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See Research StudiesStudents pursuing an Executive MBA at Auburn University want to build their skill sets as business leaders, and while this program includes management and leadership training, there are other opportunities to expand your professional horizons.
Consider the opportunity for enhancing your knowledge of cybersecurity management. With data breaches for major companies continually trending in the news, gaining a better understanding of the technical and human factors behind these incursions, as well as ways to prevent them, is essential for any executive.
The Auburn Executive MBA (EMBA) at the Harbert College of Business offers specialized study and a graduate certificate in cybersecurity management. To lead in cybersecurity requires understanding the technical challenges to data security, factors in decision-making, and organizational strategies for effective risk mitigation and response. This is one of the areas in which Auburn prepares business leaders for future challenges facing most industries.
Why Auburn?
The Auburn EMBA is steadily rising in the national rankings, and even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the hybrid program was at the forefront of balancing in-person and distance learning. The investment consistently provides substantial returns in post-degree earnings. As an executive continuing to work while balancing coursework, you’ll apply your education immediately to your given field, and your cohort of peers becomes a professional network that will serve you during the program and in the years after.
Cybersecurity management is one of four specialized areas of study within the executive program, with each providing electives enabling you to advance in a specific discipline or industry.
Why Cybersecurity Management?
Simply put: any modern business must consider digital threats, compromised systems, and internal security issues. Even if your executive role is not directly tied to information technology, expanded knowledge in this field can be an invaluable asset to both your company and your resume.
The Auburn cybersecurity graduate certificate takes students through various levels of cybersecurity management: security and information assurance, risk analysis, and technology auditing. The certificate requires completion of electives in all three areas. In addition to your EMBA, an additional certificate can be a valuable asset to your resume, showing your skills on all sides of the company structure.
Connecting the Team
Even if you’re not wholly tech-savvy, there’s no need to worry. The cybersecurity certificate doesn’t require a complete, technical knowledge of various technology threats. It’s designed for both executives and IT members to consider cyber threats, and your management skills will be applied to analyzing your company’s ability to recognize potential threats and develop plans for backups, future safety, and cohesion between IT and the executive levels of a company.
When it comes to cybersecurity, everyone on a team needs to take part in solving and preventing attacks and maintaining privacy. While various members of a company take responsibility for different areas, a company’s digital and online safety needs to be understood and shared by everyone.
Student Testimonials
An Auburn EMBA by itself is a proven commodity for current and future employers, showing one’s willingness to learn and grow as an executive. But even with the understanding of how the cybersecurity certification adds to one’s value, alumni insight is one of the best ways to truly highlight the value of this specialty.
Auburn alumnus Melissa Sanford came into the program with a wide array of experience and skills, from analytics to military service. She chose the Auburn program for its growing reputation and cost effectiveness, and not only was the cybersecurity certification a selling point, but it also led her to unexpected growth and entrepreneurship. Cybersecurity isn’t solely technical, but merges with the human element, by identifying mistakes and teaming together to strengthen internal infrastructure. Melissa’s studies aided her, her vision, and gave her the resources to branch out and assist others in their professional growth:
“At the moment, I am providing guidance as chief revenue officer to two other women as they start up their own cybersecurity firm, to help with the human element of cyber which is causing some of these breaches — most recently, Capital One,” Sanford said. “Cyber is a growing field, but what is often overlooked is the human aspect that causes breaches.”
For further information about the Auburn cybersecurity management graduate certificate, or to plan application timelines, please visit their website.
Auburn University
Auburn University has developed into one of the largest universities in the South, remaining in the educational forefront with its traditional blend of arts and applied science and changing with the needs of today while living with a respect for the traditions and spirit that are Auburn.