Bachelor of Science in Cyber Security

Bachelor of Science in Cyber Security

An in-demand skill set for the digital age.

High-profile domestic and global cyberattacks have made private sector and government decision-makers painfully aware of the need for well-trained cybersecurity professionals. In response to this growing need, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has established the first undergraduate curriculum guidelines for cybersecurity, while the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security have developed a cybersecurity certification.

Mercyhurst University’s Cyber Security bachelor’s program is one of the first stand-alone programs in the nation to follow both of these guidelines. Already home to one of the nation’s most respected Intelligence Studies programs, Mercyhurst is now able to leverage our experience, faculty expertise, cutting-edge resources, and industry connections to provide an unparalleled cyber education at the undergraduate level.

Fast Facts

• Mercyhurst’s Cyber Security programs are the only ones in the nation to allow students to pursue a double major in Intelligence Studies, offered through the nation’s largest academic intelligence program.
• The Cyber Security major couples technical computer networking and hacking skills with data analytic skills and cyber law and policy.
• Cyber professions are among the fastest-growing careers in the nation, with projected 36 percent job growth by 2024 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) and more than 3 million unfilled job openings in the next few years (Cybersecurity Ventures).
• Mercyhurst’s on-campus Network Operations Center, operated by MCPc, offers majors internship opportunities to gain real-world cybersecurity experience.

Value and Affordability

Mercyhurst University offers a flexible education designed to address a diverse range of disciplines leading to careers in cutting-edge fields. Mercyhurst offers:

• A customizable Core Curriculum with a range of courses helps keep you on track for timely graduation.
• The highest four-year graduation rate in Erie County. Graduating on time means not paying for a fifth year of tuition!
• Opportunities for employment or further education directly after college. Ninety-five percent of our graduate's secured jobs or enrolled in graduate school within a year of graduation.
• Hands-on experience working within your intended field helps prepare you for a career immediately upon graduating.
• The Best Value education in the North Region, according to U.S. News & World Report.

About

Located in Erie, Pennsylvania, on a hill overlooking Lake Erie, our 75-acre campus is known as one of the most beautiful in the region. Elements of English Gothic architecture are carried throughout our Old Main, academic buildings and student residence halls.

Carpe Diem.

Grounded in the ideals of service, hospitality, and entrepreneurship that inspired our founders, a Mercyhurst education encourages the development of lifelong passions and engagement with the larger world. Inspired by our motto, "Carpe Diem," our faculty and students embrace innovation and leadership in service, as they make a difference within our gates and around the world.

Mission

Faith and Service in a Mercy University

"The joy and the hope, the grief and the anguish of the women and men of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. Nothing genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts…That is why Christians cherish a feeling of deep solidarity with the human race and its history." (Gaudium et Spes, Preface 1)

Such dreams and realities engage every Catholic university. They make a particular appeal to Mercy universities founded by the Sisters of Mercy, who have committed their lives and works to serve those who are poor, sick and uneducated. The inspiration expressed in Gaudium et Spes, therefore, lies at the heart of our identity and mission. A Mercyhurst education aims at engaging students for life and at creating leaders in justice and service. In a time of much social change and challenge, this inspiration clarifies our vision of the specific character of our Catholic Mercy University.

Our inspiration leads us to topics of study and engages our perspectives in learning, research, and scholarly endeavors. Such inspiration provides the basis of the social-justice dimension of many of our academic and service programs. Indeed, such inspiration directs the goals of our university. We desire to share this inspiration with those who come through our gates, seeking academic excellence, professional expertise, and a future full of hope.

Our Vision

Mercyhurst University seeks to be a leading higher educational institution that integrates excellence in the liberal arts, professional and career-path programs, and service to regional and world communities.

Our Mission Statement

Consistent with its Catholic identity and Mercy heritage, Mercyhurst University educates women and men in a culture where faith and reason flourish together, where the beauty and power of the liberal arts combine with an appreciation for the dignity of work and a commitment to serving others. Confident in the strength of its student-faculty bonds, the university community is inspired by the image of students whose choices, in life and work, will enable them to realize the human and spiritual values embedded in everyday realities and to exercise leadership in service toward a just world.

Our Core Values

We are:

• Socially merciful,
  • Mercy restores human dignity, expands our social relations, and empowers us to reach out in compassion to others.
• Globally responsible,
  • Globalization challenges us to learn how to steward the resources of the Earth wisely and to act in solidarity with its diverse peoples.
• Compassionately hospitable,
  • Mercy hospitality begins with self-acceptance, welcomes peoples of different faith, ethnic, and cultural traditions, and thus builds communities that transcend mere tolerance.
• Intellectually creative,
  • Generous, inquiring, and critical habits of mind, which support the aspirations for excellence manifested within the academic community, encourage us in our lifelong search for what is true, good, and beautiful.
• Reflectively aware,
  • Our Christian environment encourages self-reflection and contemplation of human behavior, promotes the balance of mind, body, and spirit, and ultimately offers the opportunity to develop a moral compass for a life of integrity.
• Ambassadors of service.

Contact

The Office for Mission Integration, established in 2008, assists the President of Mercyhurst University in promoting and integrating the university’s educational mission, and the beliefs and values of the Catholic identity and legacy of the Sisters of Mercy, as represented in the mission statement and core values of the institution. The work of the office is many faceted but essentially directed to educating and encouraging all members of the university community from students to trustees to advance the mission of Mercyhurst. As such, it has particular care for the Catholic and sponsoring Sisters of Mercy traditions and service.