Dr. Melissa Danforth

Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department
California State University, Bakersfield

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Global Intelligence and National Security Advisory Notes
The GINS program is a multi-disciplinary program currently housed under the School of Social Sciences and Education (SSE) in the Department of Political Science. Students seeking information on the GINS major should contact the GINS director Mark Martinez in Political Science. This page is just for those who wish to combine GINS with Computer Science or Computer Engineering degrees.

Information Security Concentration in Computer Science
The Information Security concentration in the Computer Science major is intended for students who wish to pursue a career in information assurance and security, either with government agencies or with industry. The concentration combines Computer Science, Mathematics, and GINS courses to create an interdisciplinary approach to information assurance education. This concentration was added to the catalog in Fall 2013.

Due to the general education reductions in the 2013/15 catalog, students in this concentration are able to take 25 quarter units of Mathematics courses, 30 quarter units of GINS courses, and 67 quarter units of Computer Science courses, while still only requiring 180 quarter units for graduation.

Information Security major course requirements: 2013/15 Information Security track
Information Security major checklist: 2013/15 Information Security checklist

Please refer to the CEE/CS Degree Information page for information about the Quarter-to-Semester transition.

Computer Science minor for GINS and SSE majors
A GINS, Political Science or Criminal Justice major who wishes to pursue a Computer Science minor should focus on information security related courses within the Computer Science degree. This requires selecting specific course options within the Computer Science minor. The following document gives some advisory notes on which courses to select:

Computer Science minor with Information Security focus (quarter): DOC PDF
Computer Science minor checklist (the 2011/13 checklist also works for the 2013/15 catalog): 2011/13 CS Minor

Please refer to the CEE/CS Degree Information page for information about the Quarter-to-Semester transition.

GINS minor for Computer Science/Engineering majors
There is no official GINS minor in the catalog, but students can declare a Special Minor with GINS coursework. Students interested in this option should schedule an advising appointment with Melissa Danforth or Mark Martinez.

For students in Computer Science/Engineering who do not want to switch to the Information Security concentration, the biggest challenge with adding a GINS minor to the Computer Science or Computer Engineering major is the number of courses required. The minor courses will not double-count towards the major requirements for the traditional Computer Science or Computer Engineering degrees. However, the Computer Information Systems concentration in Computer Science can count the GINS courses towards their elective requirements (CIS students can offset general electives with a declared minor, but they cannot offset the 400-level advanced CMPS elective).

Strategic/Critical Languages Information
Information Security and GINS majors can offset some of the Focus Area courses with language courses for languages that have been designated as a "Critical Language" or "Strategic Language" by the U.S. government. At CSUB, the only critical language currently offered (on occasion) is Chinese. Several community colleges in the area offer Chinese or Japanese.

The following are additional resources for developing foreign language skills:

NSF SFS Dissemination Workshop
This workshop is primarily for K-12 teachers and university instructors who are interested in the materials developed for the two cybersecurity REVS-UP sections at CSUB. REVS-UP is a 4 week summer program for high school students, where students are on campus all day Monday - Thursday for the duration of the program. CSUB's NSF SFS grant sponsored two sections of REVS-UP focusing on general cybersecurity and on cryptography.