Computing and Security Technology BSCST

Major: Computing and Security Technology
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science in Computing and Security Technology (BSCST)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 185.0
Co-op Options: Three Co-op (Five years); One Co-op (Four years); No Co-op (Four years)
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Code: 11.1003
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code: 15-1122

Note: The on-campus CST major (full-time only) admits new and transfer students in Fall Quarter. The online CST major (part-time only) admits transfer students in Fall and Spring Quarters.

About the Program

The School of Computer and Information Sciences' Bachelor of Science in Computing and Security Technology (BSCST) prepares students for work related to securing and managing large-scale computing infrastructure. Students gain experience with core information technology (IT) areas including servers, databases, networks, the Web, virtualization, cloud computing, information security, and cybersecurity technologies. The program emphasizes practical education and fundamental concepts that are supplemented by laboratory experience.

Core courses provide students with practical knowledge and skills related to managing servers, network administration, database administration, cloud computing and cybersecurity fundamentals. Students take advanced electives and a concentration in either Computing Technology or Computing Security. The advanced courses include topics such as mobile applications, wireless networks, risk assessment, intrusion detection, security audits, computer forensics, ethical hacking, cloud security, disaster recovery, and continuity of business.

CCI's bachelor degree programs in Computing and Security Technology, Data Science, and Information Systems share a common first year. This allows students to easily switch among the degrees early in their studies. In addition, some of the electives in each degree are accessible to students in the other two majors; this provides a deeper and broader set of advanced topics for students in all three majors.

The BS in Computing and Security Technology is offered as a full-time, on-campus bachelor's degree program or as an online, part-time degree completion program for students who have completed approximately two years of college work.

Additional Information

For more information about this program, please visit the BS in Computing & Security Technology webpage on the School of Computer and Information Sciences website.

Degree Requirements

Students completing this major must select either a concentration in Computing Technology or a concentration in Computing Security.

*

One course must be a CCI 300 level or higher course.

Please note: If a Computing & Security Technology student pursues a Business Administration Minor, MIS classes do not count towards the Business Administration Minor for Computing & Security Technology students. Students must choose another option to fulfill the Business Administration Minor requirements.

Concentration in Computing Technology

Concentration in Computing Security

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.

Concentrations: Sample Plans of Study

Computing Security Concentration 

4-Year, 1 co-op

*

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

5-Year, 3 co-ops

*

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

Computing Technology Concentration

4-Year, 1 co-op

*

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

5-Year, 1 co-op

*

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

Co-Op/Career Opportunities

Co-Op Options

Two co-op options are available for this program:

• five-year/three co-op
• four-year/one co-op

Co-op is not available for online students.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the Computing and Security Technology program who complete a concentration in Computing Technology can pursue careers as information technologists and advanced technicians in a wide range of industries. Information technologists are capable of performing multiple IT tasks and accessing various information resources. The program gives students a unique set of applied skills that allow them to fill a number of roles as part of an information systems team. Graduates with a concentration in Computing Security pursue careers as advanced technicians who operate and administer the security tools, technologists who create and install security solutions, and leaders who define the security policies.

Job titles of recent computing and security technology graduates include:

• Security Administrator
• Chief Information Security Officer
• IT Audit Manager
• Project Manager
• Lead Systems Engineer
• Network Engineer
• Server Engineer

Additional Information

Visit the Drexel Steinbright Career Development Center page for more information on career opportunities.

Facilities

3675 Market Street

The School of Computer and Information Sciences (SCIS) is located at 3675 Market. Occupying three floors in the modern uCity Square building, SCIS's home offers state-of-the-art technology in our classrooms, research labs, offices, meeting areas, and collaboration spaces. 3675 Market offers Class A laboratory, office, coworking, and convening spaces. Located at the intersection of 37th and Market Streets, 3675 Market acts as a physical nexus for our school, bridging academic campuses and medical centers to the east and south, the commercial corridors along Market Street and nearby Chestnut Street, and the residential communities to the north and west.

The uCity Square building offers:

• Speculative lab/office space
• World-class facilities operated by CIC
• Café/restaurant on-site
• Quorum, a two-story, 15K SF convening space and conference center
• Adjacency to future public square
• Access to Science Center’s nationally renowned business acceleration and technology commercialization programs

Drexel University Libraries

The Drexel University Libraries is a one-stop resource for all members of the Drexel community, providing access to millions of print and online books, journals, databases and other media, as well as hundreds of online course and research guides, workshops, and tutorials. Expert librarians offer a variety of consultation services virtually or in person, including help with course-related projects, strategies for finding and evaluating authoritative information, and approaches to utilizing, organizing, and presenting scholarship.

Students in SCIS also have access to the W. W. Hagerty Library where they can take advantage of the Libraries’ various learning environments, including group study rooms, collaborative and silent study areas, and 24/7 study space in the Dragons’ Learning Den. The Libraries also offers a wellness room, printing and scanning services, and laptops, portable power chargers, and other equipment you can borrow for use in the Library.

