The Virginia Tech’s executive Master of Information Security Assurance (eMISA) is the only program of its kind in the Washington, DC area that offers an executive education and networking opportunities to information assurance professionals. The executive MISA program integrates information assurance engineering, technology, and policy studies to affect the management and operation of cyber-integrated critical infrastructure systems in a global environment. It targets working professionals who wish to pursue a graduate degree without interrupting their careers.

The entire executive MISA program is delivered through alternate weekend classes and a unique international two-week intensive field study. It is designed for completion within 17 months. The content is delivered through in-class lectures supplemented by seminars, online presentations, and real-world laboratory projects. Classes are held in Arlington, Va., on Friday afternoons and all day Saturday every other weekend. This schedule is considered a full-time load for the purposes of financial aid.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

eMISA Highlights

Executive orientation - The eMISA program offers information assurance education for working professionals in 30 alternate weekend sessions in 17 months. This is supplemented by online interactive work.
Cohort-based - The eMISA program is cohort-based and each cohort is limited to only 25 participants to stimulate peer learning and professional networking through small group interactions.
Multi-disciplinary - The eMISA program uniquely integrates information assurance engineering, management, technology, and policy studies while focusing on the cyber-integrated critical infrastructure.
International field study - The eMISA program offers a two-week international residency to study global dimensions of information assurance and its best practices.
Real-world laboratory experience - The eMISA program incorporates a laboratory experience that highlights the practical aspects of information assurance issues.
Distinguished lectures - The eMISA program includes lectures from CIOs and high-level international information assurance experts.
Comprehensive enterprise concept - The eMISA program incorporates information assurance engineering with the principal planning tools for building strategic security assurance cases within an enterprise.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Course Content

Executive MISA courses focus on the integration of information assurance engineering, technology, and policy studies to manage and operate trustworthy cyber-integrated critical infrastructure systems. The innovative experiential component of the curriculum includes a two-week international residency in Europe, real-world laboratory experience, and a capstone project. During the residency, participants visit critical information infrastructure facilities to gain first-hand information about security challenges and how they are addressed. This helps participants synthesize the education and experience gained throughout the program to address global dimensions of information assurance challenges.

Sample topics in the eMISA program include:

Risk Management in Information Security Assurance
Building Security Assurance Cases
Role of Human Behavior in Trustworthy Systems
Legal and Ethical Issues in Information Security Assurance
Detecting and Mitigating Insider threats
Economics of Information Assurance Projects
Critical Infrastructure System Assurance
Life Cycle Analysis of Security Assurance Projects
Advanced Global Identify Management
Information Security Assurance Field and Case Studies

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Program Delivery

The courses in the executive Master of Information Security Assurance program will be taught in a classroom setting during alternate weekends at Virginia Tech – Advanced Research Institute in Arlington. This is a prime location at the heart of Virginia’s information technology industry and its close proximity to the proliferation of government agencies in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland. Additional supplemental material will be prepared for web-based asynchronous access so that students can access the material for self-study and group discussions.

The entire 17-month MISA program is divided into four terms, as shown in the following figure. A term is defined as a 19-21 week semester, including the international field trip.

MISA-Pre

MISA term 1 covers four foundation courses (IAE 5104, IAE 5204, IAE 5304 and IAE 5404) with the total of nine credit hours. MISA term 2 covers a two-credit hour international field trip (IAE 5504). MISA term 3 has ten credit hours and includes four courses related to in-depth studies in information security assurance (IAE 5604, IAE 5704, IAE 5804 and IAE 5914). MISA term 4 has nine credit hours and contains two advanced information security assurance courses (IAE 5814 and IAE 5924), and a capstone project (IAE 5934). The figure above also illustrates prerequisites and co-requisites of each course.

(IAE = Information Assurance Engineering)

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tentative Course Schedule

The tentative course schedule for the executive MISA program is shown below.

