Information Assurance Security Degree Program: Concentration in Computer Science

Information assurance and security professionals design, install, configure, manage, and troubleshoot an
organization’s security policies, processes, network, hardware, and software infrastructure. They apply tools
and technologies to ensure that the organization is secure.

CTU's Bachelor of Science in Information Assurance and Security degree can allow undergraduate learners to learn and apply various processes, tools, technologies, and methods of securing an enterprise; including security policies, social engineering, access control, authentication, perimeter security, disaster recovery and business continuity, risk management, incident response, viruses, malware, spam, encryption, and other infrastructure security techniques that include governance and strategic alignment of IT and business.

In addition to information assurance and security expertise, learners in this concentration can demonstrate the business, interpersonal, and communication skills required to influence internal decision making and overall organizational effectiveness.

This BSIAS concentration puts extra emphasis on the area of Computer Science, digging into pertinent topics such as operating systems, structured query language, data structures, UNIX Systems programming, advanced database systems, and problem solving with C++.

Students have the opportunity to acquire a strong foundation in the skills and specialized knowledge relevant to information security management and administration plus essential critical thinking and problem-solving skills in areas of advanced research through design.

  • Explain how security can be implemented through network communication protocols and supporting network hardware.
  • Demonstrate the ability to incorporate secure practices into the design and development of software programs, database architecture and web-based applications using a security development lifecycle model.
  • Describe how the interaction of computer architecture, operating systems, networking components and databases result in the achievement of an organization’s mission.
  • Demonstrate the proficiency of both a current programming language and scripting language.
  • Examine and explain the benefits of a Computer Incident Response Team and demonstrate the use of tools to audit, detect and investigate the elements of an attack.
  • Recognize, explain and analyze regulations, statutes and laws regarding computer systems security compliance issues.
  • Employ techniques for the collection, analyzing and reporting of digital evidence captured from computers, mobile devices and storage systems to support criminal investigations.
  • Describe and plan the formation of security polices resulting from a comprehensive risk assessment analysis.
  • Explain how an organization’s digital assets are protected by the development of both a Business Continuity Plan and Disaster Recovery Plan.
  • Apply and demonstrate critical thinking skills in areas of advanced research through the design of research papers that could benefit the industry.  

Core courses in the BSIAS with a concentration in Computer Science include:

  • Introduction to Computer Security
  • Principles of Network Security
  • Security Risk Management
  • Scripting with Perl
  • Ethical Hacking
  • Vulnerability Assessment and Management
  • Software Assurance
  • Database Security
  • Operating System Security
  • Computer Forensics I
  • Computer Forensics II
  • Security Architecture
  • Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning
  • Cloud Computing, Privacy and Security
  • Advanced Research in IAS and IT Management
  • Security Compliance
  • Security Capstone
  • Spreadsheet Applications

Concentration courses in the BSIAS with a concentration in Computer Science include:

  • Problem Solving Concepts With C++ or Programming with C++
  • C# Programming
  • Introduction to Unix or Intermediate C++ Programming
  • Intermediate C# Programming
  • Data Structures
  • Structured Query Language
  • Fundamentals of Database Systems
  • Operating Systems
  • UNIX Systems Programming
  • Advanced Database Systems
  • Fundamentals of Networking
  • IT Management Strategy

This program is available at the following campuses and/or online:

To learn more about CTU, our Bachelor's degrees and concentrations or how to apply for admission, please complete and submit the form below.