Summary
Carnegie Mellon (CMU) is a leading institution for cybersecurity, with a multidisciplinary approach through initiatives like CyLab and the CERT Division.
The university offers a variety of academic programs and concentrations, including an undergraduate concentration in Security & Privacy within the College of Engineering, and master’s degrees with tracks like Information Security & Assurance through Heinz College.
CMU is also a designated National Center of Academic Excellence in all three areas: Cyber Defense, Cyber Operations, and Research.
OnAir Post: Carnegie Mellon Cybersecurity
About
Gemini AI Overview
Academic programs
- Undergraduate: Offers a concentration in Security & Privacy through the College of Engineering.
- Graduate: Provides various graduate programs and a master’s degree with an Information Security & Assurance track through Heinz College.
- Cross-disciplinary: Security and privacy are integrated across multiple departments, allowing students to choose from over 50 courses in various colleges and departments.
Research and initiatives
- CyLab: A university-wide research organization with over 50 faculty members and 130 graduate students. It focuses on areas like trustworthy computing, secure networks, and privacy protection.
- CERT Division: A part of the Software Engineering Institute, the CERT Division partners with government and industry to develop advanced methods for countering cyber threats and improving system resilience.
- picoCTF: A program that hosts a beginner-friendly Capture the Flag (CTF) competition and provides educational resources to teach cybersecurity skills to middle and high school students.
- Center for Informed Democracy & Social-cybersecurity (IDeaS): A center that researches how to enhance social cybersecurity to support an informed democratic society.
National recognition
- National Center of Academic Excellence: CMU is one of only 11 universities designated as a CAE in all three areas: Cyber Defense, Cyber Operations, and Research.
- NSA Featured School: The university’s cybersecurity programs are recognized by the NSA for their excellence in research and education.
Source: Gemini AI Overview – 11/11/2025
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Key Features
- Top Rankings: For multiple consecutive years, CMU has earned the top spot in U.S. News and World Report’s Undergraduate Cybersecurity Program rankings. Its master’s programs in Information Technology Management and Information Security are also highly regarded.
- National Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) Designation: The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have designated CMU as a CAE in all three focus areas: Cyber Defense (CD), Cyber Operations (CO), and Research (R).
- CyLab Security & Privacy Institute: This university-wide institute coordinates all security and privacy research and education, fostering collaboration across departments and disciplines. Researchers at CyLab focus on areas like trustworthy computing platforms, secure and available networks, mobility security, cyber-physical systems security, and privacy protection.
- CERT Division Partnership: Students benefit from exposure to leading practitioners at the world-famous CERT Division of the SEI, a government-funded research and development center that is considered the “birthplace of cybersecurity” for its foundational work in incident response.
- Hands-on Learning and Competitions: Students participate in experiential learning opportunities and the university’s hacking team, the Plaid Parliament of Pwning (PPP), is a record nine-time winner of the DEF CON “Capture-the-Flag” competition, the world’s premier hacking tournament.
- Interdisciplinary Curriculum: CMU embraces cybersecurity as its own discipline, offering more than 50 courses across various colleges. The curriculum blends theoretical knowledge with practical application, covering technical skills, risk management, data privacy, and policy.
- Educational Outreach: CMU researchers develop initiatives like picoCTF, a gamified, online capture-the-flag competition used to teach middle and high school students real-world cybersecurity skills and build a talent pipeline.
Academic Programs
CMU offers extensive cybersecurity education options at both the undergraduate and graduate levels:
- Undergraduate: Students can pursue concentrations in Security & Privacy within departments like Electrical and Computer Engineering.
- Graduate: Programs include the online Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) with a track in Information Security & Assurance offered by the Heinz College, and the on-campus Master of Science in Information Security (MSIS) through the Information Networking Institute (INI), which was one of the first of its kind in the nation.
- Executive Education: Professional courses and certificate programs, such as the Cybersecurity Leadership series, are available for working professionals