SCIS Commons

Located on the 10th floor of 3675 Market Street, the SCIS Commons is an open lab and collaborative work environment for students. It features desktop computers, a wireless/laptop area, free black-and-white printing, and more collaborative space for our students. Community members have access to 3675 Market's fully equipped conference room with 42” displays and videoconferencing capabilities. The SCIS Commons provides technical support to students, faculty, and professional staff. In addition, the staff provides audio-visual support for all presentation classrooms within 3675 Market. Use of the SCIS Commons is reserved for all students taking SCIS courses.

The computers for general use are Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS machines with appropriate applications which include the Microsoft Office suite, various database management systems, modeling tools, and statistical analysis software. Library-related resources may be accessed at the SCIS Commons and through the W.W. Hagerty Library. SCIS is a member of the "Azure Dev Tools for Teaching” platform that allows students free access to a wide array of Microsoft software titles and operating systems.

The SCIS Commons, student labs, and classrooms have access to networked databases, print and file resources, and the Internet via the University’s network. Email accounts, Internet and BannerWeb access are available through Drexel's Office of Information Resources and Technology.

Computer Support for Teaching

The SCIS server room houses a multitude of servers to support faculty research, staff operations, and student learning. Services provided include a Linux compute cluster which is open to all faculty, staff, and students, multiple virtualization environments to meet different needs of faculty, staff, and students, and other single-purpose servers to support various operations throughout the school. The compute cluster provides a common environment for students to develop software, which makes testing easier for the TAs and faculty. Our virtualization environments allow community members the flexibility of a cloud environment with local support and direct cost recovery options. For those who need dedicated hardware, we also support dedicated research systems.

Classrooms are outfitted with laser projectors, 4K displays, class capture hardware, and the Wolfvision Cynap. The Cynap controls the AV distribution throughout the room and can display up to 4 streams simultaneously. These include the local PC, a laptop connected directly to the podium, or up to 4 streaming devices. Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices can all connect wirelessly to the presentation system, allowing collaboration and freedom to roam the classroom for better interactivity. Wireless networking and outlets are also available for students throughout the classrooms. Laptops are available for checkout from the SCIS Commons desk.

Additionally, SCIS hosts and supports multiple Virtual Computing Lab environments for students to use that mimics our physical computer labs. This technology allows both online and face to face students to have the same experience when using computing facilities.

SCIS Virtual Environments

SCIS hosts a variety of virtual environments, which support all levels of research, academics, and administration. These include OpenStack, Proxmox VE, VMWare, and Xen architectures, backed by storage in CEPH. Multiple environments allow SCIS IT to provide researchers with the level of control appropriate for the project at hand and make efficient use of project funding. External cloud vendors such as AWS and Google Cloud Platform are also used when appropriate.

SCIS continues to invest in these virtual environments, and explores emerging environments, to continue to best support research and teaching. CPU cores, storage, and memory are added at every opportunity to these flexible, scalable environments. The current capacity of the system includes:

• 1760 CPU Cores
• 6 TB of Memory
• Over 556 TB of HDD-backed storage
• 122 TB of high-performance SSD-backed storage
• 12 GPUs with room for expansion through funded research for high-performance computing needs

Cyber Learning Center

The Cyber Learning Center (CLC), located in 3675 Market Street's SCIS Commons student computer lab, provides consulting and other learning resources for students taking courses offered by the Computer Science Department. The CLC is staffed by graduate and undergraduate computer science students from across SCIS.

The CLC and SCIS Commons serve as a central hub for small group work, student meetings, and TA assistance. 

Research Laboratories

SCIS houses multiple research labs, led by SCIS faculty, in 3675 Market Street including: the Metadata Research Center (MRC), Interactive Systems for Healthcare (IS4H) Research, Economics and Computation (EconCS), The TeX-Base Lab, SPiking And Recurrent SoftwarE (SPARSE) Coding, Human-System Evaluation and Analysis Lab (H-SEAL), Applied Symbolic Computation Laboratory (ASYM), Security and Privacy Analytics Lab (SePAL), Software Engineering and Analytics Research (SOAR), Software Engineering Research Group (SERG), Social Computing Research Group, Vision and Cognition Laboratory (VisCog). For more information on these laboratories, please visit the our research web page.

Program Level Outcomes

The College of Computing & Informatics works continually to improve its degree programs. As part of this effort, the Computing and Security Technology degree is evaluated relative to the following Objectives and Outcomes.

BS Computing and Security Technology Program Educational Objectives

Within three to five years of graduating, alumni of the program are expected to achieve one or more of the
following milestones:

• Be valued contributors to private or public organizations as demonstrated by promotions, increased responsibility, or other professional recognition
• Contribute to professional knowledge as demonstrated by published papers, technical reports, patents, or conference presentations
• Succeed in continuing professional development as demonstrated by completion of graduate studies or professional certifications
• Display commitment and leadership within the profession and community as demonstrated by contributions towards society's greater good and prosperity

BS Computing and Security Technology Program Student Outcomes

The program enables students to attain by the time of graduation:

• An ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to the program’s student outcomes and to the discipline
• An ability to analyze a problem, and identify and define the computing requirements appropriate to its solution
• An ability to design, implement, and evaluate a computer-based system, process, component, or program to meet desired needs
• An ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal
• An understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security and social issues and responsibilities
• An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
• An ability to analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations, and society
• Recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in continuing professional development
• An ability to use current techniques, skills, and tools necessary for computing practice