{"id":642,"date":"2025-02-04T16:04:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T16:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/?page_id=642"},"modified":"2026-08-06T16:44:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T16:44:18","slug":"goals-future-plans","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/home\/goals-future-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"Goals &amp; Future Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">ODU Cybersecurity Degree &amp; Certification Plan<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><em>Undergraduate Goals<\/em> (<strong><em>Spring 2027<\/em><\/strong>)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\">Focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), &amp; Cloud Networking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><em>Graduate Goals <\/em>(<strong><em>start 2027<\/em><\/strong>)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\">Pursue part\/full-time employment and a MS in Cybersecurity with a Concentration in AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><u>Summer 2026 Course Load<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\">\n<li>IDS 300W:&nbsp;Interdisciplinary Theory and Concepts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>COVA Research Paper Expansion Project:\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Second paper<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;completion and submission for publishing&nbsp;<strong><em>before&nbsp;end of Summer 2026<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;<strong><em>semester<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Start third paper&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong>research and development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><u>Fall 2026 Course Load<\/u>&nbsp;<\/strong>(<em>ODU changes to 8-week acceleration sessions)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>PreCalculus II (16 weeks, prerequisite for most AI\/ML graduate-level programs &amp; courses)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CYSE 368:&nbsp;Cybersecurity Internship (<strong><em>Searching for opportunities<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;for Fall \u2013 Spring)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>First Session<\/strong>&nbsp;(<em>Fall 2026)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\">\n<li>CYSE 420:&nbsp;Applied Machine Learning in Cybersecurity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>COVA Research Paper Expansion Project\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Continuing&nbsp;third paper<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;research and development<strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Second Session<\/strong>&nbsp;(<em>Fall 2026<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\">\n<li>CS 464: Networked Systems<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>COVA Research Paper Expansion Project:\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Continuing&nbsp;third paper<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;to submit for publishing&nbsp;<strong><em>by end of 2026\/start of 2027.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><u>Spring 2027 Course Load<\/u><\/strong>&nbsp;(<em>ODU changes to 8-week acceleration sessions)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Calculus I (8\/16 weeks, prerequisite for most AI\/ML graduate-level programs &amp; courses)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>IDS 493:&nbsp;IDS Electronic Portfolio Project<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CYSE 368:&nbsp;Cybersecurity Internship (if not completed yet)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>First Session<\/strong>&nbsp;(<em>Spring 2027<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\">\n<li>CYSE 418: Enterprise Information Assurance, or\u2026\n<ul>\n<li>CRJS 310, Cybercriminology: Foundations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CS 465: Information Assurance for Cybersecurity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>COVA&nbsp;Research Paper Expansion Project:\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Finish third paper or start fourth<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;<strong><em>paper&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong>research and development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Second Session<\/strong>&nbsp;(<em>Spring 2027<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\">\n<li>CYSE 425w:&nbsp;Cyber Strategy and Policy<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>COVA Research Paper Expansion Project:\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Continue&nbsp;fourth<\/em><\/strong><em>&nbsp;<strong>paper&nbsp;<\/strong><\/em>research and development&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><u>Summer &amp; Fall 2027 Workload&nbsp;<\/u><\/strong><em>(Post May 2027 Undergraduate Graduation)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\">\n<li>Calculus II (if not done already)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Linear Algebra (prerequisite for most AI\/ML graduate-level programs &amp; courses)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>COVA Research Paper Expansion Project:\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Finish&nbsp;fourth<\/em><\/strong><em>&nbsp;<strong>paper&nbsp;<\/strong><\/em>to submit for publishing&nbsp;<strong><em>before end of Summer 2027 semester.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Start fifth paper&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong>research and development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Stretch Goals \u2014 Next 12-18 Months<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Pursued only when ahead of committed coursework and research priorities.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\">\n<li><strong>Optional Coursework:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>STAT 330 (Probability &amp; Statistics for AI\/ML graduate programs)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CS 463 Cryptography for Cybersecurity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CS 469 Data Analytics for Cybersecurity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Optional Certifications:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>CompTIA Linux+&nbsp;<em>(post-graduation target)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CompTIA CySA+&nbsp;<em>(post-graduation target)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CompTIA PenTest+&nbsp;<em>(post-graduation target)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CompTIA SecAI+<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Microsoft AZ-900, AI-900, SC-900&nbsp;<em>(starter Azure certs; suitable for short windows)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Self-Directed Projects &amp; Skill-Building:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Home Lab build-out (software framework on existing hardware\/NAS)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ethical penetration testing labs (Hack Smarter \/ Cyber Range \/ Tyler Ramsbey content)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Udemy AI\/LLM coursework<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Coding projects (Python, JS via WDS)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Personal growth (debate tutorials, content creation)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ODU Cybersecurity Degree &amp; Certification Plan Undergraduate Goals (Spring 2027) Focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), &amp; Cloud Networking. Graduate Goals (start 2027) Pursue part\/full-time employment and a MS in Cybersecurity with a Concentration in AI. Summer 2026 Course Load Fall 2026 Course Load&nbsp;(ODU changes to 8-week acceleration sessions) First Session&nbsp;(Fall 2026) Second&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/home\/goals-future-plans\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":30379,"featured_media":0,"parent":120,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/642"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30379"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2674,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/642\/revisions\/2674"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}