Believing Canadian business needs more people with expertise in protecting computers and networks from intruders, viruses and other threats, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology has launched Canada's first graduate degree program in information technology security.

The university in Oshawa, Ont., will accept the first students this September in its two-year Master of Information Technology Security (MITS) program. The Faculty of Business and Information Technology has laboratory facilities sufficient for a maximum of 48 students in the program, said Dr. Clemens Martin, director of IT programs.

To enter the program, students will need a four-year bachelor's degree with at least a B average over all, and a minimum of two full years' work, or part-time equivalent, in information technology. Students with undergraduate degrees in information technology, engineering, science or a related field will be preferred, and course work in discrete mathematics, advanced programming and one of computer architecture or machine organization is specifically required.

The program mixes academic and practical approaches. The university has forged a partnership with the U.S.-based SANS (SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security) Institute, and its curriculum includes areas covered in the SANS Security Essentials Course and in the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) exam, preparing students for the SANS and CISSP certifications in information technology security.

At the same time, Dr. Martin said, courses will combine practical laboratory work with theory. “It’s a master’s level program,” he said. He noted that many employees in the work force are held back by not having higher-level university degrees, so the program’s academic credentials are important, but the certifications will make graduates more immediately employable.