BSc (Hons) Computing (Cyber Security) with foundation year and Industrial Placement

Program Overview

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Course Details

It's estimated that there is a worldwide shortage of 2.72 million cyber security professionals (1), meaning that the future offers qualified information security workers access to excellent career opportunities and competitive salaries. Our BSc (Hons) Computing (Cyber Security) with foundation year and industrial placement course is an ideal route into this dynamic and evolving industry.

Cyber security focuses on protecting data and information systems from cyber breaches. Covering how to design secure computer systems, this unique degree emphasises secure software development and promotes a deep understanding of the structure of computing systems. The course begins with a foundation year that offers an excellent grounding in the fundamentals of computing, programming, logic and problem-solving. It's designed to prepare you for degree-level study. As you progress through the degree, you'll develop technical knowledge and applied skills in security defence techniques and counter-measures, ready to protect computer systems and electronic infrastructures from attack. In particular, we'll focus on helping you learn to design and develop your own security tools for probing, analysing and defending computer systems against attack.

The department's strong links with business mean you'll have the chance to work on ‘live briefs’ in your coursework assignments, so you'll have the opportunity to enjoy real-world context and application for the skills and knowledge we'll help you develop. Our dedicated and enthusiastic lecturers, many of whom are active researchers with extensive industry insights and experience, will help you develop both the theoretical knowledge and the practical, hands-on skills required by the security sector that will put you one step ahead of attackers from day one.

The University will offer lots of support to help you find a placement with a relevant company in preparation for your year in industry (the industrial placement takes place between the third and final years of this five-year course). Through our relationships with employers, we'll share placement adverts as they become available, and you can also seek your own placement. Our placement team will help with applications and interview skills. Your placement does not have to be in the Bolton area – it could be elsewhere in the UK. Completing a year in industry will give you invaluable skills and experience that will help you in your final year of study with us and boost your CV to help you find an enhanced career afterwards. If you're unsuccessful in securing a placement, you'll be able to transfer directly to the final year of study and complete your degree in four years.

(1) https://www.isc2.org/News-and-Events/Press-Room/Posts/2021/10/26/ISC2-Cybersecurity-Workforce-Study-Sheds-New-Light-on-Global-Talent-Demand accessed on 4 May 2022

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Highlights

Our Computer Science courses are top in the UK for student satisfaction, according to The Complete University Guide 2022.

Our Computer Science courses are also placed first in the UK for teaching quality and student experience by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021.

The department, and the wider University, provide a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, purpose-built teaching facilities, and excellent student support and library services.

Completing a placement year in industry will give you experience and skills that are highly relevant for your future career and greatly enhance your employability.

Your teaching and tutorial team brings an impressive range of professional experience and technical prowess to the course, so you’ll have the chance to explore and evaluate a range of perspectives relating to your studies.

A big part of our commitment to your progress is helping you develop your employability and industry networks. Our teaching team works collaboratively with industrial partners to ensure that you have access to the latest and relevant industrial skills. So, we’ll encourage you to attend guest lectures that give your learning context, offer access to industry contacts, and contribute to your underlying professional development.

By underpinning our content and assignments with a strong industrial focus, we foster a keen understanding of the professional IT environment and help you develop essential skills such as team-working, communication and problem-solving.

This degree offers a comprehensive overview of key cyber security principles, methods, and activities, such as types of security, common attack techniques, risk assessment, penetration testing, managing risk, and assessing an organisation's ‘cyber security culture’.

We’ll focus on your individual needs and provide personalised learning support to help you find the learning strategies that best support you as you begin your journey towards an exciting and challenging career as a cyber security professional.

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Key Features

Our dedicated laboratories, servers and end-hosts feature high-specification hardware and the latest software, so you’ll have industry-equivalent hands-on experience.

The industrial placement year offers valuable experience in the workplace. This can be of great benefit to you in your final year of studies and will enhance your employment prospects after graduation.

We've invested in a suite of security and forensics tools. We operate these in a 'dirty lab' where you have full administrator access to the computers to practice skills and develop knowledge through testing and experiment.

As you’d expect, many of our computing facilities are accessible online, so you can work on your assignments wherever you are and whenever inspiration kicks in.

We’ll support you to develop sought-after skills such as background research, critical reasoning and problem-solving, as well as professional communication, time management, teamwork, and lifelong learning.

We’ll also encourage you to build a portfolio of evidence representing the projects and tasks you’ve completed during your studies, ready to impress potential employers.

We continually monitor and update the course to reflect current and ever-changing computing issues and keep your learning in line with technological advances and innovations.

By choosing to study with us, you'll have the chance to enjoy Bolton's many shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities. Manchester, one of the UK's most multicultural and lively cities, is less than 20 minutes away by train. Not forgetting, the North West of England is renowned for its beautiful countryside, coastline and heritage. This makes Bolton an ideal base from which to explore some of the best cultural and outdoor activities the UK offers.

Program Outline

Our BSc (Hons) Computing (Cyber Security) with foundation year and industrial placement degree offers the knowledge and skills needed to implement, maintain and support the security controls that protect an organisation’s computer systems and data assets from threats and hazards.

As a graduate, you’ll possess a deep understanding of computer systems and how underlying infrastructure, software and data contribute to a modern computing environments. You’ll also have the skills and knowledge that are required to identify where threats and hazards can occur in modern infrastructure, along with the skills to develop, implement, maintain and support security tools and controls that analyse, prevent and protect against attacks.

During the course, you can also expect to develop a wide range of technical, professional and interpersonal skills, such as attention to detail, team working, communication and analytical skills, time management, problem-solving and lifelong learning.

What can I do with this qualification?

A recent report showed that the average advertised salary for a core cyber security role in the UK is £59,200 (2). Graduates from this programme should prove valuable to private, public and third sector organisations of all sizes and across the full spectrum of industries. Given the worldwide shortage of cyber security professionals, you should be able to choose an interesting, challenging and rewarding environment to work in.

On successful completion of the course, you’ll be well prepared for a career in cyber security. You might seek a technical role in an area such as penetration testing, security design or malware analysis, or choose a broader role, such as security planning, risk assessment or security planning. Opportunities in areas such as defence, forensics, commerce, technical security and system administration should be open to you. As you progress through your career and gain experience, you’ll be able to work your way up to positions of greater responsibility, such as chief information security officer, IT security director or security architect.

After graduation, you’ll also be ready to progress to postgraduate-level study or additional IT certification to develop your expertise further. Studying for a PhD or professional doctorate is another option.

(2) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1042429/Cyber_skills_in_the_labour_market_report_v6_.pdf accessed on 4 May 2022

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Alternative career options

Graduates can use the qualification as a stepping stone to enter a range of other careers. For some of these roles, both relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. Roles include:

Consultancy

Digital copywriting

IT sales

IT training

Teaching

Research and development

Network engineering

Product management

Technical writing

Social media management

Data analysis

Information systems management

Games development