Program Overview

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.

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 Cyber Security Masters/MSc 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.

This is a one-year full-time degree programme for graduates in a computing-related discipline. It will allow you to obtain the knowledge and expertise to evaluate, design and 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.

Why study Cyber Security Masters/MSc at Birmingham?

• The programme has received full certification by GCHQ and the University has been officially recognised by NCSC-EPSRC as an ‘Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research’ (ACE-CSR) by the UK government; an accolade that is a testament to the School’s first rate research and work.
• 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 through guest lectures and project supervision.
• Companies including Microsoft, Vodafone, Siemens, IBM and Hewlett Packard come onto campus to talk directly to our students.