Pathway into a Security Professional: A New Cyber Security and Forensic Computing Curriculum

The University of South Australia has developed a new two and a half year full time equivalent qualification to meet the established Australian Law Enforcement high demand for graduates with a Master Degree level in cyber security and forensic computing to fulfill expertise for the Australian courts. It offers a pathway through a suite of nested programs including Graduate Certificates, a Graduate Diploma, Masters and possible continuing to PhD level. These are designed to attract a diverse group of learners traditionally coming from two cohorts of industry practitioners: one with engineering and the other with IT background. It also enables industry-trained and qualified learners without undergraduate degrees to gain the security qualification required though their access to tertiary study as a career choice. This paper describes this curriculum, provides an overview on how these nested programs are conceived, developed and implemented; their current state, their first outcomes to assess the effectiveness of the pathway through the students’ feedback; and future planned initiatives. Keywords: cyber security curriculum, computer forensic education, security professional