Master of Science in Digital Forensics
at Mount Aloysius College
Masters Degree, Online
The Master of Digital Forensics (MSDF) at Mount Aloysius College is a 36-credit program that is designed for working professionals to continue their education while still maintaining their career. This asynchronous program begins by shoring up your foundational knowledge in IT before diving into specialized forensics practices to better equip you for positions in digital forensics and incident response, law enforcement, corporate investigations, and more.
The Mount’s Master of Digital Forensics offers hands-on experience with a variety of technology through our virtual lab environment. Get experience in:
The program builds on fundamentals learned in the Mount’s Center of Academic Excellence-designated IT and cybersecurity undergraduate programs. You’ll work with industry-tested professionals as your professors who offer additional time outside of class to provide additional depth for topics you learn in class.
Program Highlights
Courses Designed to Prepare You for Your Career
The Mount’s Master of Science in Digital Forensics program is designed to not only provide you with the knowledge and skills to help you be successful in future jobs, but to help you explore your passions and expand your horizons. Check out more information about the opportunities available to you.
Quick Facts About the Masters in Digital Forensics Program at Mount Aloysius
- 36-credit program, can be completed in as few as 2 years
- Unique 4+1 option to earn your BS in IT and MS in 5 years
- Fully online classes allow you to fit your education into your schedule
- Virtual lab allows you to gain hands-on experience with a variety of operating systems and digital environments
With a master’s in digital forensics, you’ll be able to find career opportunities in both the private and public sector as part of a business’ IT or security team, law enforcement, and more:
- digital forensics examiner
- cybercrime investigator
- incident response analyst
- malware analyst
- security consultant
- threat hunter
- SOC analyst
The average salary for a cyber incident response analyst in Pennsylvania is $96,850 per year.
Source: ZipRecruiter
Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to:
- Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of IT systems, networks, and operating environments relevant to digital investigations by explaining OS and file-system internals, network protocols/flows, and common enterprise/cloud architectures, and how each produces forensic artifacts.
- Skillfully acquire and preserve digital evidence using industry-standard methods by planning and executing defensible collections (live, logical, and forensic images), validating integrity with cryptographic hashing, and maintaining complete chain-of-custody documentation.
- Analyze digital artifacts across multiple platforms to reconstruct events and identify malicious activity by correlating host, network, mobile, and cloud data (e.g., logs, registries/plists, timelines, memory, and application databases) into clear, time-ordered narratives.
- Detect, analyze, and respond to cyber threats through malware analysis, hypothesis-driven threat hunting, and network investigation deriving indicators of compromise (IOCs), validating them against traffic/telemetry, and producing actionable containment and remediation steps.
- Apply legal frameworks, regulatory requirements, and ethical principles when conducting digital forensic investigations, ensuring privacy, proportionality, and admissibility (e.g., evidentiary rules, breach-notification duties) in law-enforcement, corporate, and civil contexts.
- Conduct independent research and communicate findings effectively by designing and executing a graduate-level study or tool evaluation, and producing professional, court-ready reports and presentations tailored to technical stakeholders, executives, counsel, and the court.
You can learn more about the requirements for admission into the Master of Science – Digital Forensics program on our Admissions Requirements page.
Affordable Tuition
Make an investment in your future with a quality, career-focused education at an affordable rate. Plus, check out our scholarships and institutional aid opportunities–99% of Mountie students receive some form of financial aid!