Purdue University Northwest Adds Degree

Purdue University Northwest will add a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity degree following approval from the Purdue University Board of Trustees. PNW plans to welcome new students and transition current students into the program beginning this fall, pending approval by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

The university says the new offering will prepare students for jobs such as cybersecurity specialist, manager or consultant, software developer, systems or network engineer and systems administrator.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency have jointly designated PNW as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education for its Computer Information Technology program. PNW is one of only two Indiana institutions with the recognition which offer four-year, in-person cybersecurity education.

“The bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity will help meet workforce needs that are in very high demand at the state and national levels due to cyber incidents affecting our infrastructure, industry, business and government,” said Dean of the College of Technology Niaz Latif.

Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Kenneth Holford says PNW assesses how the university can better serve students’ career interests.

“Transitioning some of our current Cybersecurity offerings into a four-year degree will help PNW recruit and prepare new classes of technology students well-trained in cybersecurity, who will be highly sought after by employers in this growing field. As an affordable, high-quality metropolitan university, PNW also will offer a significant financial advantage through this degree program compared to other nearby institutions and in Indiana,” said Holford.