Ethical Hacking and Cyber Security

Fully certified by the National Cybersecurity Centre - part of GCHQ - this Master's degree develops the skills and mind set needed to tackle the growing threat of computer hackers. Computer security is a growing concern for organisations of all sizes.

This Master's will put you in the ideal position to pursue a successful and often lucrative career. The industry is currently experiencing a major skills gap and global demand for ethical hackers. It’s not unusual for the salaries of our graduates to start at £35,000-£40,000.

Adopt an offensive approach to cybersecurity We’re the only university in the UK to offer a Masters programme in ethical hacking. We want to change the way you view cybersecurity to adopt an offensive approach. The best way to beat a hacker is to be able to think like one!

Aimed at Computing/IT/Technology graduates, our MSc Ethical Hacking and Cybersecurity covers a wide range of subjects, including penetration testing, digital forensics, information security management, Malware analysis, port scanning, buffer overflows and password cracking. Our research-active teaching staff are at the forefront of new developments, allowing the programme to evolve to cover the latest techniques and guidelines.

There are two modes of studying this degree.

Full-time, on-campus over one year or, part-time distance learning over two years. In recent years, full-time on-campus class sizes have been around 25. This allows for closer relationships with academic staff and fellow postgraduates.

The part-time distance option offers a virtual lab for practical work and weekly online sessions to meet staff, fellow students and get help.

How the Course Works You’ll learn how to evaluate the impact of security problems and recommend improvements to a network’s security within a legal and ethical framework. You’ll also conduct a master’s project within an area of cybersecurity that’ll allow you to build on your existing skills.

Full-time on campus students completing the degree in one year: The academic year consists of three terms with the masters project module completed in term 3.

Part-time distance learning students completing the degree in two years: Year 1 consists of two terms and Year 2 of three terms with the master project module completed in the final term.

Accreditation This course is fully certified by GCHQ and accredited by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, as meeting the educational requirement for CITP Further Learning and partially meeting the educational requirement for CEng/CSci registration.