NYU Tandon offers affordable cybersecurity master’s degree with backing from NYC

Big degree, small price

January 11, 2018 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

White-hat hackers participated in a past Cyber Security Awareness Week at NYU Tandon in Downtown Brooklyn, when the institution was named NYU Poly. Eagle photo by Mary Frost

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With everything from Russian hackers to credit card fraud becoming very much a 21st century problem, a door of opportunity has just opened for New York City students hoping to get into one of the hottest fields on the planet.

New York University Tandon School of Engineering in Downtown Brooklyn is partnering with the city to launch an affordable online cybersecurity master’s degree program. The program was designed with major New York City employers to address the acute shortage of technical professionals.

The New York City Cyber Fellows program offers scholarships of as much as 75 percent of tuition to U.S. residents, bringing the total tuition to $15,000 for the entire program. Applications are now open and the deadline to apply for the fall semester is May 1, 2018.

The program was designed to help Mayor Bill de Blasio meet his New York Works goal of adding 10,000 cybersecurity experts to the city’s workforce within a decade. The city wants to roll its own experts, rather than hiring from outside the region, because it competes for talent amidst the “global drought.”

Recent cyberattacks on financial institutions, retail businesses, media companies and health care institutions have focused the city’s attention on the necessity of developing a stock of cybersecurity experts.

In November, NYC Economic Development Corporation released a “Cyber NYC” Request for Proposals (RFP), seeking proposals from across academia and industry to partner with the city on initiatives to position New York City as a global leader in cybersecurity jobs and innovation.

The RFP called for the development of a Cyber Center to serve as the primary hub of New York City’s cyber community, and cybersecurity academic proposals.

The city says the EDC won’t discuss the RFP’s respondents until a selection is made, but de Blasio was quick to praise the NYU program.

“This is exactly the kind of program New York needs to attract companies in this fast-growing sector, and to help New Yorkers compete for those good jobs,” de Blasio said in a statement on Wednesday.

As part of the public/private partnership, NYC Cyber Command (NYC3), the agency that leads the City of New York’s cyber defense efforts, will offer the students access to the NYC3 Cyber Range — a virtual laboratory with realistic simulation for hands-on training and development.

NYC3s Cyber Range will expose students to simulation, testing and research into a wide range of security and technology concerns associated with securing the city.

Professor Nasir Memon, founder of NYU Tandon’s cybersecurity program and associate dean for Online Learning said in a statement, “Perhaps the most important element of the New York Cyber Fellows program is the way it will reflect our collaboration with influential New York employers including NYC Cyber Command to ensure students get the precise hands-on education they need.”

Business partners include Blackstone, Bridgewater Associates, EY LLC, Goldman Sachs, IBM Security, Jefferies, Loki Labs, Morgan Stanley and Synack.

Other perks include:

– Access to speakers, events and mentorships provided by business partners and NYC Cyber Command. The advising institutions will also offer internship and employment opportunities.

– Year-round, around-the-clock access to the Capture the Flag (CTF) and other challenges developed for Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW), the giant worldwide cybersecurity games founded by NYU Tandon.

– Access to Synack’s crowdsourced penetration testing challenges to build the offensive skills valued by employers — an element of the offensive security skills recognized as a cornerstone of NYU Tandon’s cybersecurity education.

To learn more about the NY Cyber Fellows, visit

http://engineering.nyu.edu/academics/online/masters/cybersecurity/fellowship