About Network Engineering & Security in DePaul University

Our daily interactions with the Internet are ever-increasing in scale and complexity. What was once a packet delivery system mimicking a postal system is now an intricate multi-tiered structure of protocols and services. The ongoing development and survival of these services depends on our ability to adaptively address challenges such as securing our interactions, scaling with users and devices, and meeting the ever-changing expectations in Quality of Experience and Service Availability.

Today, researchers at DePaul are addressing the aforementioned challenges with an eye towards providing higher service levels and reducing the energy footprint of Internet operations. They are studying how to optimize operations in machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet-of-Things (IoT) networks. New network infrastructures are being developed to operate in ad hoc situations, without relying on the Internet, to mitigate connectivity during power outages and in infrastructure-poor regions. The Internet is profoundly changing on multiple fronts. For example, video content is now dominating web traffic, and we are racing to accommodate nearly 30 billion networked devices by 2023 (CISCO annual report). Thus, we must re-examine every design choice and hold both current and future protocols to highly rigorous standards in development and performance evaluation.

The unique MS Network Engineering and Security (NES) program at DePaul University delivers both the theory and practice behind the design and maintenance of these diverse network infrastructures. Students have access to extensive lab facilities using equipment from Cisco, Juniper, and other manufacturers. Our students get hands-on practice in configuring routers, switches, and firewalls, as well as securing networks, evaluating and managing their performance, and ensuring the they meet business requirements.

Graduate applicants are those who have completed, or are in process of completing, the equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution, either in the U.S. or abroad, and are applying to a graduate or professional program of study (Master's, PhD, LLM, JD).  Each graduate program establishes its own application and admission standards and deadlines, which may differ from program to program even within the same department.  

The minimum scores for direct admission are a TOEFL score of 80 (ibt), with all section scores at 20 or higher, or an IELTS score of 7.0, with all section scores at 6.5 or higher, or a Pearson Test of English (PTE) score of 53. We prefer to see scores of 96 (ibt) with all section scores of 22 or better, or a 7.5 on the IELTS. Duolingo English Test scores of 110 and above qualify you for full admission; Duolingo scores of 90-109 qualify for conditional admission. Test scores are official only when received directly from the testing vendor.

Annual Cost to Attend

Tuition : $55,816

Depaul University Cost of Attendance

Tuition Rate 2020-2021 for students willing to pursue an undergraduate and postgraduate degree at DePaul University:

The distribution of expenses in the form of an estimated budget for international students looking to study in the US for 2020- 21 semesters are tabulated below: