Doctor of Philosophy in Cybersecurity
The PhD in Cybersecurity, which is the first of its kind in Canada, is a multidisciplinary research-intensive program that covers a broad range of themes related to cybersecurity; including technology, policy and governance, AI and human behaviour. This program aims to prepare specialized sociotechnical academics who can perform leading-edge research and teaching in the academia or industry, and help governments in policymaking in the area of cybersecurity.
The objectives of the program are achieved through a combination of coursework, seminars and a research thesis. The PhD in Cybersecurity program includes graduate-level courses, a seminar course, a thesis proposal and candidacy exam, a dissertation and final defence. The Program welcomes students from a broad range of backgrounds including computer science, information technology, business and management, social and political science.
How to apply
Tours and Events
Admission Requirements
Grad Guidebook
- Program Schedule and Format
- Admission Requirements
- Tuition
- Program Faculty
- Curriculum and Courses
- Research Facilities
What are the study requirements of the program? |
|
What are the start dates for the program? |
September start |
What is the delivery method? |
In person |
When can I apply for the program? |
Applications open in September for the following year. |
Is this a STEM program? |
YES |
In addition to the general admission requirements for graduate studies, PhD in Cybersecurity applicants must meet the following program-specific requirements:
- Students are expected to have completed a four-year undergraduate degree and a thesis-based Masters degree in a relevant field from a Canadian university, or its equivalent from a recognized institution, with an overall academic standing of at least 3.5 on a 4.0/4.3 scale or its equivalent in their last two years of study.
- MITS Pathway: Graduates of Ontario Tech University Master of IT Security (MITS) program can apply to the Ph.D. program If they have completed the MITS program with an overall academic standing of at least 3.5/4.3.
- A minimum of two letters of reference from persons having direct knowledge of the applicant's academic competence. Academic references are preferred; however professional references will be accepted. Letters of reference should come from individuals under whom the applicant has worked closely or studied. The quality of the letters will be assessed by the Graduate Committee to make sure relevant requirements have been met.
- Proof of English proficiency is needed from those applicants whose first language is not English, as per university regulations.
- Applicants must find a prospective faculty supervisor from among the list of graduate faculty members of the PhD in Cybersecurity program and receive formal acceptance of the faculty member to supervise their research. No applicant will be accepted to the program without having an approved prospective supervisor in advance.
- As part of the application form, students are required to provide a minimum 3000-word long personal research statement, outlining their area of interest in cybersecurity, their proposed academic research plan, and identify the faculty supervisor who has agreed to supervise their research.
Please refer to tuition estimates from the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
905.721.8668 ext. 6209
Fees, funding, and general grad finance questions: gradfinance@ontariotechu.ca
Inquiries about scholarships and awards: gradscholarships@ontariotechu.ca
Patrick Hung
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: Privacy and Security
Miguel Vargas Martin
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: Cryptography and Network Security
Khalil El-Khatib
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: Privacy and Security
Salma Karray
Supervising
Expertise: Operational Research, Game Theory
Stephen Marsh
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: Information Trust and Privacy
Julie Thorpe
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: Privacy and Security
Shahram S. Heydari
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: Communication networks & security
Richard Pazzi
Supervising
Expertise: Multimedia communication, Cloud networks
Amirali S. Abari
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: Artificial Intelligence; IT Forensics
Peter Lewis
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence
Rajen Akalu
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: Privacy and Artificial Intelligence
Fletcher Lu
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: Cybercrime and online Fraud
Hui Zhu
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: Securities; Corporate Social responsibility;
Pooria Madani
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: Adversarial Machine Learning; Cybersecurity
Li Yang
Teaching and Supervising
Expertise: AI and data analytics; Cybersecurity
Andrea Slane
Supervising
Expertise: Law & Technology, Privacy, Cybercrime
Isabel Pedersen
Supervising
Expertise: Computing, Algorithmic Culture, Augmented Reality, and AI Ethics
-
INFR 6010G - Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity
Description coming soon!
-
INFR 6020G - Usable Security
The security offered by a system can be dramatically influenced by its user interface. This effect has been observed across many cybersecurity applications that aim to help users in tasks such as secure authentication, encryption, system administration, and secure software development. The user interfaces for such applications require not only good usability, but also need to assist users in understanding risks and making decisions, typically in environments and situations where cybersecurity is not their primary concern. This course provides foundational knowledge on general HCI, usable security, and user interface techniques that have been proposed for cybersecurity applications. The course also discusses a set of cybersecurity problems whereby usable security approaches have been proposed.
