Requirements and Learning Outcomes

Earn your master's degree in User-Centered Cybersecurity.

 

Degree Requirements

These requirements apply to students entering this program in fall 2025 and thereafter. Students who enrolled earlier should consult the catalog in effect at the time they enrolled.

• Read the course descriptions.

This is a 30-credit program. Students will take 12 credits of security-focused courses and 12 credits of usability-focused credits. Students will also take six credits of electives from a defined list.

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Security Courses (12 credits)

• AITC 670 Usable Security and Privacy
• AITC 676 Documentation and Testing for Usable Security
• AITC 674 Requirements Elicitation and UX
• IDIA 672 Human Factors in Security Design

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Usability Courses (12 credits):

• IDIA 640 Human Computers and Cognition
• IDIA 642 Applied User Research for UX
• IDIA 660 Usability and Accessibility in Cybersecurity
• IDIA 662 Designing for Security

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Electives (6 credits)

Choose two courses from the following:

• IDIA 612 Interaction Design
• IDIA 630 Information Architecture
• IDIA 712 Advanced Interaction Design
• IDIA 740 Topics in Computers and Cognition
• IDIA 742 Topics in User Research 

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

ASSURANCE OF LEARNING: M.S. IN USER-CENTERED CYBERSECURITY

There are five learning outcomes for this program. These learning outcomes focus on human-centered security design, research and evaluation, data-driven decision-making, ethical and accessible design, and security usability testing and iteration.

 

Program-Level Student Learning Outcomes

Upon graduating from the M.S. in User-Centered Cybersecurity, students will be able to:

1. Human-Centered Security Design: Graduates will apply psychological, physiological, and cognitive principles of human behavior to design, develop, and evaluate secure, usable interfaces that align with user needs and security requirements.
2. Research and Evaluation: Graduates will design, conduct, and critically evaluate research studies—including diary studies, surveys, and usability tests—to gather data that informs security and usability improvements in cyber systems.
3. Data-Driven Decision Making: Graduates will prioritize and communicate user research findings based on their impact on users, strategic goals, and security implications, ensuring decisions are grounded in comprehensive data analysis.
4. Ethical and Accessible Design: Graduates will integrate ethical, legal, and accessibility considerations into the development of secure systems, ensuring inclusivity while adhering to privacy and security standards such as GDPR and CCPA.
5. Security Usability Testing and Iteration: Graduates will conduct user-centered testing and iteratively improve cybersecurity solutions by identifying usability pitfalls, leading questions, and human behavioral patterns that affect security.