Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students II Fall 2015

Introduction
ACES II is an advanced upper-level program for juniors and seniors featuring a multidisciplinary approach to cybersecurity. Students from any college or major on campus may apply. Students admitted to ACES II will also be admitted to the Honors College. ACES II allows students to gain knowledge about many of the fields that intersect in cybersecurity. 
With an emphasis on hands-on experiences, students gain practical skills through coursework, seminars, group projects, internships and research, both on and off campus.
ACES II students will have regular interactions with corporate and governmental leaders in
cybersecurity, who will serve as mentors and professional contacts. Students in ACES II may have opportunities to engage in the ACES community, including options to serve as peer mentors, for ACES I students who are freshman/sophomores; to participate in educational and social events; and to serve as student leaders on the ACES Student Board. 

Admission
Admission to ACES II is competitive and includes consideration of academic achievement,
extracurricular achievement, demonstrated interest in cybersecurity, and diversity of academic disciplines and student backgrounds.

Admission Timeline
• December 1st
: Online application available
• February 1st: Applications due by 11:59pm
• March 31st: Admission decisions released

Admission Consideration
Students must meet all of the following requirements at the time of application:
• 30 university credits completed
• Strong academic record (minimum GPA of 3.0)
• At least 4 semesters remaining at the University of Maryland prior to graduation

While there are no pre-requisite courses, students with one or more of the following qualifications
may be considered more competitive in the admission process:
• Completion of the Honors College Citation in Cybersecurity (ACES I)
• Completion of relevant coursework, including one or more of the following, with a grade of B or better:
              o Calculus I (MATH130, MATH140, MATH220)
              o Introductory Statistics (including STAT100, BMGT230, CCJS200, PSYC200,                            SOCY201, AP Statistics, etc.)
              o CMSC131 Object-Oriented Programming I
              o ENES100 Introduction to Engineering Design
• Previous practical experience (internships and/or research) related to cybersecurity

Application Components
Applicants will be required to submit materials including the online application form, short answer responses, letters of recommendation, and extracurricular resume.

Curriculum
The ACES II curriculum is currently under development and pending final approval. The courses below include the proposed coursework, a 16-17 credit, customizable curriculum based on students’ interests and backgrounds.

Foundation Courses
HACS 301 Introduction to UNIX (1 credit)
Required course for non-ACES I students who have not taken CMSC216
This course introduces students to the operating system UNIX through lectures and hands-on assignments.

HACS 302 Group Project in Cybersecurity (3 credits)
Required course for non-ACES I students
The group project in this course combines technical, analytical, and communication skills, further engaging students in the practice of cybersecurity as they complete a team project designing, deploying, and collecting and analyzing data from a honeypot.

HACS 318 Cybersecurity Professionals Colloquium Series (1 credit)
All ACES II students must take at least 1 credit of HACS 318
Held every two weeks, topics include cybersecurity threats, entrepreneurship and innovation in cybersecurity, cybersecurity policy.

Electives
Choose at least two elective course options.

HACS 308 Seminar in Cybersecurity (3 credits)
Maximum of 3 credits (one seminar) allowed. Non-ACES I students must take HACS 308.
The Seminar in Cybersecurity explores various lenses of cybersecurity in order to promote an interdisciplinary understanding of the field.

HACS 402 Applied Security Analysis and Visualization (3 credits)
This class discusses various security datasets including network traffic, firewall logs, intrusion detection system events, vulnerability data, security incidents, and email data.
HACS 404 Security though Cyber Forensics (3 credits)

This course introduces digital investigations and discusses the systematic approach of investigating a crime. Computer and network forensics are discussed. Basic forensic scientific concepts are presented at the computer level and applied for Windows, Unix, Macintosh and mobile systems.

Students can also select one or two of the following 3-credit courses as electives: CCJS418B,
CMSC414, CMSC456, CMSC498B, CMSC498R, ENEE459C, ENEE459D, ENEE459E, ENME442.

Experiential Learning
Students must complete 3 credits and may complete up to 6 credits of experiential learning.
HACS 479 Research (1-3 credits, up to a maximum of 6 credits)
HACS 497 Cybersecurity Experience Reflection (3 credits, up to a maximum of 3 credits)