CSET Curriculum

Our Courses

Below is a list of your course offerings in the CSET program in a typical 2-year schedule. Scheduling will be customized per student to fit their individual needs.

Toggle each course below to see a brief description of the course objectives. Classes labeled with an “L” are lab sections that accompany the course section.

These classes and descriptions are current as of March 18th, 2021.

Semester 1

This is an introductory course that will prepare Computer Systems Engineering Technology students for more advanced courses in the department. The course is designed around the current CompTIA A+ certification objectives. Hands-on coverage includes popular PC operating systems and hardware. Specific topics include system booting, system configuration, BIOS, disk management, CPUs, bus architectures, power supplies, disk drivers, memory, multimedia, field replaceable units (FRUs), and network devices. Students learn how hardware devices integrate into and work with an operating system. The internet is used extensively for research including product documentation, software upgrades, driver upgrades, and product comparison. In the lab, students will use a collection of hardware and software components to build, modify, upgrade, and troubleshoot today’s popular PC hardware and operating systems.

This course is the first course in the Cisco Academy CCNA Routing and Switching curriculum. CSO-105 introduces the architecture, structure, functions, components, and models of the internet and computer networks. The principles of IP addressing and fundamentals of Ethernet concepts, media, IPV4 and IPV6, configuring Cisco networking equipment using IOS, and network troubleshooting. By the end of the course, students will be able to build simple LANs, perform basic configurations for Cisco routers and switches, and implement IP addressing schemes.

This course is an introduction to the Internet of Things (IoT). The Internet of Things concentrates on the connection of various IoT “smart” devices to traditional information technology (IT) data networks. IoT devices interact with the physical world and can save their data to servers on the Internet, Google spreadsheets, and cloud servers so we can access our data from anywhere in the world. This is a “hands-on” introduction to the Internet of Things, sensors, and common IoT hardware. The course is a blend of electronic principles, the basics of using Arduino and similar microcontroller boards, some basic programming concepts, connecting sensors & actuators, and communications to IT networks using wired or wireless data networks. ELE-111 provides the foundation for ELE-128 Internet of Things Networking and Security. Basic computer skills are required to take this course. No prior programming, electronic, or networking experience is assumed.

This course covers Linux Command line and Shell scripting using BASH. The course objectives are based on the Red Hat System Administration 1 (RH124) certification. The topics covered are primarily targeted at automating Linux system administration tasks, workflow automation, and Linux security. Students will explore the basic commands, managing user accounts, remote access using secure shell (SSH), process control, file system types and characteristics, encryption & decryption, file and directory manipulation, remote & local storage, system monitoring & logging, hardware status & configuration. The contents of key configuration files that configure security, networking the boot process, scheduling, & applications will be examined. Students will write and test programs to monitor users, system status, and detect security violations & events.

Semester 2

Describes the architecture, components, and operations of routers and switches in a small network. Students learn how to configure a router and a switch for basic functionality. By the end of this course, students will be able to configure and troubleshoot routers and IPV4 and IPV6 networks. Students will program Cisco routers and switches, use the Cisco IOS to configure the devices, and evaluate the security and performance of the network.  

Python is a popular open-source programming language used for general programming, programming system & network administration tasks, processing data sets in data science, and it is used to program many Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The course begins with a Python and Linux concepts overview (no prior experience expected) and takes the student from building simple programs to maintaining larger programs. Software development tools such as differences make, and GIT version control are integrated throughout the course. Programming assignments often use real-life data sets and others may be run on an IoT system such as the Raspberry Pi, to demonstrate collecting and processing sensor data from the Internet of Things.

This course will show the student how to plan the network infrastructure around features supported by Windows Server 2019. Issues such as network protocols and services are compared based on the requirements of the company or organization. In addition, the importance of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) for enterprise networks is emphasized. This includes using Domain Name System (DNS), Network Address Translation (NAT), Network Access Protection (NAP), Certificate Services, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), and Active Directory. The student will also learn how to configure, manage, secure, and troubleshoot features and services for operating systems, including routing and remote access, file services, print services, updating, and storage. A three-hour lab component is included to give hands-on experience with these topics. 

This course expands on the material covered in ELE-111, Internet of Things, and concentrates on building and managing secure networks of IoT devices. The “Things” of an IoT network are computing devices that collect sensor data or have actuators that affect the physical world. These are often known as cyber-physical systems. Examples of this evolving technology include energy & lighting controls for smart buildings, modern medical systems, automotive applications, security systems, environmental monitoring, and smart manufacturing (Industry 4.0) The primary focus of this course is securely networking IoT devices into a system. Network topics include local and wide-area network principles, wired and wireless networking for IoT, and specialized communication such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, LoRa, and cellular networking. Topics will include the assessment of device security, attack surfaces, mitigating the threats created by insecure IoT devices, evaluating the security of the complete system, IoT security best practices, and techniques to securely integrate collections of “things”. Data is exchanged between the IoT devices in the field and websites or cloud servers such as Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), or Microsoft Azure. The back-end server forms the data collection center of the IoT network. Common protocols such as MQTT, REST, and CoAP as well as “Big Data” concepts are discussed. Information security and privacy are key concerns.

The objective of this course is to improve the student’s ability to communicate effectively in writing. Areas covered will include basic writing patterns and effective construction of paragraphs and essays. In addition, students will be introduced to the summary, quotation, paraphrase, and documentation of outside material. Some students who have not met the prerequisites for ENG-101 may be eligible to take the course as part of an Open English learning community. 

