December 11, 2025

Students, faculty credited for Ferris State’s Information Security and Intelligence program being ranked No. 3 in the nation

Ferris State University’s Information Security and Intelligence program has been ranked No. 3 in the nation by Online Cybersecurity as a “2026 Best Online Cybersecurity Program.”

Greg Gogolin, Director for the Center for Cybersecurity and Data Science at Ferris State, said the program’s honor as a national leader is a multi-faceted effort.

“We get great students who join us,” Gogolin said. “They will do cyber competitions at every level; local, national, within classes, and so forth. We always distinguish ourselves during the competitions.

“Number two: the faculty are strong and offer experience and always reach out to the students. We also have a nice facility. We’ve got all three bases covered.”

Gogolin noted that the Information Security and Intelligence program maintains itself atop of the list of other universities due to its seniority.

Launched roughly three decades ago with an initial focus on cybersecurity, the ISI program is the first accredited online cybersecurity program in the United States and has been part of most pilot programs related to the field since 2006. It is also:

• The only ABET-accredited cybersecurity program in Michigan
• One of only two accredited online cybersecurity programs
• Has additional accreditations with the National Security Agency and Dept of Defense Digital Forensics Academic Excellence

With the option to study the program through in-person, online, or hybrid formats, the program also offers unique amenities and resources that help Ferris State separate itself from its peers.

On top of which, just over 98 percent of ISI graduates surveyed over the past three years say they would return.

“We encourage students to, if they are considering the program, to visit ours and others, because you want to make sure it’s the right fit,” Gogolin said. “We’re pretty confident that if you (prospective students) visit other schools and their programs compared to ours, we’re going to come out on top … with over 20 years of graduates.”

The number of educational programs and private companies focused on artificial intelligence has grown significantly this decade. Gogolin believes the ISI program will run parallel to that growth.

“We started the AI program in 2020, which was the second undergrad AI program in the country, kind of like we were one of the first for cybersecurity,” he said. “There is definitely a synergistic overlap with those two programs because AI is going to drive a lot of the cybersecurity issues.

“We’re able to lead how those come together. That’s evidenced by us being the first school to be recognized by the NSA as a secure AI program,” Gogolin said.

However, Gogolin also recognizes that broadening the program doesn’t necessarily result in Ferris State maintaining itself as one of the best undergraduate options in the United States to study Informational Security and Intelligence.

A large part of that involves wanting to take on each challenge posed by AI and cybersecurity.

“It’s one thing to become one of the best, but what’s more difficult is to maintain that,” he said. “A lot of times, you get to the top of the mountain and then you climb back down, and that might be the only mountain you ever climb.

“You also have to keep the mind hungry, whether that’s the mind of the students or faculty, but collectively the program has to remain hungry. So, you look for new challenges that can enhance the experience, with an obvious challenge being AI,” he said.