MBA: Cybersecurity Emphasis
Explore Relationships Between IT and Business Industries
Cybersecurity is a significant concern in every industry and sector that relies on information technology.1 Businesses need to protect their own proprietary information, as well as their customers’ sensitive data. The program is a way to bridge the gap between the boardroom and the IT department. Grand Canyon University’s Colangelo College of Business is pleased to offer the Master of Business Administration (MBA) with an Emphasis in Cybersecurity degree to professionals who wish to focus their careers on protecting computer systems and digital information.
Earn Your MBA: Cybersecurity Emphasis From GCU
This MBA with a cybersecurity emphasis blends topics in modern business management with a comprehensive cybersecurity curriculum. By earning your degree, you can prepare to meet the diverse challenges of the modern workplace. The skills taught in this MBA program are transferrable across a broad range of cybersecurity jobs and industries.
An MBA with a cybersecurity emphasis may be beneficial in these areas:
- Business growth planning
- Christian worldview
- Best practices in industry cybersecurity research
- Critical application analysis
- Ethical decision-making
- Complex problem-solving
- Secure business strategizing
As a graduate, you’ll be expected to understand how to design effective cybersecurity programs to prevent and correct security weaknesses.
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Coursework and Topics Covered in This Cybersecurity Emphasis
In addition to cybersecurity courses, this MBA program includes coursework in business analytics and management. Some of the core topics you will study include:
- Organizations and leadership
- Cyber warfare prevention and countermeasures
- Design of enterprise security and infrastructure
- Operational and strategic management
GCU’s MBA with a cybersecurity emphasis provides a comprehensive survey of modern business issues and cybersecurity concerns. There is an emphasis on examining the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. Other topic areas you will examine include:
- Security solutions that align with business plans
- Financial forecasting
- Management of working capital
- Cost behavior and budgeting
Cybersecurity Career Paths for Graduates
The Colangelo College of Business seeks to graduate fully capable business leaders and future executives. When you graduate with your MBA with a cybersecurity emphasis, you may position yourself to pursue a decision-making role in any organization that understands the importance of cyberdefense.
It is expected that cybercrime will result in a loss of $8 trillion globally in 2023, with estimates of $10.5 trillion in losses annually by 2025.2 With the growth of cybercrimes, there is a critical need for business executives who understand the dynamics of cyberattacks and threat intelligence to mitigate the risk.
GCU Offers Institutionally Accredited Master of Business Administration Degrees
At GCU, our mission is to provide greater accessibility to quality education that can prepare you to pursue your intended career pathway. We are proud to be institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) — a reflection of our tradition of academic excellence. In addition, the HLC has continually accredited GCU since 1968. The Colangelo College of Business shares the university’s commitment to upholding the principles and standards established by our accrediting bodies.
MBA: Cybersecurity Emphasis FAQs
As you reflect upon your choice of degree programs and your potential career outcomes, it can be helpful to conduct some background research on the field. GCU has compiled the following frequently asked questions and answers for your consideration.
A cybersecurity emphasis MBA may provide opportunities to develop a strong foundation of competencies from which to position yourself to potentially further your career. The need for cybersecurity professionals creates the opportunity for growth in the field. Due to the shortage of cybersecurity professionals, there is a need for nearly 3.9 million cybersecurity jobs globally.1 Earning your master’s in cybersecurity may also help you position yourself for possible advancement in your current career.
Many cybersecurity positions do not require knowledge of coding. There are opportunities for professionals with either technical or non-technical backgrounds. Indeed, soft skills are considered as important as hard skills in this field. These essential soft skills include:3
- Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
- Eagerness to learn and adapt
- Communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Teamwork and collaboration
There are various degrees that focus on cybersecurity preventive techniques and countermeasures, such as a Master of Science in Cybersecurity and a Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management. In these degree programs, you’ll have the opportunity to take a deep dive into the cybersecurity field by exploring advanced security-specific techniques and evaluative methods, as well as completing a capstone course where you’ll demonstrate the competencies you’ve been taught.
Whether a degree in cybersecurity or computer science is better for you depends on your career goals and skill set. A career in computer science focuses on various programming languages and coding. It is a technical discipline that will teach design, software and data-related computer processes. In contrast, a cybersecurity career focuses on learning how to protect data from hackers and how to defend against cybercriminals, data breaches and attacks.4
Cybersecurity may be the right choice for you if you’re passionate about protecting the security of information and computer systems within organizations.
Cybersecurity is critically important, both for organizations and individuals. Individuals often have a great deal of personal data stored in organizational computer systems — ranging from healthcare facilities to governmental entities. This creates the potential for identity theft and financial loss. A data breach may compromise sensitive data. For organizations, a breach of computer systems by black hat hackers can also lead to the potential for damage and theft. Cybersecurity professionals work to protect organizations and the individuals they serve.5
Pursue a career in cybersecurity and work to protect organizations and individuals. Apply today to earn your on-campus or online MBA: Cybersecurity emphasis at GCU.
1 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study. (2023). How the economy, skills gap and artificial intelligence are challenging the global cybersecurity workforce. ISC2. Retrieved Nov. 28, 2023.
