Digital Forensics Minor

http://forensics.cs.uri.edu/ugrad_minor.php

Course length

Contact university for details

Course description

Below is an outline of the 18 credits for a standard Digital Forensics Minor.

- (10 credits) Approved courses related to law, criminalistics, criminal behavior, and statistics.
o At least one approved course in criminalistics or law
o At least one approved course in statistics
o At least one approved course in crime or law related psych/soc - (4 credits) CSC 485 Computer Forensics - (4 credits) CSC 486 Network Forensics or CSC 492 Computer Investigative Tools

Although not counted for the minor credits (and thus may be counted toward major credits), in order for Dr. Fay-Wolfe to approve the minor, students will also need to take:

- CSC414 Computer System Fundamentals or CSC491 Independent Study (pre-req to CSC485)
- CSC499 Internship done in digital forensics (one semester or summer). Internships are an essential part of this program; they are explained here. This can be taken any time after having taken CSC485.

For the Digital Forensics Minor, the student must:

- Contact Dr. Fay-Wolfe (wolfe@cs.uri.edu) to discuss the program.
- Typically we get students involved early (sophomore year) in digital forensics work in our Digital Forensics Center projects.
- Get approval from Professor Fay-Wolfe before the start of the student's second-to-last semester. Note that approval is not guaranteed.
- Get approval from the Dean of the student's college before the start of the student's last semester.
- Earn at least half of the minor credits at URI
- No course required by the student's major may be counted towards a minor. For instance, since CSC485 is required by the minor (see below), it cannot be counted as a Computer Science major course. Note that this requirement is only for major courses, it does not apply to General Education requirements.
- Achieve a GPA of at least 2.0 in the minor courses

Admissions and entry requirements

Contact university for details

Fees

Contact university for details

Contact Information

forensics@cs.uri.edu
Tel: 1-401-874-1000 (Main Switchboard)

Professional Certificate in Digital Forensics

http://forensics.cs.uri.edu/professional_cert.php

Course length

Maximum 3 years

Course description

A Professional Certificate is a university-issued certificate that acknowledges the completion of required course work. Acceptance into this program does not require acceptance to the university's undergraduate or graduate programs. It is appropriate for anyone regardless of their current level of education who desires focused courses in digital forensics.

Students receive college credit (that can be used towards a degree if the student chooses to do so) for all courses that they take as part of this certificate program.

Note that the Professional Certificate in Digital Forensics is designed to be done completely online so that professionals from anywhere may take all requirements for the degree online.

Completion of the Professional Certificate Requires:

- Admission to the program. - 15 credits of URI course work in approved courses relating to Digital Forensics. - A Professional Certificate is granted to those students who complete the following courses:
o CSC414 (Computer System Fundamentals, 4 credits, online course, typically Summer semester)
o CSC485 (Computer Forensics, 4 credits, online course, typically Fall semester)
o CSC486 (Network Forensics, 4 credits, online course, typically Spring semester)
o CSC590 (Research/Practicum, 3 credits, done as on-site "boot camp" with an alternative )

The certificate must be completed within a 3-year period. No grades below "B" will be counted toward the Certificate.

Admissions and entry requirements

The Professional Certificate does not assume that applicants have any experience in the field. The courses sequence includes instruction ranging from basic fundamentals to advanced topics.

Fees

Contact university for details

Contact Information

forensics@cs.uri.edu
Tel: 1-401-874-1000 (Main Switchboard)

Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics

http://forensics.cs.uri.edu/grad_cert.php

Course length

Typically 16 months

Course description

A Graduate Certificate is a university-issued graduate degree. It involves acceptance to the graduate program, graded course work, and typically a paper or project. It is similar to a Master's Degree program but with less course work and a shorter-duration project. It is designed for professionals who wish to obtain a focused graduate degree, but cannot commit to a full Master's degree.

Degree Requirements

Note that the Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics is designed to be done completely online so that professionals from anywhere may take all requirements for the degree online.

Completion of the Graduate Certificate Requires:

- Admission to the program (see Application Process below).

- 15 credits of URI course work in approved courses relating to Digital Forensics.

- Demonstration of course work (any course work including but not limited to: undergraduate, graduate, or non-matriculated) equivalent to:
o CSC414 (Computer System Fundamentals, 4 credits, online course, typically Summer semester)
o CSC585 (Topics in Computer Forensics, 4 credits, online course, typically Fall semester)
o CSC586 (Topics in Network Forensics, 4 credits, online course, typically Spring semester)
o CSC590 (Digital Forensics Practicum, 3 credits, done online or done as on-site "boot camp")

Course syllabi are available upon request to forensics@cs.uri.edu

The requirements state 15 credits, which can be done by taking the four courses listed above. For students who have taken equivalent courses, or wish a different emphasis, there are other courses that can be substituted for these courses to make up the 15 credits.

- The degree must be completed within a 3-year period with a GPA of at least 3.0. No grades below "B" will be counted toward the 15-credit Certificate minimum. All rules respecting scholastic standing as promulgated by the Graduate school and described in the University Catalog are applicable to the Certificate program.

Typical Plan of Study. A typical student will follow this 16 month schedule to achieve the degree:

- CSC414 Summer
- CSC585 Fall
- CSC586 Spring
- CSC590 Summer

The Graduate Record Exams (GRE) are not required for admission to the Graduate Certificate program. They are required for admission to the Masters and PhD programs.

Transfer to the Master's Degree Program: Students who successfully complete the Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics may, upon request, be admitted to the Computer Science Master's Degree program, but may have additional requirements imposed if they have not taken undergraduate computer science courses. Note that the Graduate Certificate is itself a terminal degree; transfer to the Master's Degree Program is simply an option for further study.

Admissions and entry requirements

Applicants for the Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics are expected to have an undergraduate degree and demonstrable technical sophistication (e.g. A+ and Net+ certifications, or a Bachelors degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering, or significant experience in a professional position working with computers and networks). Computer programming is not required for the typical course plan for this degree.

Application Process. Students apply to the Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics through the URI Department of Computer Science by submitting an online graduate application to URI's Graduate School.

Fees

Contact university for details

Contact Information

forensics@cs.uri.edu
Tel: 1-401-874-1000 (Main Switchboard)

Graduate Degrees - Master's Degree in Computer Science with Digital Forensics Track and PhD degree in Computer Science with Digital Forensics Research

http://forensics.cs.uri.edu/grad_prog.php

Course length

See below

Course description

URI offers the following Graduate Degrees in Digital Forensics:

- A Master's Degree in Computer Science with Digital Forensics Track. This is a full Computer Science Master's Degree that includes the requirements for the Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics.
o Apply to the URI Graduate Program in Computer Science
o Expected completion time: two years (or one year with a Graduate Certificate)
o Digital Forensics courses are done online; other computer science courses are done at URI, or up to three can be transferred from another institution.
o Completion of the Master's degree allows automatic admission to the PhD Program with up to 30 credits transferring, if the student desires.

- A PhD degree in Computer Science with Digital Forensics Research. This is a Computer Science PhD degree that requires a substantial novel research project.
o Apply to the URI Graduate Program in Computer Science
o Expected completion time: five years (or three years with Master's degree)
o Digital Forensics courses are done online; other computer science courses are done at URI, or up to three can be transferred from another institution. Some research is done at URI, some possibly can be done off campus.

Admissions and entry requirements

Contact university for details

Fees

Contact university for details

Contact Information

wolfe@cs.uri.edu
Tel: 1-401-874-1000 (Main Switchboard)