According to a news release, the university’s Haslam College of Business is offering a master’s degree in business cybersecurity through the digital learning platform Noodle, and it’s accepting applications for courses set to begin in spring 2024. The program will feature both synchronous and asynchronous courses to train students to proactively protect companies’ critical assets.
Pointing to a 2022 report from the research company Cybersecurity Ventures that estimated cyber attacks will cost the global economy $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, the news release said the program comes amid the university’s efforts to expand its online course offerings to upskill more students for jobs in fields like IT security, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects will grow by 31 percent by 2029.
Amy Cathey, Haslam’s associate dean for graduate and executive education, said in a public statement that the U.S. needs more than 3 million people working at the intersection of cybersecurity and business, and the university’s new program aims to help fill it.
“The Master of Science in business cybersecurity will provide graduates with a broad understanding of this growing field and the fluency to comprehend, conceptualize and communicate business strategies that mitigate risk and protect organizational data,” she said.
The MSBC online program will expand UT’s existing portfolio of degree programs launched in partnership with Noodle, which already includes online degree programs for an MBA, an executive MBA for global supply chain, a master’s of supply chain management, a bachelor’s in interdisciplinary programs, a master’s in public health and a master’s in computer science.
The new program also comes as several universities across the U.S. in the past few months have expanded their own online portfolios to meet growing demand. Among them is Purdue University, for example, where officials endorsed an “Online Learning 2.0” vision statement in April outlining their intent to expand online offerings, as well as Illinois Tech, which recently launched new online programs in IT and data science, and Hilbert College, where officials are doubling online offerings after the acquisition of Valley College earlier this year.
“Noodle is proud to expand our partnership with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Haslam College of Business on such an important degree program, training leaders in business cybersecurity,” Stephen Green, Noodle’s chief partnership officer, said in a public statement. “There is a tremendous need for these educated professionals with strong technical knowledge and business skills to navigate the rapidly changing business cyber landscape.”
