This programme has been designed for those who have an undergraduate degree in any discipline and wish to study for a qualification that focuses on cyber security in order to develop a career path in this discipline. The MSc in Cyber Security Technology is ideally suited to those who have no prior learning in cyber security, the modular content is reflective of this strategy.
This Masters programme has been designed in consultation with partners from the industry to ensure you learn up-to-date cyber security knowledge required by employers across the industry. Graduates from the programme will be equipped to work in a variety of careers at an entry or junior level in the cyber security sector and IT industry or to progress to academic or research-orientated careers.
By completing the MSc in Cyber Security Technology you will be able to demonstrate capabilities in the areas of Digital Leadership, Information Governance and Cyber Security, Cloud and Big Data Security, Introduction to Computer Networks Security, Computer Network Security, Research Methods for Professional Practice and Computing and Digital Technologies Project.
Alternatively, you can study the MSc Cyber Security Technology Part-Time.
The modular content has been designed to allow you to develop both a theoretical and applied knowledge of core specialisms essential for a cyber security expert. For example, the digital leadership module is designed to support future career progression into roles where there is a requirement to manage other cyber specialists. It also provides a useful foundation for those seeking to pursue a career in cyber security in a role where you are required to perform security vulnerability assessments and penetration testing for networked information systems. Knowledge gained from studying the programme will enable you to conduct threat intelligence analysis to keep up to date with the changing threat landscape.
As you progress through the programme you develop as an up to date, well rounded and outward-looking professional capable of taking responsibility for and effectively leading cyber security and technology projects and people, capable of making good decisions and improving the performance of yourself, your people, your areas of responsibility and your organisation.
This master’s programme has been designed to ensure that graduates from the programme will be equipped to work in a variety of careers in the cyber security/IT industry or to progress to academic or research-orientated careers. The qualification is designed to accelerate your skills and competence in a range of job roles, including:
The Advanced Practice version of this course offers you a valuable opportunity to deepen your knowledge and enhance employability in your specialist field. This will be through completing additional 60 credit Advanced Practice module after when you have completed 120 credits of taught modules. This module will provide experiential learning opportunities.
These can either be a 12-week work placement, group consultancy project, research group project, 12-week Professional Skills Practice, 12-week Enterprise Start Up or 12-week Multidisciplinary Innovation project. This experience gives you the opportunity to apply skills and knowledge acquired during the taught part of your programme and to acquire new skills and knowledge in an alternative learning environment. Specific learning will be defined in a personal learning contract.
The Advanced Practice programmes are structured as below:
| Sept-Jan | Jan-May | May-Sept | Sept-Jan | Jan-May | May-Sept | Sept-Jan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September starts | Semester 1 | Semester 2 | Summer break | Semester 3 | Advanced Practice stage | ||
| Professional Practices in Computing and Digital Technologies Project (Sem 1, 2 & 3) | |||||||
| January starts | Semester 1 | Summer break | Semester 2 | Semester 3 | Summer break | Advanced Practice stage | |
| Professional Practices in Computing and Digital Technologies Project (Sem 1, 2 & 3) | |||||||
| May starts |
Semester 1 | Semester 2 | Semester 3 | Advanced Practice stage | |||
| Professional Practices in Computing and Digital Technologies Project (Sem 1, 2 & 3) | |||||||
Upon successfully completing your course, you may undertake further professional development and training through Professional Pathways programmes. These are offered to our graduates for free, from our partner, QA. Find out more about Professional Pathways and your eligibility.
If you don’t meet the academic requirements
Applicants who do not meet the academic requirements but who do have substantial experience of working in a business organisation and/or possess a relevant professional qualification will also be considered. If you are unsure if you meet the entry criteria, please contact us and our team will be able to advise you.
International entry equivalencies
We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Please visit our entry requirements page for country-specific qualifications.
Please note that if your qualifications are not in English, we might need certified translations in order to proceed with your application.
Masters Foundation programme
Alternatively, you may also be eligible for one of our Pre-Masters courses. These are pathway programmes designed specifically for students who require additional support to meet the entry requirements of their chosen Masters degree.
Pre-Sessional English and Study Skills
If you have IELTS 5.5 – 6.0, you may be eligible to join our Pre-Sessional English before starting this programme. This programme will help you develop language skills in a content-based approach to learning involving critical thinking, questioning, discussion, reflection and analysis.
All modules on this course are core and 20 credits unless otherwise stated.
In this module, you will learn about the information governance and cyber security principles that underpin the management of an organisation’s information assets. In doing so you will critically analyse the key concepts, theories, standards and frameworks of information governance and security, including risk management. This will enable you to evaluate an organisation’s or the one in which you work, their current approach to information governance and cyber security and to advise on the design and implementation of an appropriate strategy for managing an organisation’s information assets to meet legal, regulatory, organisational and/or societal needs for information governance and cyber security.
In this module, you will develop new knowledge and skills in leadership in a digital context. These capabilities are essential for your career development as they enable you to become competent at the visioning, development and deployment of technological strategies and responses to challenges and opportunities in complex organisational environments.
