Cyber Security MSc

• The programme will provide students with advanced knowledge and understanding of modern cyber security theory and concepts. The programme will teach foundations and methods from several cyber and information security disciplines such as data security, network security, cryptography, formal security analysis, secure systems and web applications, multimedia security, digital forensics, privacy-enhancing technologies, and human-centred security.
• The programme will support students in carrying out their own scientific investigation under the guidance and advice of their supervisor. Students will be able to identify cyber security problems and find suitable cyber security protection mechanisms based on their skills and relevant literature sources.
• The programme will teach students to apply their knowledge of scientific methods and gained cyber security skills in practice through lab sessions and individual dissertation projects where students will be offered an opportunity to analyse, evaluate and interpret existing cyber security mechanisms and/or carry out their own research activities, This Master's Degree programme is studied full-time over one academic year, consisting of 180 credits at FHEQ level 7*. All modules are semester based and worth 15 credits with the exception of project, practice based and dissertation modules. Possible exit awards include:

• Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits)
• Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits) *some programmes may contain up to 30 credits at FHEQ level 6.

Part-time

This Master's Degree programme is studied part-time over three academic years, consisting of 180 credits at FHEQ level 7*. All modules are semester based and worth 15 credits with the exception of project, practice based and dissertation modules. Possible exit awards include:

• Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits)
• Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits) *some programmes may contain up to 30 credits at FHEQ level 6., This programme provides the foundational theory and practical skills that allow our students to work in a range of different industries such as tech, or finance. Wherever possible we use industry standard software to provide students with the practical skills that will allow them to compete for technical information security jobs. On top of this, we ensure students have an understanding of the fundamental key principles of Information Security as this will allow them to apply their knowledge to new technologies and new situations. Wherever possible, we work with real world problems and modules such as Architectural Thinking for Security will allow students to work together to solve a large scale problem in a situation similar to what would be expected of them in an industry context. This programme offer a placement option which gives students the benefit of a year working in industry to improve their employment prospects.

Global and Cultural Skills Computer Science is a global language and the tools and languages used on this programme can be used internationally. Students learn work together in groups with other students from different backgrounds to solve a problem. This programme allows students to develop skills that will allow them to build or work with applications with global reach and collaborate with their peers around the world.

Resourcefulness and Resilience This programme requires practical problem-solving skills that teach a student how to reason about and solve new unseen problems starting with a problem scenario and designing and developing a complex and practical solution to the problem. A typical coursework will present a scenario (often in real world context) and ask students to develop a solution. This requires not just technical development skills but the planning and problems-solving skill to approach a large problem, break it down into smaller chunks and solve and integrate these chunks into a working solution. We encourage an open ended nature to our practical work where possible. This encourages students to go beyond the taught material and deliver innovative solutions to large scale problems. A module such as Architectural Thinking for Security teaches students how to work in group to plan and execute a complex project. The MSc Dissertation module requires student to use these skills to take an idea concept through to implementation and write a professional report detailing their work.

Sustainability Computers are embedded within almost every industry including industries such as energy and agriculture to enhance sustainability. As part of the MSc Dissertation module, students have the opportunity to work in many areas including supporting the UN Sustainability goals.

Quality assurance

The Regulations and Codes of Practice for taught programmes can be found at:

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/quality-enhancement-standards

Knowledge and understanding of the general cyber security aims and challenges K PGCert, PGDip, MSc Knowledge and understanding of technical and mathematical concepts and mechanisms for the protection of digital data and information K PGCert, PGDip, MSc Knowledge and understanding of technical concepts and mechanisms for securing network communications and infrastructures K PGCert, PGDip, MSc Knowledge and understanding of technical concepts and mechanisms for digital forensics K PGCert, PGDip, MSc Knowledge and understanding of technical concepts and mechanisms for the development of secure computing systems and applications K PGCert, PGDip, MSc The ability to critically evaluate cyber security mechanisms and technologies with respect to their functionality, security properties and application challenges K PGCert, PGDip, MSc The ability to implement or apply existing cyber security mechanisms and technologies in practice K PGDip, MSc The ability to design, develop and analyse secure systems and applications by taking into account both technical and non-technical perspectives K PGDip, MSc The ability to critically evaluate new ideas, develop own ideas and conduct supervised research in cyber and information security K MSc The ability to analyse and solve problems of technical nature under consideration of various risks and constraints C PGCert, PGDip, MSc The ability to make effective and efficient decisions in an environment of conflicting interests C PGCert, PGDip, MSc The ability to think strategically C PGCert, PGDip, MSc The ability to synthesise and critically evaluate the work of others C PGDip, MSc The ability to apply fundamental knowledge to investigate new and emerging technologies C PGDip, MSc The ability to carry out an independent research investigation aiming to improve the state-of-the-art knowledge in the field C MSc Ability to come up with technical solutions to a range of problems P PGCert, PGDip, MSc Ability to use concepts and theories to make judgements on the suitability of solutions, their advantages and disadvantages P PGCert, PGDip, MSc Ability to present their opinions and findings and to produce a high-quality report P PGDip, MSc Ability to communicate concepts and results in a clear and effective manner T PGDip, MSc Time and resource management planning T PGCert, PGDip, MSc Ability to work with available resources, to collect and analyse research-oriented material T PGCert, PGDip, MSc, Module Selection for Year 1 (part-time) - FHEQ Level 7

Students take compulsory modules only in year 1.

Year 2 (part-time) - FHEQ Level 7

Placement(s) (study or work that are not part of PTY) Y Yes: possible as summer internship within the dissertation projects (up to 2 months) Clinical Placement(s) (that are not part of the PTY scheme) N Study exchange (Level 5) N Dual degree N