A college journey is unique to every student. For many students, a typical degree path can take anywhere from three to four years, but thanks to the asynchronous online Cyber Operations and Resilience Program, or CORe for short, graduate student Elizabeth Khan was able to obtain her graduate degree in only a year.
With the help of the CORe program, Khan found the chance to transition to a new career path that envelops and leverages all of her past experiences with a new network of cybersecurity connections across the country.
“I consider this program unique in that the instructors are all industry experts in their various subjects,” Khan said. “This means they bring applied knowledge to the classroom and having that knowledge of industry fosters great networking opportunities.”
The program launched in the Fall of 2021, just as Khan’s pursuit of a graduate degree in cybersecurity began. CORe immediately piqued Khan’s interest due to its ability for personalized, stackable courses and certifications to build a degree unique to her. Through the program, Khan was able to obtain her Master of Science in Cyber Operations and Resilience with engineering and analyst certificates.
“It was a super exciting and intense experience,” Khan said. “Intense because the program is designed such that an ambitious student, like myself, can complete the whole program in a year.”
The online asynchronous program prepares students from all backgrounds for a career in the booming cybersecurity industry. The program offers the ability for students with technical and non-technical backgrounds the same opportunities, and also offers a chance for military members, working professionals, and students from any undergraduate background a chance for further professional development.
From the moment she spoke with program director Sin Ming Loo, she knew the Boise State CORe program was exactly the program for her.
“I felt confident that the Boise State program offered something that I hadn’t seen elsewhere,” Khan said. “The graduate CORe program was geared toward a wider audience, not just a technical one, meaning that business leaders and entrepreneurs like myself could undertake this program without having to be a coder or have a technical background.”
The multitude of engaging cybersecurity topics she was exposed to during the program have inspired Khan to continue training toward additional cybersecurity credentials.