Cyber Governance

Cyber Governance is the intersection of applied cyber technologies, regulation, and strategies operating within a business’s needs. This program places students at the heart of building robust security methodologies and frameworks that allow security processes and systems to flourish, preparing students for a career in Cybersecurity consulting.

Skills

Cyber Consulting
NIST / ISO 27001 Frameworks
Client interviewing techniques
Cyber regulation and compliance
Cyber Risk Management

Careers

Cyber Security Consulting
Information Security Officer
Information Security Governance Analyst
Cyber Security Risk Analyst
Cyber Security Auditor

Requirements

All minors at USC need 16 units that only meet minor requirements and do not meet any other major, minor, or GE requirement
All TAC specializations need at least 4 TAC units that only meet specialization requirements and do not meet any other major, minor, or GE requirement.
All courses completed for your minor or specialization must be completed for a letter grade.
You must earn a 2.0 minimum cumulative GPA in the courses completed for your minor or specialization.

Minor (18-20 units)

Core requirements (6 units)

TAC-125L “From Hackers to CEOs: Introduction to Information Security” (2 units)
TAC-370 “Cybersecurity Management and Operations” (4 units) [prerequisite: TAC-124 or TAC-125]

Elective (12 units)

TAC-325 “Ethical Hacking” (4 units) [prerequisite: TAC-125]
TAC-357 "Enterprise Networks: Design and Architecture" (4 units)[prerequisite: TAC-125]
TAC-375 “Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity Investigations” (4 units) [prerequisite: TAC-125]
TAC-457 "Network Security" (4 units) [prerequisite: TAC-357]

TAC-458 “Defending and Investigating Compromised Networks” [Capstone] (4 units) [prerequisite: at least 2 of the following: TAC-325, TAC-357, TAC-370, TAC-375] Fall only
TAC-479 “Cyber Law and Privacy” (4 units)

RISK-380 "Introduction to Enterprise Risk Management" (4 units)
LAW-401 "Cybersecurity and Cybercrime" (4 units)
Substitutions:

INCO BA Students: A minor requires 16 unique units. You can earn the Cyber Governance minor by substituting TAC 370 for an additional elective. Please email our academic advisors so that they can update your STARS report. Substitution courses are not automatically applied to your minor requirements, so you will need to ask our academic advisors to make the change for you.

Specialization (10 units)

Core requirements

TAC-125L “From Hackers to CEOs: Introduction to Information Security” (2 units)
TAC-370 “Cybersecurity Management and Operations” (4 units) [prerequisite: TAC-124 or TAC-125]
and any 4 unit course from the Minor elective list

Frequently Asked Questions:

Course Plan

Use the chart below to plan your course schedule to complete your minor. Pay careful attention to prerequisites. Make sure you consult with your major advisor about how best to incorporate the requirements for your minor with your major and general education requirements.

Please contact our academic advisors with questions about course sequencing, departmental clearance and course substitutions.

Semester 1

ITP-499: "How To Not Get Hacked: Personal Cyber Security" (2 units)

This course provides an overview of personal device protection, from laptops to smartphones to internet-connected devices. This Includes strategies to better protect your personal devices, web browsers, and personal messages. The course covers personal device and electronic communications security providing insights on how to detect and defend yourself against potential social engineering attacks.
Students will develop their interpersonal and communication skills and the application of their technical knowledge through interactive class activities and hands-on projects.

Semester 2

"Cybersecurity Management and Operations"
[prerequisite: ITP-499 (How Not To Get Hacked) or ITP-125]

Learn how to manage information security systems, plan for disaster recovery, and conduct security audits of computers and networks. You’ll practice writing security policies, designing new security plans, performing audits, and responding to incidents and disasters. You’ll also explore laws and regulations, training, and relationships between different departments in an organization in relation to information security.

Semester 3

"Consulting Skills in Cybersecurity Management"
[prerequisite: ITP-499 (How Not To Get Hacked) or ITP-125]

Consultancy Skills for Cyber Security Risk Management focuses on developing your team-building and communication skills to be an effective leader in consulting. This course will focus on the development of auditing skills and procedures, such as interview techniques and audit report writing. The course will have a comprehensive case study, linked to all seminars and homework to further facilitate this development.

"Taking this minor has opened so many doors for my career. I have been working at a music-tech start ups for the last year now and completed internships in data analytics for bigger music companies, simply because I had a bit of technical proficiency."

-Rebecca Clemmons, Economics

Class of 2021

"I initially thought that taking TAC minor would help my hobby projects after graduation. I was wrong. My career is dependent on all of the skills I learned from [TAC] classes. The minor program was designed for hands-on experience from game/app development to data analytics and serious algorithm classes. These helped me tremendously in my day to day job."

-Daniel Pham, Electrical Engineering

Class of 2017

What our students and alumni say

Next steps

How can I add this program?

Apply online

Current USC students can use our online application to declare a minor or specialization. Your application will be processed within 4 to 9 business days, and you will be notified at your official USC email address of your admission to the program of your choice.

Complete your application >

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Contact us with questions

If you have a question about the program, you're welcome to write to us or schedule an advisement appointment. We can help you navigate our program requirements and resources and refer you to other offices as needed.

Contact our advisors >