Semester 3

Topics include security management practices, access control systems, telecommunications and network security, public and private key cryptography, security concerns for application and software development, business continuity planning, and disaster recovery planning. Students will be able to select and use cryptographic tools to secure data, examine firewall settings, use & verify common cryptographic hash signatures, and create signed files. Target skills are the creating and maintenance of a security plan, the system administrator’s responsibilities to implement the plan, techniques, and tools to audit and monitor security, threat analysis, and increasing security awareness. An overview of the current security certifications and their requirements will be given at the end of the class. Students are expected to have some computer and network experience. Some homework requires Internet access to the department’s servers. Students may take the course at the instructor’s discretion.

This course is the third course in the Cisco Academy version 7 CCNA Routing and Switching curriculum. Describes the architecture, components, and operations of routers and switches in a large and complex network. Students learn how to configure routers and switches for advanced functionality. By the end of this course, students will be able to configure and troubleshoot routers and switches and resolve common issues with OSPF, EIGRP, STP, and VTP in both IPv4 and IPv6 networks. Students will also develop the knowledge and skills needed to implement DHCP and DNS operations in a network.

See the list below for CSE Electives, these courses are offered on a rotating basis.

Any college-level course from the Humanities areas can be used to fulfill a program’s Humanities elective requirement.

Any college-level course in Math at a 100 level or higher in a program’s Math elective requirement.

Semester 4

See the list below for CSE Electives, these courses are offered on a rotating basis.

Any college-level course in Math at a 100 level or higher in a program’s Math elective requirement.

Any college-level course from English, Mathematics, Lab Sciences, Social Sciences, Visual and Performing Arts, or World Languages. 

Any college-level course from the Psychology, Sociology, History, or Economics areas can be used to fulfill a program’s Social Science elective requirement.

Select one of the following English Courses: 

ENG-102: English Comp 2
ENG-104: Public Speaking
ENG-105: Tech Report Writing

CSE Electives

The Cisco CCNA Cyber Security Operations course is taught through the Cisco Networking Academy with the latest course material from Cisco. Cybersecurity operations jobs play a key part in securing information systems through the monitoring, detecting, investigating, analyzing, and responding to security events, thus protecting systems from cybersecurity risks, threats, and vulnerabilities. Such jobs are among the fastest-growing roles in IT, as organizations set up security operations centers (SOCs), and establish teams to monitor and respond to security incidents. Cybersecurity Operations course serves to prepare students for the world of working in a security operations center and provides the basis for building upon their future career goals in cybersecurity.

Ethical Hacking covers the tools and techniques used to find security vulnerabilities in information technology (IT) networks, servers, routers & switches, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and other common components in the IT infrastructure. Topics include physical security, reconnaissance & social engineering, network scanning, device enumeration, network hardening, login credentials & multifactor WiFi & cell network attacks, Bluetooth hacking, cryptography, and evaluating mobile devices. The unique challenges of securing wired and wireless Internet of Things devices is covered. This course uses the Certified Ethical Hacking (CEH) CIEH exam 312-50 exam objectives as its core objectives but concentrates on the skills necessary to evaluate then secure the IT infrastructure.

Information and Storage Management (ISM) moves beyond simple hard drive storage to the technology necessary to increase the reliability and flexibility for modern data centers. Course coverage includes data de-duplication, unified storage, continuous data protection technology, virtual provisioning, FCoE, flash drives, tiered storage, big data, and more. Details storage models such as RAID, Network Attached Storage (NAS), Storage Area Network (SAN), tape backup, and backup strategies. Virtualization at various infrastructure components is explored. Examines Business Continuity and Security in physical and virtualized environment. ISM may be taken before or after Virtualization using VMWare ESXi Server.

Topics in Virtualization using VMWare ESXi Server explores the use of server virtualization in the modern data center and are centered around the VMWare Certified Professional certification exam. This course explores installation, configuration, and management of VMWare vSphere, which consists of ESXi and vCenter Server starting with basic concepts, the business case for virtualization, through installation and configuration, and management of virtual servers. 

This class provides the student with the wide spectrum of topics starting from Classic Data Center to IT as-a-Service. Topics include cloud deployment and service models, cloud infrastructure, private clouds, public clouds, security and the key considerations in migrating to cloud computing. The core of the course concentrates on the EMC Cloud Infrastructure and Services (EMCCIS) certification exam objectives. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology definitions of cloud computing are used as a guide. We will examine some simple commercial cloud services and then more complex examples in commercial systems such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the IBM BlueMix cloud platform.

This course covers common server applications frequently found on Linux, BSD, and Unix servers. Application server technologies typically form the foundation for more complex information technology systems that require server databases, web servers, virtualization, and security monitoring software. Best security practices will be introduced throughout the course with the goal of building a system ready for deployment on the public internet. Topics of study include firewalls (iptables), database servers (MySQL, SQLite), web servers (Apache, Nginx), content management systems (Joomla, WordPress), file-sharing services (Samba, NFS), installing Docker virtualization containers, Common Unix Printing (CUPS), and server-side web technology (PHP). Students will install and configure the core Linux Server operating system, add the middleware necessary to support the applications, create a backup and recovery process, then install and configure the server applications. Students will be expected to install, configure, and secure their servers in the lab. We stress the best practices for system administration, system security, backing up critical data, and system monitoring. No prior experience with databases, web servers or HTML is necessary. Linux command line and general Linux experience are expected.