The Department of Computer Science has introduced its first-ever focus area in cybersecurity, according to Senior Lecturer Ming Chow. The rollout of the focus area, which is available to all class years, is being done under the leadership of Chow.
The new focus comes as Tufts has seen a surge of popularity in computer science degrees. The number of students graduating with bachelor's degrees in computer science has more than tripled since 2012 in the School of Arts and Sciences, and more than doubled over the same period in the School of Engineering, according to Tufts' 2017–2018 Fact Book.
Chow explained that cybersecurity is not a new field, but has grown in importance in recent years.
“The idea of security is not new," Chow said. "The problem is we have reached a point in our lives where we have grown dependent on technology, and now we’re seeing all this [technology] being broken into."The introduction of cybersecurity is also a result of a call from graduating computer science seniors for the department to support more focus areas in the major, according to Megan Monaghan, academic resource advisor with the computer science department. “We’ve recently had many comments about tracks or focus areas to help guide coursework in the major," Monaghan said. Monaghan explained that in response, the department solicited ideas from faculty for new focus areas. Chow suggested cybersecurity.
Chow, who has taught an "Introduction to Computer Security" course since 2011, noted that students who took that course recognized that the field of cybersecurity was too broad to be examined in a single semester. This, he said, demonstrated the need for an expansion of the curriculum.
"Why not do this now when the competition is so fierce, especially in cybersecurity?” Chow said.
Tufts has recently been promoting the study of cybersecurity, especially through The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. The Center for International Law and Governance at the Fletcher School hosted a two-day conference on cybersecurity last weekend. The university also hired Susan Landau as a bridge professor of cybersecurity and policy at both the Fletcher School and the computer science department in the School of Engineering.
Chow said that the department's new cybersecurity focus area will complement this effort. He also noted the myriad careers that studying cybersecurity could open up. “You can work in malware, cryptography, political science [or] cyber warfare,” Chow said.Monaghan elaborated on what the cybersecurity focus area could accomplish for students.“We hope that it will provide students with a road map to follow if they are interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity, or just want to learn more about how systems, applications, algorithms and protocols work and fail," she said. "Security is an important topic in just about every area of computer science.” Chow explained that the cybersecurity focus area was "soft-launched" so that the department could hear feedback from students and improve the focus area. He noted that feedback so far has been extremely positive.Sophomore Ryan Sheehan, who is studying computer science, expressed excitement about the interdisciplinary nature of the new focus area.“I think if you have more interest in the liberal arts, [cybersecurity] is a particularly great place to go in computer science,” he said.Sheehan also stressed the critical thinking skills needed to approach cybersecurity from both the offensive and defensive sides."You need to be able to think about how a hacker would assess your own vulnerabilities and counteract that," Sheehan said."It’s like a big game of chess, really," he added.
While cybersecurity is currently the only official focus area in the computer science major, others, such as data science and algorithms, are in the mix as well. Data science is currently available as a major for engineering, but not liberal arts, students.
“We do plan to introduce more over the coming semesters," Monaghan said. "These will be posted to our website as soon as they're developed."
Sheehan added he would like to see a machine learning focus area be developed in the department.
Chow summed up the benefits of the cybersecurity focus area.“Having the cybersecurity focus area now shows students that there’s a lot more to being in computer science than constant programming," Chow said. "This is an opportunity for students to build not only depth but specialization into a certain area."
The new focus comes as Tufts has seen a surge of popularity in computer science degrees. The number of students graduating with bachelor's degrees in computer science has more than tripled since 2012 in the School of Arts and Sciences, and more than doubled over the same period in the School of Engineering, according to Tufts' 2017–2018 Fact Book.
Chow explained that cybersecurity is not a new field, but has grown in importance in recent years.
“The idea of security is not new," Chow said. "The problem is we have reached a point in our lives where we have grown dependent on technology, and now we’re seeing all this [technology] being broken into."The introduction of cybersecurity is also a result of a call from graduating computer science seniors for the department to support more focus areas in the major, according to Megan Monaghan, academic resource advisor with the computer science department. “We’ve recently had many comments about tracks or focus areas to help guide coursework in the major," Monaghan said. Monaghan explained that in response, the department solicited ideas from faculty for new focus areas. Chow suggested cybersecurity.
Chow, who has taught an "Introduction to Computer Security" course since 2011, noted that students who took that course recognized that the field of cybersecurity was too broad to be examined in a single semester. This, he said, demonstrated the need for an expansion of the curriculum.
He also noted a demand for more robust cybersecurity-related classes from prospective students. Cybersecurity classes, he added, can help give Tufts a competitive edge.
"Why not do this now when the competition is so fierce, especially in cybersecurity?” Chow said.
Tufts has recently been promoting the study of cybersecurity, especially through The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. The Center for International Law and Governance at the Fletcher School hosted a two-day conference on cybersecurity last weekend. The university also hired Susan Landau as a bridge professor of cybersecurity and policy at both the Fletcher School and the computer science department in the School of Engineering.
Chow said that the department's new cybersecurity focus area will complement this effort. He also noted the myriad careers that studying cybersecurity could open up. “You can work in malware, cryptography, political science [or] cyber warfare,” Chow said.Monaghan elaborated on what the cybersecurity focus area could accomplish for students.“We hope that it will provide students with a road map to follow if they are interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity, or just want to learn more about how systems, applications, algorithms and protocols work and fail," she said. "Security is an important topic in just about every area of computer science.” Chow explained that the cybersecurity focus area was "soft-launched" so that the department could hear feedback from students and improve the focus area. He noted that feedback so far has been extremely positive.Sophomore Ryan Sheehan, who is studying computer science, expressed excitement about the interdisciplinary nature of the new focus area.“I think if you have more interest in the liberal arts, [cybersecurity] is a particularly great place to go in computer science,” he said.Sheehan also stressed the critical thinking skills needed to approach cybersecurity from both the offensive and defensive sides."You need to be able to think about how a hacker would assess your own vulnerabilities and counteract that," Sheehan said."It’s like a big game of chess, really," he added.
While cybersecurity is currently the only official focus area in the computer science major, others, such as data science and algorithms, are in the mix as well. Data science is currently available as a major for engineering, but not liberal arts, students.
“We do plan to introduce more over the coming semesters," Monaghan said. "These will be posted to our website as soon as they're developed."
Sheehan added he would like to see a machine learning focus area be developed in the department.
Chow summed up the benefits of the cybersecurity focus area.“Having the cybersecurity focus area now shows students that there’s a lot more to being in computer science than constant programming," Chow said. "This is an opportunity for students to build not only depth but specialization into a certain area."
