Computer and Digital Forensics

Investigate cyber breaches by gathering and examining digital evidence and preparing evidence for court following forensic processes.

Learn about:
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Skills
  • Ethics
  • Hacking
  • Digital analysis
  • Investigation techniques
  • Forensic report writing
Careers
  • Consultant
  • Cyber investigator
  • Incident response analyst

Requirements

  • All minors at USC need 16 units that only meet minor requirements and do not meet any other major, minor, or GE requirement.
  • All courses completed for your minor or specialization must be completed for a letter grade.
  • You must earn a 2.0 minimum cumulative GPA in the courses completed for your minor or specialization.

Minor (18 units)
Core requirements (12 units):
  • ITP-125L “From Hackers to CEOs: Introduction to Information Security” (2 units)
  • ITP-375 “Digital Forensics” (3 units) [prerequisite: ITP-125]
  • ITP-475 “Advanced Digital Forensics” (4 units) [prerequisite: ITP-375]
  • ITP-479 “Cyber Law and Privacy” (3 units)
Electives (6 units):
  • ITP-325 “Ethical Hacking and Systems Defense” (3 units) [prerequisite: ITP-125]
  • ITP-445 “Macintosh, OS X, and iOS Forensics” (3 units) [prerequisite: ITP-375]
  • ITP-446 “Cyber Breach Investigations” (3 units) [prerequisite: ITP-375]
  • ITP-447 “Mobile Device Security and Forensics” (3 units) [prerequisite: ITP-375]
  • ITP-448 “Cyber Litigation Support” (3 units) [prerequisite: ITP-375]
Substitutions:

The following courses are also pre-approved electives for the minor. If you enroll in one of the following courses, please email our academic advisors so that they can update your STARS report. Substitution courses are not automatically applied to your minor requirements, so you will need to ask our academic advisors to make the change for you.

  • ITP-499 “Open Source Intelligence Collection and Analysis" (2 units)

Specialization (9 units)
Core requirements (9 units):
  • ITP-125L “From Hackers to CEOs: Introduction to Information Security” (2 units)
  • ITP-375 “Digital Forensics” (3 units) [prerequisite: ITP-125]
  • ITP-475 “Advanced Digital Forensics” (4 units) [prerequisite: ITP-375]

Course Plan

Use the chart below to plan your course schedule to complete your minor. Pay careful attention to prerequisites. Make sure you consult with your major advisor about how best to incorporate the requirements for your minor with your major and general education requirements.

Please contact our academic advisors with questions about course sequencing, departmental clearance and course substitutions.

Next steps

How can I add this program?

Apply online

Current USC students can use our online application to declare a minor or specialization. Your application will be processed within 4 to 9 business days, and you will be notified at your official USC email address of your admission to the program of your choice.

Complete your application >
Contact us with questions

If you have a question about the program, you're welcome to write to us or schedule an advisement appointment. We can help you navigate our program requirements and resources and refer you to other offices as needed.

Contact our advisors >

Published on April 5th, 2022

Last updated on April 5th, 2022