MSc Cyber Security with Advanced Practice

With the dramatic increase in high-profile cyber security incidents reported in the media, the demand for highly skilled security professionals is growing significantly as businesses across the globe seek to protect their networks and data. Our MSc Cyber Security with Advanced Practice provides you with a critical understanding of information governance and assurance, combined with technology risk management practices.

The Advanced Practice stage of this programme provides you with the opportunity to undertake a 12-15 week internship, allowing you to put your learning in to practice, enhancing your learning and further developing your employability.

Key facts

• Develop key skills which are highly in demand by employers and gain valuable practical experience
• Enhance your ability to handle and minimise security threats and incidents
• Understand information governance and assurance
• Provisional certification in Cyber Security from the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre), placing us in an elite group of postgraduate providers to have achieved this standard
• Northumbria University is recognised as a Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACEs-CSR) by the National Cyber Security Centre

Academic requirements

• Minimum 2:2 (second class) honours degree or equivalent from a recognised university in a related subject

If you don’t meet the academic requirements

Applicants with non-standard prior learning and or relevant work experience and training are encouraged to apply. A CV (curriculum vitae) made up of prior work experience and training would need to be submitted for consideration by our faculty alongside the standard application.

English language requirements

Students require IELTS 6.5 (or above) with no single element below 5.5 or equivalent.

For those with high career aspirations, this programme can give you an extra edge in today’s competitive job market. Graduates from the programme will be equipped to work in a variety of careers in the IT industry or to progress to academic or research-orientated careers. Job roles, including roles in leadership and management, could include working in, for example, software engineering, network design and management, network security, artificial intelligence or IT consultancy.

Cyber security has become an increasingly recurring subject for businesses, governments and the public. Recent hacks include the US presidential election, Yahoo’s ‘biggest data breach in history’ and the continual release of information by WikiLeaks, the financial cost to business has been estimated to be as high as $1 trillion. Given this, businesses and governments alike have significantly invested in their cyber security systems, with the UK Government committing £650m in cyber security in its Strategic Defence and Security Review last autumn.

With all this investment, there are a plethora of career options following completion of this course, typical roles include:

• Threat management & forensics
• Risk analytics & management
• Policy makers & Strategists
• Operations & security management
• Engineering, Architecture & Design
• Chief Technology Officer