WINDSOR, ONT. -- Business graduates from the University of Windsor will be able to gain an internationally recognized cybersecurity certificate online through a new partnership with the University of Dallas.

Master of Management and MBA graduates of UWindsor’s Odette School of Business will be able to take the course to develop specialized skills in areas of data protection, compliance and legal issues and operational cybersecurity management or network security.

“We see this as a tremendous value-added opportunity for our MBA and Master of Management grads,” said Odette School of Business Dean Mitch Fields. “Because of our partnership with the University of Dallas, the program offers an exceptional discount, in which our students will have the opportunity to enhance their degree and skill set with U.S. credentials that are both relevant and marketable in today’s world."

The Odette School of Business is the first Canadian university to partner with the University of Dallas’s Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business. The program is designated in the U.S. as a national center of academic excellence in cyber defense education by the National Security Agency (NSA), and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a news release from UWindsor states.

Odette School of Business MBA program director Kent Walker said a key advantage for students in Canada is there are very few similar programs offered and none that can be completed online.

“This education gap exists despite the fact that the area of cybersecurity has grown tremendously, with the trend drastically accelerated because of changes related to COVID,” Walker said. “Our students will have an opportunity to acquire a piece of their education that is very much in demand, but not available to many other Canadians, so we’re really excited about the possibilities this offers.”

Alumni the Odette School will be able to gain expedited admission to the program through a short web application. More information regarding the course is available on the UWindsor website.