Augusta University is seeing a record number of incoming students to the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences, almost doubling the enrollment from the establishment of the school.

 

“About 640 students altogether. That’s about double from when the school was established in 2017,” said Alexander Schwarzmann, AU Computer and Cyber Sciences Dean. (Fox54).  

 

This influx could be due to the new addition of a PhD program to the cyber sciences major. It is a goal of the university to become a national research center for cyber sciences.

 

“This is an important step towards the university becoming a major research university as well as our school becoming frontline research-oriented,” said Gagan Agrawal, Interim Associate Dean of the program. (12 26 News).  

 

The program is called the Georgia Cyber Center and it is offering incredible opportunities for students in the IT field.

 

“The Augusta area has this incredible momentum in cyber-security, and it is important to be viewed as a player so we can attract the best researchers there are,” said Schwarzmann. (Fox54).  

 

Additionally, students at Augusta Technical College will now be able to complete a transient application to pursue a four-year degree through the Cyber-security to Information Technology Pathway at Augusta University.

 

“They believe this program will open doors for students aspiring to be in the cyber-security field while making them more competitive down the line.” (Cyber Insider). “Augusta Technical College President Dr. Jermaine Whirl calls the program “a seamless transfer pathway.” Augusta Tech graduates have commonly enrolled at AU after earning their associates degrees, but Dean O’Brien says what’s new are the challenge exams.”

 

The program should help encourage local students to pursue cyber-security.

 

“Two thirds of the doctoral students nationally are international. This is of course wonderful, but this does not necessarily help our country in educating the next generations of domestic professionals who will be staying here,” said Schwarzmann. 

 

“Education in the field of cyber security is going to guarantee a student a job somewhere,” Dean O’Brien said. (Cyber Insider).

 

With increasing cyber-attack threats, it’s important that significant steps are made in the education of future cyber-security professionals. For Georgia, this is a huge step in the right direction.

 

“This program is revolutionary for our area, and it’s designed to prepare students for top-ranking positions in research institutions, government agencies, and tech start-ups. School officials say they hope this program prepares students to get into our local organizations.” (12 26 News).

 

There are still opportunities to grow the program even further. For more information on the program and IT related pathways, visit Augusta’s website listed below.

https://www.augusta.edu/academics/technology.php .

 

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Sources: 

Bradshaw, Abby. “Cyber News Now: Augusta University Sees Record Enrollment in Computer and Cyber Sciences.” WFXG, 2021, www.wfxg.com/story/44531228/cyber-news-now-augusta-university-sees-record-enrollment-in-computer-and-cyber-sciences

Rioux, William. “New Cybersecurity Ph.D. Program Comes to Augusta University Students.” Https://Www.Wrdw.Com, 15 Apr. 2021, www.wrdw.com/2021/04/14/new-cybersecurity-phd-program-comes-to-augusta-university-students

Mary Calkins, Cyber Insider, “Augusta Tech offering new opportunity for students interested in cyber careers” 2021. https://www.wjbf.com/cyber/augusta-tech-offering-new-opportunity-for-students-interested-in-cyber-careers/