About the course
Course content
Masters/MSc postgraduate degree course in Cyber Security:
Computing infrastructure is now vital for communication, government, commerce, and control of our physical environment, and is a potential target of terrorist and criminal attacks. Graduates who understand the technologies and practices that underpin secure computer systems are in great and ever-growing demand.
This programme will give you the skills you need to deal with current and future cyber security threats. It provides a solid foundation for graduates to pursue a career in the software industry or research.
Course details
Cyber security is about designing systems that resist attack. As computers become ever more prevalent and ever more connected with each other, the opportunities for attackers become even greater, and the need to resist them becomes more urgent.
This is a one-year full-time degree programme for graduates in a computing-related discipline. It will allow students to obtain the knowledge and expertise to evaluate, designand build secure computer systems, processes and people that are involved in cyber security. It covers the theory and practice of designing and building secure systems and gives you a firm grounding in cryptography, network security and secure programming, as well as optional modules in topics such as hardware and embedded system security, operating systems and incident management and forensics.
The programme also gives you practical experience with technologies and toolkits for building internet-based software. All students undertake a large, personally supervised project in the final months of the course.
Our curriculum has been developed with the involvement of key individuals in the cyber security industry. As well as advising us on the skills they seek when recruiting graduates, they also contribute directly to the MSc programme through guest lectures and project supervision. In recent years, we have had guest lecturers from Microsoft, Vodafone, Siemens, IBM and Hewlett Packard.
Learning and teaching
The programme includes lectures, tutorials, exercise classes, practical work, projects and independent study.
You will gain knowledge and understanding of:
- the essential facts, concepts, principles and theories relating to computer security
- appropriate theory, practices and tools for the design, implementation and evaluation of secure computer systems
- appropriate theory, practices and processes for the management and governance of cyber security in industry
You will also attain the following skills and attributes:
- the ability to apply the knowledge and understanding noted above to the analysis of a given information handling problem
- the ability to specify, design and construct secure computer systems, using appropraite tools, and to document all stages of this process
- the ability to discover vulnerabilities in implementations
- the ability to evaluate internet-based software systems in relation to given computer security requirements
- the ability to work independently on a substantial software project
- management of learning and development, including time management, organisational skills and the ability to pursue independently further development of your IT education
Employability
The MSc in Cyber Security is a new programme, but graduates of the MSc in Computer Security have gone on to work for Companies including Accenture, IBM, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, BT and Delcam.
Our students gain the knowledge to become leaders in the field of cyber security and to shape the technologies that will be developed in the future. They are equipped to work on secure software development within the software and IT industry, or to become cyber security consultants. They may also choose to move on to PhD research.
University Careers Network
Preparation for your career should be one of the first things you think about as you start university. Whether you have a clear idea of where your future aspirations lie or want to consider the broad range of opportunities available once you have a Birmingham degree, our Careers Network can help you achieve your goal.
Our unique careers guidance service is tailored to your academic subject area, offering a specialised team (in each of the five academic colleges) who can give you expert advice. Our team source exclusive work experience opportunities to help you stand out amongst the competition, with mentoring, global internships and placements available to you. Once you have a career in your sights, one-to-one support with CVs and job applications will help give you the edge.
If you make the most of the wide range of services you will be able to develop your career from the moment you arrive.