Undergraduate Curriculum Requirements

Undergraduate Curriculum Requirements

Undergraduates can participate in ICSSP through either of two programs. Students pursuing B.S. degrees from the Department of Computer Science and students pursuing B.S. degrees from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering will follow different course sequences, as shown below. The different sequences simply reflect the degree requirements of the two departments, except that ICSSP also specifies some of the courses you must take in fulfilling departmental "technical elective" requirements.

In other words, participating in ICSSP will not oblige you to take additional hours of coursework beyond the existing program requirements for your degree. The ICSSP requirements were designed to fit into your allotted technical elective sequence.

SPECIAL NOTE: non-CE students in ECE will be eligible for participation in this program as well. Details on their course requirements are still in development. Please contact Dr. Masooda Bashir (below) if you want more information.

Also: Requirements for Law and graduate students will be posted soon.

A summary of the course requirements for CS and ECE students is shown in the below table. More specifically, the rationale for the requirements is as follows:

  1. Satisfy the core requirements of the Bachelor of Science curriculum in either Computer Science or Computer Engineering.
  2. Take core courses in security.
    1. CS 210: Ethical and Professional Issues (2 hours) or ECE 316: Engineering Ethics (3 hours).
    2. CS 461/ECE 422: Computer Security I.
    3. CS 463/ECE 424: Computer Security II.
    4. CS 460/ECE 419: Security Laboratory.
    5. CS 491/ECE 398: Information Assurance and Trust Seminar.
  3. Take two or more courses at the 300 or 400 level in an area of concentration related to computer security. You may select two courses from the concentration areas listed below or another concentration that is approved by your ITI advisor.
    1. Software Engineering
      1. CS 427: Software Engineering I.
      2. CS 428: Software Engineering II.
    2. Enterprise Data Systems
      1. CS 411: Database Systems.
      2. CS 412: Introduction to Data Mining.
    3. Computer Networks
      1. ECE 439/CS 439: Wireless Networks.
      2. ECE 428/CS 425: Distributed Systems.
      3. ECE 438/CS 438: Communication Networks.
  4. Complete a summer internship in a Government organization, such as a National Laboratory, computing facility, the National Security Agency, the Department of Defense, or the National Standards Institute.
  5. Complete a Senior Project in the area of security working in collaboration with an advisor from the Information Trust Institute.
    1. In Computer Science, the requirements to complete a senior project may include either a combination of a thesis (CS 499) and a project course (CS 494) or two project courses (CS 492 and CS 494).
    2. In Computer Engineering, the requirements to complete a senior project may be completed by ECE 445, the Senior Design Project Laboratory.

Summary

For ICSSP students pursuing B.S. degrees in Computer Science (through the CS Dept.):

For ICSSP students pursuing B.S. degrees in Computer Engineering (through the ECE Dept.):
  • 24-27 hours CS core courses (including CS 210: Ethical and Professional Issues)
  • 36-39 hours of Computer Science courses
  • 39-51 hours of College of Engineering requirements
  • 0-6 hours of additional CS coursework
  • 0-6 hours Senior thesis
  • 23 hours of Technical Electives (see below)
  • 12 hours of Free Electives
  • 34 hours of CE core courses
  • 18 hours of Social Sciences
  • 31 hours of Basic Sciences & Math
  • 4 hours of Composition
  • 6 hours of Other Math
  • 23 hours of Technical Electives (see below)
  • 12 hours of Free Electives (including ECE 316: Ethical and Professional Issues)

The 23 hours of Technical Electives must include:

  1. Core Security Courses
  2. 2 or more courses selected from one of the following concentrations related to security:
  3. Senior Project: CS 492 or 493
  4. Summer Internship in a Govt. Organization (CS 397)

The 23 hours of Technical Electives must include:

  1. Core Security Courses
  2. 2 or more courses selected from one of the following concentrations related to security:
  3. Senior Project: ECE 445
  4. Summer Internship in a Govt. Organization (ECE 396/397)

Transfer students must gain admittance to the University of Illinois before applying to the ICSSP program. They must provide a transcript of their past coursework to ICSSP so that ICSSP can evaluate it and determine what non-UI courses can be accepted as substitutes for the normally required courses.

Please note that some modifications to the required course sequences may be possible, if your academic background makes it difficult or inappropriate for you to follow all of the stated requirements. Your ICSSP faculty advisor can work with you to find solutions.