Computer Forensics Track
The Information Technology (IT) major is a jointly offered program between the College of Management (CM) and the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The IT major consists of a common core of ten courses, a track of four to six courses in a particular area of specialization (the computer forensics track requires five courses), a common capstone course, and three professional electives.
Career Paths
The IT major is designed to offer a top notch program that addresses the Commonwealth’s IT workforce needs through a collaboration between CM and CSM. This degree provides a pathway from the bachelor’s degree to IT position in the public and private sectors, profit, and nonprofit. Exercises assigned throughout the BSIT are designed to be the kind that a student might encounter in his or her work: collaboration, competence, and outcomes assessment are the hallmark characteristics of the program.
Computer Forensics (CF) is a discipline of forensic science that combines elements of law and information technology to collect and analyze data from computer systems, networks, wireless communications, and storage devices in a way that is admissible as evidence in a court of law. CF is also the process of using scientific knowledge for collecting, analyzing, and presenting digital evidence to the courts. With the increasing use of computers to commit crimes and growing demand for computer-based data in civil proceedings, a need has rapidly developed for forensic experts to extract useful information from computer evidence.
Advising Notes
- College of Management students should see general advising from the University Advising Center until they have earned 60 credits and selected a track. Students seeking advising regarding track courses should see a faculty mentor for their chosen track (names available in the college advising offices respectively). Advising for degree exceptions and policy overrides should go through the advising office for the college in which the student is enrolled (CM students should go to M-5-610), as appropriate.
- Students should plan to take the track courses over the course of two years (four semesters) to ensure a wide selection of required and elective courses in the concentration. Some track courses may be offered once a year and are subject to sequencing due to prerequisites, making this time allowance necessary.
- The prerequisites for these courses are strictly enforced; students should plan their schedule early and carefully.
Courses
Take Five of the Following Courses
SOCIOL 104 Intro to Criminal Justice
IT 220 Computer Forensics I
IT 221 Computer Forensics II
IT 420 Network and Mobile Forensics
IT 421 Malware Analysis
SOCIOL 364 Cyber Crime