Designing Effective Cybersecurity Curriculum: Bridging Disciplines for Next Generation Workforce

Digital transformation leading to rapid automation is creating significant changes in all aspects of our lives.Unfortunately, today's interconnected digital networks have increased vulnerabilities and cyber threats.The frequency of cyber threats in critical infrastructures and across all application sectors has risen.Moreover, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has expanded the threat landscape to a new level by integrating sophisticated mechanisms (e.g., automated coding, deepfakes, social engineering) capable of manipulating and exploiting humans, systems, or networks.There is an urgent need to train the next generation of the cybersecurity workforce, equipping them with all the necessary skills to face growing attack vectors.Universities and colleges need to consider adding new cybersecurity undergraduate programs, but questions remain about what constitutes a robust cyber curriculum?Factors such as the availability of qualified instructors, diverse faculty expertise or backgrounds, the lack of resources in laboratory infrastructure, local economy or industry needs, budgetary challenges, targeted student types, delivery modes (on-campus versus online), and the size of the department determine the type of curriculum offered.Most cyber programs reside in computer science (CS), computer engineering, or electrical engineering (EE) departments.This paper focuses on designing a cybersecurity undergraduate curriculum that attracts both EE and CS students through specialized tracks and leverages existing courses in departments where both EE and CS majors are housed within one School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (SEECS).The proposed cybersecurity curriculum is approved internally by the department and the College of Engineering and Mines (CEM).UND is currently working towards seeking ABET accreditation and received NSA's CAE-R designation.The paper discusses course mapping to EAC and CSAB cybersecurity criteria for two programs: Cybersecurity Engineering (CSE), and Cybersecurity Science (CSS).Such a curriculum plan can also be suitable for other schools if programs can be leveraged.