Bachelor of Science (Honours) - Cyber Security (with Foundation Year)

This course is offered as a degree with foundation year -  a four-year programme which provides an additional foundation year at the beginning of the degree, that will give students academic and practical experience, as well as the skills they need to ensure they are equipped to successfully complete their chosen degree.

During the foundation year:

• Students will modules in Maths which will develop their core academic and study skills.
• The syllabus includes a year-long module relevant to their chosen degree subject, such as Digital Literacy and Computational Thinking. This will provide students with a subject specific knowledge in Computer Science which is essential for success in their degree.

Cyber security is a global concern, impacting every society that relies on being digitally connected. The stakes are high. Software, hardware, systems, data, information, and people are all vulnerable to cyber-attacks, and therefore need protecting. Incidents of cyber-crime span across local, regional, and international boundaries, requiring skilled legal and digital forensics investigations. As a continuously evolving field, cyber security requires passionate and dedicated individuals who can rise to its diverse and complex challenges. For many, it is a compelling and rewarding profession.

The new BSc Cyber Security course, aims to cultivate creative and professional cyber security graduates who can solve problems, are knowledgeable, skilled, and ready for industry upon graduation.

This dynamic programme is taught by specialists in computing, cyber security, and digital forensics. Students will be given the opportunity to experience both technical and non-technical cyber security disciplines across all 3 years, helping them to identify their strengths and to make informed decisions about future career pathways.

In the first year, students will learn about the anatomy of computing devices, how they process data, how data is stored and how to write computer programmes. Students will also learn the foundations of how to secure computing devices, and how to forensically investigate and recover data, even if it has been deleted!

In the second and third years, students will have the opportunity to further enhance their coding and digital forensics skills by writing cyber scripts and programmes; as well as conducting live network forensics. Students will also learn about cyber law, risk, governance, and regulation; secure cloud computing, network security, ethical hacking, monitor, investigating, analysing, and responding to cyber-attacks.

Employability is at the heart of the new BSc Cyber Security course and is embedded in the curriculum. Students will engage with project and problem-based learning activities and assessments, that reflect real-world scenarios. This is especially demonstrated in the collaborative nature of the teaching, the opportunities for team working and the capstone final year project.

Additionally, the new course is aligned with industrial academic programmes and associated certification opportunities (e.g., AWS, Splunk). Students may work towards industry recognised certifications, at an appropriate time during their degree programme, giving them the opportunity to distinguish themselves professionally, at an early stage in their future careers.