George Mason University was ranked 8th among 20 institutions for its multidisciplinary work in the area of cybersecurity. Other top schools included Purdue University, the University of Washington, Georgia Tech, and our neighbor, the University of Maryland, College Park.
CyberDegrees.org, a Washington, D.C.-based publisher of informational websites on higher education, issued the rankings last week. The list assessed the qualities of schools from a variety of angles, including subject expertise, scholarship opportunities and designation as a national security agency national center of academic excellence in cyber defense.
In the ranking the Volgenau School of Engineering was said to be “overflowing with cybersecurity programs,” offering a number of solid programs as well a variety of research and initiatives. The school’s location in the heart of the Northern Virginia technology corridor was mentioned as a benefit for its access to an unsurpassed range of internships and research opportunities for students.
The ranking also mentions a number of firsts for the school, including the Center for Secure Information Systems, established in 1990 as the first academic center in security at an American university, its first-in-the-nation cybersecurity engineering bachelor’s degree, focusing on cyber-resilience engineering design, and the first student-run cybersecurity organization.
Governor Terry McAuliffe congratulated Mason saying, “This ranking validates the hard work faculty, administrators and students are doing to make George Mason University one of the preeminent cyber security schools in the nation. Building a cyber workforce is key to maintaining Virginia's national cyber leadership position and George Mason University is a vital part of our future. I look forward to seeing George Mason’s continued contributions to the cyber security industry.”