2 Morgan, S. (2022, Oct. 17). Cybercrime to cost the world 8 trillion annually in 2023. Cybercrime Magazine. Retrieved Nov. 28, 2023.
3 Chin, K. (2023, April 6). Does cybersecurity require coding? Retrieved Nov. 28, 2023.
4 Master’s in Data Science. (2021, July). Cyber security vs. computer science. Master’s in Data Science. Retrieved Nov. 28, 2023.
5 Tunggal, A. T. (2023, July 18). Why is cybersecurity important? UpGuard. Retrieved Nov. 28, 2023.
Core Courses
Course Description
This course is designed to prepare students for the graduate learning experience at Grand Canyon University. Students have opportunities to develop and strengthen the skills necessary to succeed as graduate students in the College of Business. Emphasis is placed on utilizing the tools for graduate success.
Course Description
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the College of Business, key concepts of leadership, and an overview of how the science of organizational behavior contributes to effective leaders and managers.
Course Description
This course is designed for students who are preparing for more advanced coursework in business but who have not had accounting in undergraduate work. Topics covered include the principles and practices of financial accounting, including the fundamentals of revenue recognition, the components of the balance sheet, and financial statement analysis. ?The course explores accounting theories using publicly traded companies and case studies.
Course Description
This course is designed for individuals who are preparing for more advanced coursework in accounting and is designed for students who have not had finance in undergraduate work. Topics covered include financial analysis, financial planning, asset evaluation, capital structure, and working capital management.
Course Description
The purpose of this course is to prepare students in mathematical, probability, and statistical concepts for their upcoming studies in quantitative methods. The course is intended for those students who have not had any prior statistical education, although students who have had statistics should also consider taking the course as a refresher.
Course Description
This course introduces microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts that are relevant to contemporary business. Emphasis is placed on using economic data for business decision making.
Course Description
This course is a study in the quantitative tools and techniques used to model business functions and applications. Emphasis is placed on how to set up models, and how to interpret and apply their results. Prerequisite: SYM-506.
Course Description
Management of the marketing function, market environmental analysis, and marketing planning, strategy, and control are fundamentals of marketing management. The course examines the marketing process, marketing research, product development innovation and diffusion, pricing strategy, distribution value drain, advertising and promotion, and strategic marketing issues. Emphasis is placed on case study analysis and current academic research with a marketing plan as a significant curriculum component.
Course Description
This course covers managerial accounting concepts and procedures for internal reporting, including the study of cost behavior, cost systems, budgeting, and performance evaluation. Coursework includes case studies, group projects, and class discussion. Prerequisite: ACC-502.
Course Description
Operations Management examines managerial concepts and strategies relating to the management of operations in both manufacturing and service environments. Emphasis is placed on methods to streamline and drive inefficiencies out of a firm’s internal processes to build a highly efficient organization. The course also focuses on external processes by examining ways to achieve greater supply chain integration with suppliers and customers. Quantitative and qualitative methods and tools are introduced and applied. Prerequisite: SYM-506.
Course Description
This course discusses elements of business financial decisions, including financial forecasting and development of proformas, management of working capital, capital budgeting, capital structure, and raising funds in capital markets. Prerequisite: FIN-504.
Course Description
This capstone course focuses on preparing and conducting a strategic analysis of a selected publicly traded firm to produce actionable intelligence used to formulate recommendations to promote the creation of a value-adding strategy. Based on the results of their strategic analysis, students are then required to prepare the framework of a strategic plan that creates significant value for the selected firm. Prerequisites: MGT-605, MKT-607, ACC-650, and FIN-650.
Course Description
With a brief introduction to cybercrime and cybersecurity, this course will provide students with an overview of the various attacks and the countermeasures organizations can use to defend themselves. Exploring concepts such as defense-in-depth, layered security, vulnerability assessments, risk management, governance and compliance, and encryption; students will become familiar with prevention and protection theories, best practices, and strategies to securing corporate data (intellectual property). This course will conclude with an exploration of the various hacker psychologies and the differences between black-hat, grey-hat, and white-hat (Hackers with Halos) hackers. Prerequisite: UNV-504 or UNV-507 or enrollment in certificate program.
Course Description
This course introduces enterprise infrastructure design; including hardware, software, policies, and business processes. Emphasis is placed on integrating security solutions and theories in alignment with business objectives to achieve sustainability, reliability, and availability while deterring threats from cyber-attacks. This course also introduces students to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, providing a foundation to formulating a strategy for cybersecurity program design. Prerequisite: CYB-505.
Pursue a next-generation education with an online degree from Grand Canyon University. Earn your degree with convenience and flexibility with online courses that let you study anytime, anywhere.
Grand Canyon University’s evening programs cater to the demands of working professionals who prefer an in-person learning environment. Our night classes meet just once per week and offer the interaction and discussion of a typical college classroom.
* Please note that this list may contain programs and courses not presently offered, as availability may vary depending on class size, enrollment and other contributing factors. If you are interested in a program or course listed herein please first contact your University Counselor for the most current information regarding availability.
* Please refer to the Academic Catalog for more information. Programs or courses subject to change.