The Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence is a forward-looking degree designed to address the critical convergence of automated intelligence and digital security. As cyber threats evolve from manual intrusions to rapid, AI-driven attacks, the industry requires a new generation of defenders who can build systems that think, learn, and respond at machine speed. This program pushes the boundaries of traditional Computer Science. It integrates high-level mathematical modeling, behavioral analytics, and system architecture. Students do not just learn to code or patch; they learn to engineer autonomous environments that can self-heal and predict adversary behavior before a breach occurs.
Program Learning Outcomes
PLO1: Design and implement integrated computing solutions that utilize machine learning to automate threat detection and incident response.
PLO2: Analyze organizational security vulnerabilities and translate these real-world challenges into technical AI requirements and data-driven analysis.
PLO3: Identify and mitigate risks specific to AI infrastructure, including data poisoning, model evasion, and prompt injection attacks.
PLO4: Evaluate the legal, ethical, and social implications of autonomous security systems, ensuring compliance with global data privacy standards.
PLO5: Develop robust architectures for collecting, cleaning, and protecting the large-scale datasets required for training security-focused AI models.
PLO6: Communicate complex technical AI-Cyber risks to non-technical stakeholders to drive organizational strategy.
Required Courses
General Education Requirements
Communications
The following courses are recommended:
| ENG 101 | Beginning English Composition | 5 |
| ENG 201 | Intermediate English | 5 |
| ENG 203 | Effective Speaking for the Undergraduate | 5 |
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any three general education courses in the following disciplines: academic writing, oral communications, and any course in the area of communications.
Humanities and Fine Arts
Choose two courses from the list below:
| ART 105 | Race, Identity and Experience in American Art | 5 |
| ART 106 | Race, Identity and Experience in American Art I | 2 |
| ART 107 | Race, Identity and Experience in American Art II | 3 |
| HIS 103 | History Across the Globe | 5 |
| PHI 107 | Introduction to Ethics and Social Critique | 5 |
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any two general education courses in the following disciplines:
- Humanities: foreign language, history, literature, philosophy, religious studies, interdisciplinary humanities and fine arts, interdisciplinary humanities and social sciences
- Fine Arts: visual arts (including art history, art appreciation, and studio arts, such as drawing, painting, digital art, or film), film and cinema studies, and performing arts (including music appreciation, music theory, and music performance, theatre appreciation and performance, and dance)
Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Choose three courses from the list below (one must be math and one must be a natural science):
| MTH 102 | Statistical Foundations | 5 |
| MTH 211 | Calculus and Analytic Geometry I | 5 |
| and one of the following courses | |
| SCI 101 | Physical Science | 5 |
| SCI 102 | Survey of Biological Science with Lab | 5 |
| SCI 225 | Human Impact on Environment | 5 |
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any three general education courses in the following disciplines:
- Mathematics: college-level and not developmental in nature
- Natural Sciences: physics, chemistry, earth science, astronomy, geology, physical geography, biology, human anatomy and physiology, microbiology, genetics, botany and zoology; and interdisciplinary fields such as environmental science, and ecology and conservation
- Mathematics or Natural Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Choose two courses from the list below:
| ECO 200 | Macroeconomics for Today’s Professional | 5 |
| HIS 102 | Civics and American Government | 5 |
| HIS 212 | Think Global: Movements in US History and its Impact on Society and School | 5 |
| PSY 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 5 |
| SOC 101 | Foundational Sociology | 5 |
| SOC 204 | Contemporary Chicago | 5 |
| SOC 222 | Culture and Identity | 5 |
| SOC 250 | Cultural and Ethnic Movements in the United States | 5 |
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any two general education courses in the area of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the following disciplines: anthropology, economics, geography, history, human geography, political science, psychology, sociology, interdisciplinary social/behavioral science, interdisciplinary humanities and social and behavioral science.
Program Specific General Education Requirements
| MTH 102 | Statistical Foundations | 5 |
| MTH 211 | Calculus and Analytic Geometry I | 5 |
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any Statistics course.
Additional General Education Requirements
| GEN 103 | Student Success Seminar | 5 |
| or | |
| GEN 203 | NLU & You: Tools & Strategies for Student Success | 3 |
Note:
GEN 103 is required for the first-time freshman students only. Students transferring in less than 90 QH are required to complete
GEN 203.
Career Development Requirements
First-time Daytime Students
| CAR 214 | Creating and Communicating the Professional Brand | 5 |
| or | |
| BRV 200 | Braven Leadership and Career Accelerator | 5 |
| and | |
| CAR 295 | Career Service Learning | 5 |
| CAR 218 | Internship Application Workshop | 0 |
Note:
CAR 218 may be waived for students who have an internship accepted in Handshake prior to Winter term of the junior year.
Transfer Students
| BRV 200 | Braven Leadership and Career Accelerator | 5 |
| or | |
| CAR 214 | Creating and Communicating the Professional Brand | 5 |
| or | |
| CAR 202 | Creating Professional Identity | 0 TO 2 |
| and | |
| CAR 203 | You The Professional | 3 |
Program Major Requirements -70 QH
| CAI 200 | AI Ethics, Policy, and Governance | 5 |
| CAI 320 | Adversarial Machine Learning | 5 |
| CAI 350 | Secure AI Development and MLOps | 5 |
| CAI 360 | AI for Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) | 5 |
| CAI 410 | Enterprise Security, Automation, and Response | 5 |
| CAI 470 | AI-Powered Network Security and Zero Trust | 5 |
| CAI 480 | AI-Driven Digital Forensics and Incident Response | 5 |
| CAI 490 | CyberAI Capstone | 5 |
| CAR 490 | Internship Practicum | 5 |
| CSS 210 | Introduction to Networking | 5 |
| CSS 400 | Cybersecurity Essentials | 5 |
| CSS 406 | Network Security | 5 |
| CSS 407 | CyberOps | 5 |
| MTH 420 | Discrete Mathematics | 5 |
Electives
Choose additional courses to total 180 QH. These hours may be used to complete the major, minors and concentrations listed above.