Pitt's iSchool in ObserveIT's Top 7 Universities for IT Security
01/16/2015
The University of Pittsburgh’s School of Information Sciences was listed among the Top 7 Universities for IT Security by ObserveIT.com. According to author Alex Ellis, Pitt came in at #6 because:
"The School of Information Sciences was one of the first universities to offer education in information security. They have an undergraduate program in Information Science, and graduate programs for a Master’s degree, PhD degree, and Certificates of Advanced Study in Information Science, Telecommunications, and Library and Information Science. They also provide a distance education program for gaining a Masters degree in Library and Information Science."
This ranking follows a number of accolades received by the iSchool at Pitt in 2014 for its program in Cybersecurity. In February 2014 the iSchool’s program earned Pitt a #7 ranking on a list of more than 400 institutions of higher education nationwide in a survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute on behalf of Hewlett-Packard. The survey queried approximately 2,000 certified information technology security practitioners who were asked to rank their top five schools. Overall rankings were based on respondents’ perceptions of academic excellence and rigor, the experience and expertise of program faculty, the relevant experience and background of students and graduates and the overall professional reputation of the program in the cybersecurity community.
Following this recognition, the iSchool was again designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance/Cyber Defense Research (CAE-R) for academic years 2014-2021 by the National Security Administration (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This designation reflects Pitt’s ability to meet the increasing demands of the program criteria and contributes to the protection of the National Information Infrastructure. Additionally, this designation helps to distinguish the strengths of each of the CAE institutions, benefitting not only the CAE, but also students, employers and hiring managers throughout the nation.
Pitt has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAE-IAE) since 2003 and in Information Assurance Research (CAE-R) since 2008 jointly by the NSA and DHS. Pitt is also one of only 15 CAEs in the United States whose IA curriculum has been certified to meet five Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) standards for IA education.
It’s exciting to see what else 2015 has in store for Cybersecurity at the iSchool at Pitt!
