Cybersecurity at the Academy

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lcookiemonsterz

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Apr 1, 2020
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Hello there!

I've been offered admission to USAFA and I'm super excited to attend especially since I've heard good things about the Cybersecurity Program. After researching a ton about the cyber program at the academy I couldn't find any first-hand experiences about the program. From what I've found online, the CS program at USAFA has a very solid name in the NCCDC competitions, Deloitte Competitions, and the Presidential Cup by Homeland but nothing about the program itself.

I would really appreciate it if anyone could tell me more (personal experiences or what you've heard from cadets themselves) about the Cybersecurity program (extracurriculars and classes) itself.

Thanks
 
My DS is a Cyber Science major and a member of the Cyber Competition Team. USAFA has one of the top Cyber programs in the country and place well at all the competitions in which they compete (and they almost always beat USNA and USMA). The team meets almost every afternoon and is very active. DS has learned a lot just by being in the program.

One thing we did was to work with admissions to get a private tour of the Cyber facilities with a Professor and got to ask a lot of specific questions. They have a large lab with VR equipment and a simulated city with all sorts of SCADA and IoT equipment that you learn to hack and defend as part of the program. With the pandemic that may not be possible for you; however, I'm sure you could still get an interview with a professor. Just contact your admissions officer. I'm sure they will be happy to help. Besides pilots, Cyber is one of the major areas of focus at USAFA.

There are three "Cyber" majors at USAFA: Cyber Science, Computer Science, and Computer Engineering. Many Cyber Science majors double major in Computer Science as only requires four additional classes.

www.usafa.edu

Majors & Minors

The Air Force Academy's award-winning majors and minors offer hands-on, real-world learning opportunities. Pick your passion today.
www.usafa.edu www.usafa.edu

Hope this helps
 
My son is a senior and has been on the cyber team all 4 years (is captain now). As BBQ-Devil mentioned, the USAFA team almost always performs better than the other academies and has done very well against elite private colleges. My son has had a terrific experience with cyber at USAFA and plans to attend graduate school for computer science after graduation. His major is cyber science, which is very unique (there are very few, if any, other schools that offer it). If you're interested, I could connect you with him.
 
BBQ-Devil said:
There are three "Cyber" majors at USAFA: Cyber Science, Computer Science, and Computer Engineering. Many Cyber Science majors double major in Computer Science as only requires four additional classes.
Click to expand...

Do you know if it is plausible to double major in Cyber Science and Computer Engineering?
 
I spoke to DS last night about the Cyber Systems, Computer Engineering double major. He said it's possible but would be harder than the Cyber/CompSci combo. He was not sure how many extra classes it would be but he knew it was more than four and he didn't know of anyone personally who was doing it. If you are interested in that particular double major I would call admissions and they can get you in touch with someone in the Cyber Department.
 
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