First CWU Master’s Degree Program Launched at CWU-Sammamish

“Every organization today needs cybersecurity professionals,” said Robert Lupton, ITAM department chair. “This new program will offer the essential skills that meet the needs of busy professionals who live throughout Puget Sound and have work, family, travel, or other obligations.”

The graduate program, which will offer both full- and part-time program options, can be completed in just one year. CWU-Sammamish will host classes once a month, on Fridays and Saturdays, which will be supplemented by online content.

Julie Bonner, CWU’s MS-ITAM program coordinator, said the program is specifically focused on cybersecurity for a reason.

“We listened to our department’s industry advisory board,” she explained. “Launching with a cybersecurity focus is a good example of how we respond to the board’s input. We want to ensure our new program incorporates the high-demand skills and attributes information technology workers need to succeed in technology companies throughout the Puget Sound and worldwide, for that matter.”

This new master’s program is exactly the type of outreach envisioned when CWU-Sammamish was opened two-years ago through a partnership involving CWU and the City of Sammamish.

Of this initial graduate program, Lauren Hibbs, CWU’s executive director of Extended Learning, pointed out, “It will be especially attractive to mid-career professionals, who will benefit from instruction by industry leaders and highly regarded professionals right in their backyard.”

The new master’s program will also, undoubtedly, be quite attractive to other students studying nearby at CWU-Lynnwood, CWU-Des Moines, and CWU-Pierce County, who are interested in high-tech fields and are already living in one of our country’s strongest tech meccas.

“It’s an opportunity that university officials also expect to serve international students studying through CWU,” noted Ediz Kaykayoglu CWU’s executive director of the Office of International Studies and Programs, said.

Lupton says this is simply a case of CWU offering the right education, in the right place, and at the right time, adding it is only the beginning.

“We also [later] plan to offer graduate-level certificates from CWU-Sammamish for those who just want to plug in to enhance their skills while on the job,” he said

Media contact: Robert Lowery, Department of Public Affairs, 509-963-1487, Robert.Lowery@cwu.edu.