Program Overview

MSc Cyber Security

The MSc Cyber Security is ideal for computer science graduates, with or without industry experience, who are prepared to build a skill set suitable for a profession in cyber security. Through this Masters degree, students will understand how to transform employees into cyber security assets by understanding the central role of people in the cyber security landscape, place themselves at the forefront of expertise when it comes to secure programming, networking, and system design, and gain project-driven experience of tools and methods appropriate for understanding and addressing emerging cyber threats.

Key Facts

• Start date: September
• Study mode and duration: 12 months full-time

Why this Course?

What's special about the MSc in Cyber Security offered by Strathclyde is its depth and breadth of coverage of the cyber security landscape. Cyber security problems cannot be truly understood solely from a technical or sociological perspective. Cyber security experts should shift perspectives between attackers and defenders, identify human factors, economic motives, and operate within regulatory constraints.

Course Content

The course will create new cyber security leaders capable of formulating their own abstractions which enable them to manage conceptually the infinite range of attack vectors that increasingly sophisticated actors may attempt to exploit. From day one, students will go deep into parallel tracks with world-leading experts in threat modeling and secure programming, human-centric security, and network security.

Study Structure

• There are two taught semesters with 10 weeks of contact time plus one week of revision for exams.
• Students will conduct an MSc dissertation due in August of the year following admission.
• The degree features three major tracks that reflect the breadth of knowledge required to address cyber security challenges, at the level of programs, networks, and the people who use them.

Tracks

• Human Centered Security underscores that security problems cannot be solved by technological solutions alone, and that we can measure how best to transform people in the chain from security problems to security assets.
• Information Security & Networking covers the essential core knowledge and practicalities of securing networked systems, by the end of which students will have mastered a range of tools for testing networks for vulnerabilities.
• Security by Design introduces students to methods that can mitigate cyber threats in protocols and programs at design time, by employing advanced techniques developed by security and programming language researchers.

Learning & Teaching

Classes are delivered via lectures, labs, and online material. In some classes, students will collaborate in small groups. They will engage in hands-on exercises within computer laboratories, receiving support from both a lecturer and lab assistants.

Assessment

The course is strategically structured to ensure a balanced assessment throughout the two taught semesters. Each semester incorporates diverse study modes. Specifically, modules with a human-centric focus rely heavily on in-class presentations for assessment, while technical modules emphasize an end-of-semester examination.

Modules

• Information Security Fundamentals (10 credits)
• Advanced Human Centred Security (20 credits)
• Security Protocols and Threat Models (20 credits)
• Legal, Ethical and Professional Issues for the Information Society (10 credits)
• Vulnerability Assessment & Security Testing (20 credits)
• Advanced Security-by-Design (20 credits)
• Research Topics in Cyber Security (10 credits)
• Research Methods (10 credits)
• Individual Project (60 credits)

Entry Requirements

• Academic requirements: Applicants require, at a minimum, a second-class (2:2) honors degree or international equivalent in computer science or a closely related discipline. Significant programming experience is required.
• English language requirements: You must have an English language minimum score of IELTS 6.0 (with no component below 5.5).

Fees & Funding

• Fees may be subject to updates to maintain accuracy. Tuition fees will be notified in your offer letter.
• Annual revision of fees: Students on programmes of study of more than one year should be aware that the majority of fees will increase annually.
• 2025/26 fees:
  • Scotland: £11,900
  • England, Wales & Northern Ireland: £11,900
  • Republic of Ireland: If you are an Irish citizen and have been ordinary resident in the Republic of Ireland for the three years prior to the relevant date, and will be coming to Scotland for Educational purposes only, you will meet the criteria of England, Wales & Northern Ireland fee status.
  • International: £28,700

Careers

It is well-known there is a shortage of skilled cyber security professionals, indeed most medium to large companies now have a dedicated cyber security team. The university provides career advice through specialist industry-specific career sessions from our award-winning Careers Service. There is also an IT careers fair. The MSc also caters for students aiming to follow up their MSc with a PhD pursuing inspiring research in cyber security.