UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

UT Tyler Proposes Master’s Degree in Cybersecurity

October 6, 2021

Media Contact: Beverley Golden
Senior Director of Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.566.7303

The University of Texas at Tyler announced its plan to offer a new Master of Science degree program to help build the cybersecurity workforce in East Texas and beyond.

Pending approval of the UT System Board of Regents and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Master of Science in cybersecurity and data analytics is anticipated to launch in fall 2022 in UT Tyler’s Soules College of Business.

“There is a critical need to strengthen the defense against cybersecurity threats not only in East Texas but also across the state and nation,’’ said UT Tyler President Kirk Calhoun, MD, FACP. “The University of Texas at Tyler is prepared to move forward aggressively to prepare students to make important contributions as cyber professionals in both public and private sectors.’’

Nearly 465,000 cybersecurity jobs are currently unfilled in the U.S., while organizations and businesses of all sizes increasingly face cyberattacks, according to CyberSeek.org. Joining other education and business leaders at a recent White House Cybersecurity Summit, UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken announced the commitment of UT institutions to increasing cybersecurity degrees, certificates and credentials.

The UT Tyler graduate degree will be the first in the state to combine the disciplines of cybersecurity and data analytics – two components that are critical to keeping valuable data secure, said Krist Swimberghe, DBA, interim dean of Soules College. “Our program will provide the most current knowledge and skills for strengthening cybersecurity protocols and developing cyber-secure control systems.’’

Offered fully online, the program will be open to new baccalaureate graduates of all majors and working professionals of all occupations. Students will begin with foundational courses and advance to specialized studies. They also will have several electives to choose from, along with stackable certifications in cyber data foundation, cyber security, data analytics, applied cyber security and applied data analytics.

In addition to the proposed program, UT Tyler offers cybersecurity concentrations in the Master of Business Administration degree and Bachelor of Science degrees in computer science, computer information systems and information technology. The university also operates a Center for Consumer Cybersecurity to advance cybersecurity in consumer-focused industries such as retail, healthcare and financial services.

For more information about UT Tyler cybersecurity programs, contact Tom Roberts, PhD, professor of computer information systems, at tomroberts@uttyler.edu.

With a mission to improve educational and healthcare outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate programs to 10,000 students. Through its alignment with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with innovative medical research, medical education and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler strives to fulfill our primary missions of education, research and service.