Kansas State University is adding a new cyber security degree option.

According to the school, the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering at Kansas State University, with recent approval from the Kansas Board of Regents, will add cybersecurity as its 13th Bachelor of Science degree program

Offered through the computer science department, the curriculum of 120 credit hours will be officially available in fall 2022.

As our world continues to integrate computers into every part of our lives, the need to protect those systems only becomes more important over time. Currently, the demand for cybersecurity professionals is at an all-time high and continues to grow rapidly.

According to data from Cyber Seek, there are more than 2,500 open jobs in cybersecurity in the state of Kansas, with more than 3,000 in the Kansas City metro area. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the job market for information security analysts, defined as cybersecurity specialists requiring a bachelor’s degree, is expected to grow 31% from 2019-2029 with a median salary of $103,590.

Additionally, educational pathways to a career in cybersecurity remain limited, especially in the state of Kansas, where K-State’s bachelor’s program will be the first undergraduate offering in cybersecurity in the state.

“The addition of the cybersecurity degree program to our portfolio is an exciting one,” said Matt O’Keefe, dean of the College of Engineering. “This area has a huge opportunity for growth in our local and state economies, so we are pleased to be able to provide the necessary education to spur that development.”

The program will be directed by Eugene Vasserman, Michelle Munson-Serban Simu Keystone research scholar and associate professor of computer science.

The college will seek accreditation by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET for the cybersecurity program after the first graduates of the program have completed their degrees, which is the standard ABET process for accreditation of new programs