For undergraduates in the Whiting School of Engineering and the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, as well as for undergraduates from local universities with which Johns Hopkins has established agreements of cooperation, students can pursue a concurrent bachelor’s/master’s program in conjunction with the MSSI degree. In such a concurrent bachelor’s/master’s program, an undergraduate can apply for admission into the MSSI program as early as the completion of their second year of university. If accepted, each semester a student will generally take courses that satisfy their bachelor’s degree requirements or the MSSI requirements. 2 courses can be double-counted for the MSSI and the bachelor’s programs. By working on the project component of the MSSI program during the summers as well as during the regular academic year, it is possible for a student to complete both degree requirements in a total of 5 years—or even less, depending on their advanced placement credits and the extent to which summer session courses may be taken relative to a student’s undergraduate degree requirements. Students interested in the concurrent bachelor’s/master’s program should consult with their undergraduate advisor regarding approval and scheduling before requesting admission into the MSSI program.

The Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute (ISI) and the Department of Computer Science (CS) in the Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) have approved the establishment of a two-year Dual Masters Program (DMP) combining the Master of Science in Security Informatics (MSSI) offered by the ISI and the Master of Science in Engineering in Computer Science (MSECS) offered by the CS Department. Admission into the DMP is approved on a case-by-case basis. DMP students are able to complete all the requirements for each of the two master’s degrees (receiving two diplomas upon graduation) within a two-year period by double-counting as many as 2 courses toward the requirements of both degrees.

Study and research within the field of information security and assurance represents an extraordinary opportunity for WSE students. The availability of the ISI’s MSSI and the MSECS within the WSE is distinguishing and represents an enormous opportunity; the DMP may be attractive to students who are interested in building upon the fundamental relationships between the MSSI and MSECS programs. The commingling of courses and projects within the DMP provides a platform for a unique graduate educational experience with both breadth and depth and is particularly relevant as preparation for research and development initiatives of interest in both government and industry.

A similar Dual Master’s Program has been initiated concerning the ISI’s MSSI and the master’s program in the Department of Applied Math and Statistics in the Whiting School of Engineering. The details of this DMP are similar in principal to those for the MSSI/MSECS DMP, but there are some significant differences. Each program should be contacted directly if a student is interested in pursuing this DMP.