September 15, 2025

by Lauren Ferguson

To broaden their skills and attract employers, Ramapo College of New Jersey undergraduates in the new Cybersecurity major now have the option to continue their studies as graduate students, save money on tuition, and ultimately leave Ramapo in just five years with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree.

This academic year, the college launched a pair of seamless pathways from the new Cybersecurity undergraduate major – one to a Master’s of Science in Computer Science and one to a Master’s of Science in Data Science.

The pathways allow ambitious students to save on both time and tuition, while preparing for career success in the tech field.

Students in the new accelerated 4+1 programs are able to graduate with a master’s in just five years, because as undergraduates they take three graduate courses in their fourth year that also count toward their Data Science or Computer Science graduate degrees.

“They can complete the master’s, basically for 30 percent off the tuition, because they’re getting 30 percent of the credits as undergrads,” explained Dr. Scott Frees, professor of computer science and director of Ramapo’s Center for Data, Mathematical, and Computational Sciences (DMC). That translates to saving more than $12,000 toward a graduate degree.

Dr. Scott Frees is the director of Ramapo’s Center for Data, Mathematical, and Computer Sciences.

Frees said Ramapo’s Cybersecurity program gives students a depth of knowledge in programming that will help them get ahead in the tech field. The curriculum teaches students to defend systems and respond to threats, but it also extends beyond the basics of coding and firewalls, and emphasizes cybersecurity’s human and ethical aspects, ensuring graduates are prepared to navigate the challenges of the digital world.  

Still, he said, jobseekers can gain more flexibility and opportunities to accept different kinds of positions, when they choose to broaden their knowledge base and earn a master’s degree in a separate, but still-related, discipline.

“A lot of students aren’t necessarily only going to do cybersecurity when they graduate. They might be interested in data science and more software development. Getting that master’s in the second discipline just widens their potential, because a lot of these roles, especially with the job market today, they don’t expect people to only do cybersecurity,” Frees said. “They expect people to be able to develop software. That’s what a Master’s in Computer Science does. They expect people to be able to do data analysis, spread analysis, they expect people to have a lot of data science skills.”

Frees said that artificial intelligence (AI) is causing entry-level positions in the tech field to change rapidly, and learning more skills will only help jobseekers. “Broadening your skill set means that you can create value in a lot of different areas of a tech organization and it makes them a lot more comfortable in hiring you,” he said.

No one knows exactly which skill sets will get automated by AI, Frees said, so when hiring managers look at a candidate with one specific skill set, there could be fear that that skill could be automated away. “But when we get a position that requires a whole slew of different skills, it’s harder to see that automating away, and so companies are more apt to hire,” he said.

The DMC Center is establishing itself as a leader in the development of programs to support students interested in careers in tech.

The college was recently awarded a $2 million U.S. National Science Foundation S-STEM (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) grant to launch the Ramapo Opportunities for Advanced Degrees in Stem (ROADS) program. The award will provide comprehensive scholarship support and specialized academic programming for academically talented students with financial need. It targets the disciplines of cybersecurity, data science, computer science, mathematics and bioinformatics, and will be integrated with the 4+1 programs.

The investment in STEM education directly supports national priorities in innovation and economic competitiveness, preparing graduates to contribute to cybersecurity, data analysis, and technological advancement in an increasingly digital world.

For more information about Ramapo’s Cybersecurity major and other DMC degrees, visit DMC webpage or contact Dr. Scott Frees at sfrees@ramapo.edu.