IST 432(3), SRA 311(3)[1], STAT 460(3) (Sem: 5-6)
IST 440W(3) (Sem: 7-8)

ADDITIONAL COURSES (12 credits)
AG BM 101 GS(3) or ECON 002 GS(3) (Sem: 1-4)
PL SC 001 GS(3), PL SC 014 GS;IL(3), or GEOG 040 GS;IL(3) (Sem: 1-4)
PSYCH 100 GS(3) or SOC 005 GS(3) (Sem: 1-6)
ENGL 202C GWS(3) or ENGL 202D GWS(3) (Sem: 5-8)

SUPPORTING COURSES AND RELATED AREAS (18 credits)
Attainment of third-level proficiency in a single foreign language (12 credits). Proficiency must be demonstrated by either examination or course work. See the admission section of the general information in this Bulletin for the placement policy for Penn State foreign language courses. (Sem: 1-4)
Select 6 credits of international courses from RL ST 001 GH(3), HIST 010 GH(3), or HIST 011 GH(3) (Sem: 5-8) or other courses approved by adviser.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE OPTION: 21 credits

INFORMATION AND CYBER SECURITY OPTION: (21 credits)

PRESCRIBED COURSES (12 credits)
IST 220(3) (Sem: 1-6)
IST 451(3), IST 454(3), IST 456(3) (Sem: 5-8)

SUPPORTING COURSES AND RELATED AREAS (9 credits)
Select 9 credits from College-approved list (Sem: 5-8)

Contact:

Dr. Jungwoo Ryoo
Associate Professor in Information Sciences and Technology
Business and Engineering

Office: 147 Robert L. Smith Learning Resources Center
Phone: 814-949-5243
Email:
WWW: http://www.personal.psu.edu/jxr65