Program Description | Admission | Degree Requirements | Courses
Program Description
The Master of Science in Digital Forensics is a thirty-six hour program that prepares
students for service in a variety of public and commercial arenas as digital
forensics or network security professionals. In particular, graduates from the
Digital Forensics program will be able to effectively plan, establish, and
administer security and information assurance systems in commercial settings and
law enforcement. This program utilizes state of the art facilities, Sam Houston
State University's Center of Excellence in Digital Forensics. The facility
includes a Network Security Lab, accommodating training in data, network and
cyber security intrusion detection, prevention and tracing, and a Data Recovery
Lab that will provide training in the identification, recovery, and preservation
of data for legal purposes.
Admission
Applicants seeking admission to the MS in Digital Forensics must submit the following directly to the Office of Graduate Studies:
- A Graduate Studies Application with the application fee
- Official transcript(s) of all previous college work
- Official GRE scores
- Two letters of recommendation that address the applicant's qualification for graduate study
This degree is accessible to students who have completed undergraduate Computer Science or Criminal Justice majors or minors and to those with baccalaureate degrees in technical fields with the equivalent of a Computer Science or Criminal Justice minor in formal coursework or professional experience. Applicants who do not possess the appropriate academic, technical, or experiential backgrounds may be required to take stem work courses. In addition, admission preference is given to applicants with a GPA of 3.0 or greater.
Degree Requirements
The degree requires a minimum of thirty-six hours of graduate credit.
Students are required to complete a written comprehensive examination prior to registering for DF 637 <DFSC 6347> Directed Management and Development Project. Students may be also be required to supplement their written responses in an oral examination. Students must be enrolled the semester in which they take comprehensive examinations.
The department chair assigns a committee advisor to each student at the time the student registers for DF 637 <DFSC 6347>. The advisory committee consists of graduate faculty from the Department of Computer Science. Once enrolled in DF 637 <DFSC 6347>, a student must be continually enrolled in each major semester until graduation.
Plan 1 - MS in Digital Forensics
Item |
Requirement |
Options |
Hours Required |
| 1 | Specified Course |
Choose all from: DF 534 <DFSC 5317> Digital Security DF 561 <DFSC 5319> Network Security I DF 583 <DFSC 5327> Digital Forensics Investigation DF 584 <DFSC 5328> Software Forensic Evidence Management DF 630 <DFSC 5318> Cyber Law DF 637 <DFSC 6347> Directed Management and Development Project1 |
18 |
| 2 | Electives |
Choose six from: Graduate courses in DFSC or any approved COSC graduate courses |
18 |
TOTAL |
36 |
||
| Notes: |
| 1 | Once enrolled in DF 637 <DFSC 6347>, the student must enroll in this course until graduation. |
Courses
Digital Forensics Course Descriptions