Damien Smith, director of the college’s cybersecurity program, says the increase is tied to growth in the cybersecurity industry, as well as business growth in the region.
“Dallas-Fort Worth, [the] North Texas area, is growing massively, exponentially, and there's definitely some opportunities for people with certain skills in cybersecurity to flourish in that environment.”
The details
Collin College began offering a dedicated cybersecurity program in fall 2008 and 18 students enrolled the first semester, working towards an Associate of Applied Science in Information Systems Cybersecurity.
The Bachelor of Applied Technology in cybersecurity was introduced in spring 2020, with 24 enrolling the first semester.
The school now has over 2,000 students enrolled with a declared major in cybersecurity, and about 1,700 are in the associate program, Smith said.
“That's where a student's going to get most of their entry level certifications, get that experiential training that we offer, some hands-on labs, and then they're going to get into the industry,” he said of the associate degree program.
Just over 800 students are expected to graduate with a cybersecurity degree or certificate in 2024, according to preliminary graduation data from the college, which is an over 15% increase from the 703 students who graduated in 2023.
“For $65 a semester credit hour for in-county students, you can't beat that for the education you’re going to get,” Smith said.
About the program
The cybersecurity industry is broad and has various focuses such as information assurance, aimed at protecting personal data and health information, Smith said. Other focus areas include penetration testing, ethical hacking, digital forensics and risk management.
The cybersecurity programs offered can prepare students for a number of entry-level jobs, such as:
- Security analyst
- Incident analyst
- Incident responder
- Penetration and vulnerability tester
“There are a lot of other larger universities and colleges in our backyard that offer cybersecurity degrees,” he said. “However, those universities and colleges are geared towards theoretical knowledge, where you won't get as much hands-on experiential ... training as you would in our program, because our program is specifically a workforce program.”
Diving in deeper
A majority of students in the program are recent high school graduates, which Smith said are drawn to technology-driven career fields.
“These students are digital natives,” Smith said. “They grew up with technology. They're very familiar with it, so they enjoy it, and they want to continue a career in technology.”
Non-traditional students may be interested in a career switch, which also supports the cybersecurity industry’s growing workforce needs, Smith said.
“It's becoming a very high in-demand field where we can't fill the number of jobs that are out there fast enough,” he said.
The cybersecurity department also offers various certificates, which are popular among non-traditional students and can offer industry certifications for current cybersecurity professionals, Smith said. The college doesn’t currently offer dual enrollment opportunities in cybersecurity programs, but Smith said it could be added to the department’s offerings in the future.
The college partners with companies such as Dell, Microsoft, Tanium and Cisco, as well as other local companies and agencies, to offer student opportunities such as internships.
“We're starting to focus a lot on ... startups, because there are particularly a lot of startups within this area, especially technology,” he said.
What they’re saying
“Technology is playing more of a role in everyone's lives, whether it's the car you drive or the appliances you use at home, they're all connected to the network somehow, someway,” Smith said. “Protecting that data that [the] technology uses and relies upon is crucial, and we need trained professionals that understand that technology, and there is no better place to get your start than Collin College.”
Also of note
The program offers training for interested students with any level of experience, Smith said., noting that students begin in courses learning the fundamentals of information security as well as basic components of a computer.
“The program is for everyone,” he said.
Learn more
For more information about cybersecurity programs offered by Collin College, visit www.collin.edu/department/cybersecurity.