MISA Term 1
Date	Friday 2-5	Friday 6-9	Sat 8:30-12:30	Sat 1:30-5:30
Week 1 Feb 19-20, 2010	IAE 5104	IAE 5204	IAE 5104	IAE 5204
Week 3 Mar 5-6, 2010	IAE 5104	IAE 5204	IAE 5104	IAE 5204
Week 5 Mar 19-20, 2010	IAE 5104	IAE 5204	IAE 5104	IAE 5204
Week 7 Apr 2-3, 2010	IAE 5104	IAE 5204	IAE 5104	IAE 5204
Week 9 Apr 16-17, 2010	IAE 5304	Exam - IAE 5104	IAE 5304	Exam - IAE 5204
Week 11 Apr 30-May 1, 2010	IAE 5304	IAE 5404	IAE 5304	IAE 5404
Week 13 May 14-15, 2010	IAE 5304	IAE 5404	IAE 5304	IAE 5404
Week 15 May 28-29, 2010	IAE 5304	IAE 5404	IAE 5304	IAE 5404
Week 17 Jun 4-5, 2010	IAE 5304	IAE 5404	IAE 5304	IAE 5404
Week 19 Jun 18-19, 2010	IAE 5304		IAE 5304	Exam - IAE 5304
				Total 9 credit hours

MISA Term 2
IAE 5504: ISA Field and Case Studies		Jun 26-Jul 8, 2010		Total 2 credit hours

MISA Term 3
Date	Friday 2-5	Friday 6-9	Sat 8:30-12:30	Sat 1:30-5:30
Week 1 July 23-24, 2010	IAE 5604	IAE 5704	IAE 5604	IAE 5704
Week 3 Aug 6-7, 2010	IAE 5604	IAE 5704	IAE 5604	IAE 5704
Week 5 Aug 20-21, 2010	IAE 5604	IAE 5704	IAE 5604	IAE 5704
Week 7 Sep 3-4, 2010	IAE 5604	IAE 5704	IAE 5604	IAE 5704
Week 9 Sep 17-18, 2010	IAE 5604	IAE 5704	IAE 5604	IAE 5704
Week 11 Oct 1-2, 2010	IAE 5604	IAE 5704	IAE 5604	IAE 5704
Week 13 Oct 15-16, 2010	Exam - IAE 5604	Exam - IAE 5704	IAE 5804	IAE 5914
Week 15 Oct 29-30, 2010	IAE 5804	IAE 5914	IAE 5804	IAE 5914
Week 17 Nov 12-13, 2010	IAE 5804	IAE 5914	IAE 5804	IAE 5914
Week 20 Dec 3-4, 2010	IAE 5804	IAE 5914	IAE 5804	IAE 5914
Week 22 Dec 17-18, 2010	IAE 5804	IAE 5914	Exam - IAE 5804	Exam - IAE 5914
				Total 10 credit hours

MISA Term 4
Date	Friday 2-5	Friday 6-9	Sat 8:30-12:30	Sat 1:30-5:30
Week 1 Feb 18-19, 2011	IAE 5814	IAE 5924	IAE 5814	IAE 5924
Week 3 Mar 4-5, 2011	IAE 5814	IAE 5924	IAE 5814	IAE 5924
Week 5 Mar 18-19, 2011	IAE 5814	IAE 5924	IAE 5814	IAE 5924
Week 7 Apr 1-2, 2011	IAE 5814	IAE 5924	IAE 5814	IAE 5924
Week 9 Apr 15-16, 2011	IAE 5814	IAE 5924	IAE 5814	IAE 5924
Week 11 Apr 29-30, 2011	IAE 5814	IAE 5924	IAE 5814	IAE 5924
Week 13 May 13-14, 2011	Exam - IAE 5814		Exam - IAE 5924
Week 14 May 20-22, 2011	IAE 5934: Online discussion
Week 15 May 27-28, 2011	IAE 5934: Online discussion
Week 16 Jun 3-4, 2011	IAE 5934: Final Project Presentations
				Total 9 credit hours

Return to Skip Menu

Skip Menu

Search

Main Content

eMISA Academics

Footer