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Drexel is one of the nation’s top institutions for cybersecurity education, according to the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The agencies recertified the University as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education for “contributing to the protection of the national information infrastructure.” Drexel’s remains the first cybersecurity program in Philadelphia to earn the distinction.

Steven Weber, director of Drexel’s Isaac L. Auerbach Cybersecurity Institute, says the five-year certification is particularly noteworthy given the increased difficulty of satisfying the requirements. Programs undergo an in-depth assessment that includes demonstrating a match between hundreds of specific technical topics the government wants addressed and the various learning objectives in the curriculum.

“Cybersecurity is uniquely challenging as a technical discipline because it requires both a firm technical foundation in mathematics, computer science and electrical engineering, as well as an understanding of the constantly evolving threat landscape,” Weber says.