CANTON -- The State University of New York and the New York State Education Department have approved a new four-year offering at SUNY Canton, a bachelor of science degree in cybersecurity.

"We saw a need for qualified professionals who can help combat cybercrime, and we made a program to fill that need," said SUNY Canton Provost Douglas M. Scheidt. "In addition to providing another career path for incoming students, Cybersecurity will enhance the college's reputation and educational capabilities in computing technologies."

"Our newest program leverages our strength in Information Technology," said SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran. "The field of Cybersecurity continues to grow as we continually adopt an omnipresent digital lifestyle and become more aware of digital security concerns. SUNY Canton will now be the college to train new students for placement in these much-needed areas."

The increased demand for professionals who are able to prevent or overcome cyber-attacks follows the rise of cyber threats to private organizations and national security. Such threats are a major concern for financial institutions, medical services providers, and government agencies.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cybersecurity job growth outlook through 2026 is about 28 percent, or much faster than the average for all occupations. The median pay for an information security analyst, a position obtainable with a bachelor's degree, is $92,600.

SUNY Canton's program prepares students to assess security needs within computer and network systems, recommend safeguard solutions and manage the implementation and maintenance of security devices. The program will be taught by qualified faculty from the Canino School of Engineering Technology, including Associate Professor Yu Chin "Eric" Cheng and Lecturer Minhua Wang. Wang is the college's authority on cybercrime and teaches a course on ethical hacking.

"To create an effective defense, we need to understand how people could exploit security weaknesses," Wang said. "Hackers try to find all of the holes in a security system. We try to block those holes."

The program runs parallel to the college's Information Technology curriculum, and works well with SUNY Canton's established Criminal Justice, Health Care Management, Homeland Security and Legal Studies offerings, among others.

Cybersecurity is the college's 26th bachelor's degree and one of nine available bachelor of science programs.

The program will be available for freshmen and transfer students beginning with the fall 2018 semester.

Other recently announced four-year programs include Technological Communications, Game Design and Development, and Agribusiness Management.

To apply for admission into any of these programs, contact the SUNY Canton Office of Admissions by phone at 315-386-7123 or admissions@canton.edu.