Schools have been recognized for their commitment to education excellence in cybersecurity by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Security Agency (NSA).

NSA CAE Designated Institutions for Cyber Security in Mississippi

These are known as National Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE), and Mississippi State University is the school designated as one and is the only institution in the state of Mississippi to have one. They are accredited for their education in both cyber defense and cyber research.

Here is a list of Mississippi cybersecurity degrees that are from NSA CAE Designated Institutions:

Mississippi State University

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Online Cyber Security Programs in Mississippi

For maximum flexibility when pursuing a degree or certification in cybersecurity, consider online options. Many of these programs will have all of their courses available online or at least a hybrid combination of meeting weekly or at night with coursework completed online.

Depending on the program, certifications can be completely self-paced based on course availability within a certain number of years after enrolling, and degrees will typically have assignment deadlines along with the on-campus format. At the moment, there are no online programs available in Mississippi that are recognized by the CAE.

Master's in Cyber Security Degrees in Mississippi

Mississippi State University has a Master of Science in Cyber Security and Operations at their Starkville campus. The curriculum has 31 total credits and it can be completed within two years. Students have the option of pursuing a thesis or non-thesis option.

For the thesis option, six credit hours are researched for the research project. Non-thesis option students will have three to six credit hours of electives and an option to have a directed project. There are also two electives that students can choose from: Cyber Operations and Cyber Defense. The core courses regardless of concentration are an opening seminar, Information and Computer Security, Introduction to Computer Forensics, and Network Security.

Getting Started Working in Cyber Security in Mississippi

Mississippi State University offers two higher education programs at the Masters and PhD levels to advance in an established career within information technology. MSU's two concentrations differ as Cyber Defense focuses more on the protection aspect of an organization's network while Cyber Operations will feature more coursework on intrusion detection and penetration testing.

In addition to the graduate program at Mississippi State University, there are two options for cybersecurity certificates with the Information Assurance Professional Certificate (which can also be completed by undergraduates) and the Graduate Certificate in Cyber Operations.

Mississippi Cyber Security Careers and Organizations

The annual Mississippi College Cybersecurity Summit has a main goal of spreading awareness and education on the importance of cybersecurity. Various topics covered include examples of how to protect an organization’s data, learning how vulnerable the Internet of Things can be to attacks, and more unique subjects in cyber insurance, cryptojacking, and biometric breaches. Speakers at previous events have included top executives at companies such as S&P 500 company Gartner, local company Ingalls Shipbuilding, and special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.