The Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity provides you with a strong foundation in software development, network security, ethical hacking, cryptography, digital forensics, and cloud security. Through hands-on labs, you gain experience with industry-standard tools to detect cyber threats, secure systems, and investigate digital crimes. You also focus on the legal, ethical, and social aspects of cybersecurity, preparing you to navigate complex security challenges in today's workplace.

You can join our award-winning cybersecurity club, gaining real-world experience through competitions and collaborative projects. With nationally recognized faculty, cutting-edge research opportunities, and strong industry connections, our program prepares you for high-demand roles in cybersecurity.

E-advising Tools

Use the interactive e-advising tools designed to help students graduate within four years. These tools can be accessed through the Student Center in the Portal.

Grading Requirement

All courses taken to fulfill program course requirements must be taken for a letter grade except those courses specified by the department as credit/no credit grading only.

Some courses require a minimum grade to progress in the program. Minimum grade requirements, including those listed on course requisites, are considered graduation requirements.

Course Requirements for the Major: 89 units 

Completion of the following courses, or their approved transfer equivalents, is required of all candidates for this degree. Courses in this program may complete more than one graduation requirement.

Course List

Course	Title	Units
Lower Division
CRIM 250	Introduction to Criminal Justice	3
CSCI 111	Programming and Algorithms I	4
CSCI 211	Programming and Algorithms II	4
CSCI/MATH 217	Discrete Mathematics	3
CSCI 220	Introduction to Cloud Infrastructure and Security	3
MATH 119	Precalculus Mathematics	4
Select one of the following:		3
CSCI 221	Assembly Language Programming
EECE 237	Embedded Systems Development
Upper Division
CSCI 301W	Computer's Impact on Society (W)	3
CSCI 311	Algorithms and Data Structures	4
CSCI 370	Introduction to Databases	3
CSCI 440	Operating Systems	4
CSCI 448	Cybersecurity	3
CSCI 490	Capstone 1	3
CSCI 546	Network Forensics	3
CSCI 548	Digital Forensics	3
EECE 537	Smart Device Security	4
MATH 315	Applied Statistical Methods I	3
MATH 317	Cryptography	4
MINS 536	Security and Privacy Issues in Information Technology	3
Select one of the following:		3
CSCI/EECE 446	Introduction to Computer Networks and Network Management
MINS 346	Data Communications and Networking
Select one of the following:		3
CSCI 344	Shell Programming
CSCI 345	Linux System Administration
Select one of the following:		3
CSCI 431W	Usability Engineering (W)
PSYC 321	Brain, Mind, and Behavior
Select one of the following:		3
CSCI 315	Programming Languages
CSCI 515	Compiler Design
Select one of the following:		3
CSCI 565	Server Side App Development
CSCI 567	Client Side App Development
Select 10 units from the following 2		10
EECE 555	Advanced Computer Networks
MINS 546	E-Commerce and Cloud Computing in Business
Any upper-division Computer Science (CSCI) courses
Total Units		89

¹

Must be a cybersecurity focused project.

²

A maximum of three units may be taken for credit/no credit grading.

See Bachelor's Degree Requirements for complete details on general degree requirements. A minimum of 39 units, including those required for the major, must be upper division.

General Education Requirements: 43 units

See General Education and the Class Schedule for the most current information on General Education requirements and course offerings.

This major has approved GE modification(s). See below for information on how to apply these modification(s).

• CSCI 217/MATH 217 is an approved major course substitution for Critical Thinking (1B).
• CSCI 301W is an approved major course substitution for Upper Division Arts and Humanities (UD-3).

American Institutions Course Requirements: 6 units

The American Institutions graduation requirement, as mandated in Title 5, Section 40404, requires that students satisfactorily complete courses in United States history, the US Constitution, and government and American ideals (including California state and local government). At Chico State, HIST 130 meets the US history requirement (US-1), and POLS 155 meets the US Constitution and government requirement (US-2) and the California state and local government requirement (US-3). POLS 155 also fulfills three units of GE Area 4, Social and Behavioral Sciences. See Bachelor’s Degree Requirements for more information.

Diversity Course Requirements: 6 units

You must complete a minimum of two courses that focus primarily on cultural diversity. At least one course must be in US Diversity (USD) and at least one in Global Cultures (GC). See Diversity Requirements for a full list of courses. Many courses taken to satisfy these requirements may also apply to General Education.

Upper-Division Writing Requirement

Writing Across the Curriculum (EM 17-009) requires you to take four Writing (W) courses, two of which are upper-division courses designated for your major. Specifically, you must:

• Take one Writing (W) course.
• Take one Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GW) course.
  • Complete a GE English Composition (1A) course before taking the GW course.
  • Earn a grade of C- or higher to receive GW credit.

See Writing and Math Requirements for details on additional writing requirements you need to complete for graduation.

Major-Designated Courses

Writing (W) Course 

• Any upper-division Writing (W) course.

GWAR (GW) Course

• CSCI 301W Computer's Impact on Society (W)

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) are clear, measurable statements that describe how students demonstrate mastery of the knowledge, skills, and values of the discipline as appropriate to the degree. Graduates of this program are expected to achieve the following PLOs:

1. Develop, test, and debug software solutions using structured and object-oriented programming principles.
2. Explain the fundamental components of cloud computing and security considerations in cloud environments.
3. Demonstrate secure deployment and management of cloud-based infrastructure.
4. Analyze the role of law enforcement and legal frameworks in digital crime prevention.
5. Demonstrate secure coding practices to mitigate risks in assembly and embedded environments.
6. Describe network protocols, topologies, and architectures.
7. Write and execute secure shell scripts to automate cybersecurity tasks.
8. Configure and manage Linux systems securely, applying access control and privilege escalation mitigation techniques.
9. Apply SQL injection prevention techniques and best practices in database security.
10. Identify and analyze threats, vulnerabilities, and attacks in various computing environments.
11. Evaluate ethical, legal, and societal impacts of cybersecurity technologies and policies.
12. Analyze and secure operating system components, including memory management, processes, and access controls.
13. Develop and present a cybersecurity project addressing a real-world security challenge.
14. Conduct forensic investigations using industry-standard tools and methodologies.
15. Capture, analyze, and interpret network traffic for forensic investigations.
16. Implement cryptographic algorithms for secure data transmission and storage.
17. Assess the security risks associated with IoT and smart devices.
18. Evaluate information security policies and privacy regulations.
19. Apply principles of programming languages, software design, and system architecture to develop secure and efficient computing solutions.
20. Develop secure web and mobile applications following secure coding principles.
21. Assess security challenges in cloud computing and e-commerce platforms.
22. Incorporate human factors, cognitive processes, and behavioral principles into cybersecurity design and policy to improve system usability and resilience.
23. Apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering (or computing) to identify, formulate, and solve complex problems. Apply mathematics appropriate to the discipline to analyze and solve technical problems.