-
INFR 6030G - Information Trust
In this course, students examine trust, provenance, critical thinking and design thinking for information from first principles to action. How to measure and judge information quality is discussed, as well as the various ways in which trust can be attacked in the context of information. More specifically, we will also examine how to use information to make trustworthy decisions in different cybersecurity and other contexts.
-
INFR 6040G - Infrastructure and Cyberphysical Security
Today, every nation has identified several critical infrastructures that are essential for national and economic security. The Canadian National Strategy has identified 10 CI sectors including information and communication technology, energy and utilities, water, manufacturing, food, government, health, safety, finance, and transportation. Ensuring the security and resiliency of these infrastructure is a key priority for the Canadian government and for every government around the world. The course will teach students about identifying physical and cybersecurity threats that can affect the security of a critical infrastructure, and also understanding and developing integrated risk management strategies
-
INFR 6050G – Advanced Topics in Cybersecurity
This course focuses on advanced topics in Cybersecurity that are not currently covered by the other courses in the program. Topics may vary depending on the interest of the students and the availability of faculty. A detailed description of the course content will be posted before the start of term.
-
INFR 6110G - Global Cybersecurity Threats
In a hyper connected world, threat actors see no limits or boundaries to their targets, and cybersecurity incidents can have major effects on individuals, organizations, and governments around the world. Cybersecurity managers find themselves obliged to learn about the latest cyber threats to protect their digital assets. The objective of this course is to learn about the global power dynamics, conflicts and risk factors in cyberspace; cyber-based sabotage, espionage and subversion activities; and major and recent cyber incidents that have unfolded internationally and to evaluate their implications. Students will also go over recent threat reports from various security organizations to learn about how the global cyberthreat landscape is evolving.
-
INFR 6120G - Cybersecurity Leadership
This course examines the concept of leadership, how it works and specifically how it may be applied to the specific needs of cybersecurity. This includes leadership in times of normalcy, crisis and continuance. The course includes case discussions, roleplaying exercises and input as available from external cybersecurity experts. The course will be held in a hybrid format, with online and face to face discussions and exercises according to the availability of students.
-
INFR 6130G – CyberCrime
This course covers different manifestations of cybercrime including hacking, viruses and other forms of malicious software. It presents technical and social issues of cybercrime, covers the origins and extent of the cybercrime problem, ethical and legal issues as well as analytical techniques to detect cybercrime.
-
MITS 5600G – Security Policies and Risk Management
This course concerns the role and importance of risk management and security policies. It describes how attackers exploit the interactions between computer systems and their environment in order to learn how to prevent, detect and respond to such attacks. It will also discuss broader business-related security issues such as business continuity, incident recovery and legal issues related to security policies and risk management. Current technologies to aid in implementing security policies and risk management plans will be discussed throughout the course.
-
MITS 6900G - Blockchain Fundamentals and Technologies
This course covers blockchains - and related technologies - from an architectural perspective. Students will be exposed to the fundamental architectures of core blockchain technologies; distributed applications and their integration with enterprise systems; key business and value drivers of blockchain services; blockchain development and coding best practices; common security vulnerabilities impacting blockchain technologies and smart contracts. This course includes the development and deployment of a custom blockchain using Python, followed by multiple smart contract implementations using Solidity.
-
Seminar/Proposal/Thesis Courses
Research component
Students who successfully complete their coursework will then enter the thesis phase of the program. At this stage, students must prepare a thesis proposal under the supervision of their supervising committee, and then defend their proposal in an oral candidacy exam. After successful defence of their proposal, they will be considered PhD candidates. It is strongly recommended that students complete their coursework and candidacy exam within 24 months after entering the program on a full-time basis.
All PhD Candidates must defend their final thesis in an oral session in front of a committee of internal and external examiners, as per university regulations. Upon successful defence of their thesis and subject to completion of all other requirements of the program, a degree of PhD in Cybersecurity will be conferred upon them.
Seminars
All /students in the PhD in Cybersecurity program must register in and participate in a zero-credit seminar course every semester. Each student must present at least two seminars throughout their program: one seminar before the candidacy exam, and one exit seminar before their thesis defence.
The PhD in Cybersecurity program is affiliated with the Ontario tech Institute for Cybersecurity and Resilient Systems
