SANS Takes Security Pros to School

The SANS Institute has announced that it’s accepting applications for new graduate degrees in security through its newly certified college.

SANS, known for its Internet Storm Center and several other security services, said in a statement that the state of Maryland approved its application to establish a degree-granting academic institution, and that it plans to offer a pair of Master of Science (MS) degrees.

Admission to the new college’s programs will require “at least a 3.0 GPA from an accredited college and a strong endorsement from the employer indicating that the candidate is expected to take on the mantle of security leadership in the future.”

SANS said it’s offering two degrees. The first, a Master of Science in Information Security Engineering degree, is aimed at students looking for positions such as technical director, networking and systems security manager, or assistant CIO for security. The second, Information Security Management, is aimed at aspiring chief information security officers.

In addition to technical skills training, SANS said each program will include teacher development programs because “technical professionals who master persuasion, briefing and teaching have a greater opportunity to affect the success of security in their organizations.”

Students at the college will attend three six or seven day Residential Institutes, with the remainder of the program including on-line training, with live on-line environments, though “asynchronous on-line learning” will be available as well.

According to the announcement from SANS, classes will begin in February, 2006 and will cost approximately $28,000, with some work-study programs, financial aid and benefits for full-time law enforcement officers covering 50 to 75 percent of the expense.

This article was first published on Enterprisenetworkingplanet.com.