As of August 2021, Drew University in Madison, N.J., has announced the addition of new majors in cybersecurity and statistics, as well as a dual-degree cybersecurity program with New York University. These new majors join an already robust selection of concentrations from the liberal arts college. 

The new major in cybersecurity will be available in fall 2021. The program will offer a liberal arts approach with flexibility through elective offerings for students to choose emphases in software, systems, or interdisciplinary contexts. 

Undergraduate degrees in cybersecurity are a rarity in higher education and the program’s liberal arts emphasis will further separate it from the few contemporary programs offered in the U.S. 

Cybersecurity majors (as well as other students who qualify) will also have the opportunity to gain guaranteed admission to NYU Tandon School of Engineering’s 10-course online Master of Science (MS) program in cybersecurity, ranked among the top five cybersecurity master’s programs in the country by CSO. 

Admission guarantees a spot as a Cybersecurity Fellow, which comes with a substantial scholarship. Students will be able to choose to begin taking NYU Tandon courses online while still attending Drew, or to enroll directly at NYU Tandon after graduating from Drew. 

This program, as with Drew’s 12 other dual-degree programs, gives students the ability to complete degrees in multiple areas of study while gaining time for the pursuit of other academic or extracurricular interests in Drew’s supportive environment. Graduates will be prepared to advance in technical management and play roles in solving increasingly complex societal problems. 

Lastly, Drew has announced a new statistics major, previously only offered as a minor. The major will be obtainable as a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree. The program will have a strong computational, applied, and interdisciplinary focus that prepares students to effectively contribute to their area of study and better understand, improve, and protect the world in which we live. 

Like cybersecurity, statistics is an uncommon major offered at the undergraduate, liberal arts level. The introduction of this major optimizes Dr. Steven Gilbert’s $3 million donation to the math department in 2016 (https://www.drew.edu/news/2016/10/10/drew-receives-a-3-million-gift-in-math). 

The gift honored his late mother, Dr. Norma Gilbert, former longtime professor and chair of the department, and led to the hiring of two Gilbert professors, both statisticians, which in turn made the new statistics major a reality. For more information on the statistics program, visit https://www.drew.edu/math-computer-science-department/#statistics. Additional information on the new cybersecurity major can be found at https://www.drew.edu/math-computer-science-department/#cybersecurity. 

Drew University is located at 36 Madison Avenue in Madison. To contact the undergraduate admissions department, visit http://www.drew.edu/admissions-aid/undergraduate-admissions/.