The purpose of this module is to provide you with an in-depth understanding of cloud and big data security. This module is a specialist module and as such will develop your skills in a variety of aspects of cloud security, these capabilities are becoming increasingly desirable by employers as more organisations use the cloud for storing sensitive data.
The module aims to introduce you to the role and internal operation of computer networks. You will learn relevant concepts and technologies at a layer’s level, and the demands placed upon computer networks and security requirements required to successfully support current and emerging applications.
This module provides you with a critical appreciation of computer networks and security. You will learn about the underpinning networking concepts and security considerations to design and implement a secure network using appropriate technologies.
The module builds on ‘Introduction to Computer Networks Security’ and aims to provide you with a deeper understanding of critical computer security techniques and in-depth knowledge of countermeasures. You will learn relevant cutting-edge computer security principles, models and terminologies require to secure modern computers.
This module offers an immersive journey into contemporary computing topics essential for addressing complex challenges in both business and society. Through a diverse range of experiential activities, you will deepen your understanding and skills and cultivate innovative thinking to tackle real-world problems effectively.
The module commences with a residential activity designed to give you the opportunity to develop your leadership and team skills in order to complete a real project via a hackathon or other similar activities. As such you will go on to tackle a problem defined by a real business and use an applied research approach to work in a team and demonstrate leadership competencies.
This module empowers you to not only acquire theoretical knowledge but also to cultivate practical skills and competencies essential for success in the dynamic field of computing. By engaging in experiential activities such as (virtual) hackathons, boot camps, competitions, and conferences, you will emerge as agile, adaptive professionals ready to make meaningful contributions to business and society. This module is designed to enable you to rapidly develop new knowledge and skills and apply them to their business and technical challenges.
This module is a 60-credit module which will be delivered across your programme (3 semesters) and is designed to build your confidence and capabilities as a postgraduate student, researcher and have the graduate skills to progress into high skilled employment or doctoral study.
Semester 1 and 2: Academic and Employability Skills
The main purpose of this strand is to develop your academic confidence including using the wide range of learning resources available to you, academic reading, writing and study effectiveness. You will also develop your ability to analyse and use the source material and develop your language and communication skills to a higher level.
In addition, through the learning tasks, a number of employability skills are developed, including life-long learning, professional and career development, communication skills, intercultural competence, collaboration, teamworking, digital and information literacy, critical thinking, ethical practice, reflection, self-management, decision-making, problem-solving, planning and organising. You will also develop employability skills (based on 7i graduate outcomes) and be encouraged to attend additional careers and employability workshops organised by our Careers Team.
Semester 2: Research Methods
The research methods strand will develop your knowledge and understanding of learning about identifying a business problem, undertaking a critical literature review, designing appropriate research methodology and developing a research proposal that will lead into the dissertation stage.
Semester 3
This will be a culmination of your knowledge and understanding of your Master’s degree in your chosen discipline. Specifically, you will work alongside an academic tutor to complete a major research project. This will include attending individual and group project supervision and guidance sessions in which you will develop further the skill required to complete a computing-related research enquiry.
You will learn how to identify a problem from your chosen pathways of study (e.g. Computing and Technologies) and then how to design and implement an appropriate research methodology to answer your research questions and fulfil your research objectives.
The course information displayed on this page is correct for the academic year 2024/25. We aim to run the course as advertised however, changes may be necessary due to updates to the curriculum (due to academic or industry developments), student demand or UK compliance reasons.
Please note that your tuition fees do not include the cost of course books that you may choose to purchase, stationery, printing and photocopying, accommodation, living expenses, travel or any other extracurricular activities. As a Northumbria University London Campus student, you will have full access to our online digital library with over 400,000 e-books and 50,000 electronic journals.
The modules you will study do not require you to purchase additional textbooks although we recommend you allow an additional £200-250 for the duration of your studies should you choose to purchase any additional reading materials.
Information for international students
Northumbria University is committed to providing the best possible experience to all our students. To ensure you secure your place with us, we require our international students to pay a deposit towards their fees. More information can be found here.
Your tuition fees cover far more than your time in class with our expert academics, it covers the cost of providing you with excellent services and student experience.
Depending on the country you are from, you may be eligible for a country bursary and/or scholarship when studying the MSc Cyber Security Technology programme.
All of our scholarships and bursaries are automatically applied when we process your application and one of our team will be able to confirm your eligibility.
London Cost of Living Bursary
Eligible international students will receive an automatic bursary for £1,334, covering one month’s living costs in London*, applied at the Conditional Offer as a fee discount. This bursary is effective for intakes in January 2025 and May 2025. This offer excludes Pre-sessional English, standalone Graduate Certificate programmes and sponsored applicants.
If you receive this bursary, you may still be eligible for additional bursaries and scholarships, these will be confirmed at the Unconditional Offer stage. Full maintenance costs still need to be evidenced when applying for your visa.
This bursary is only available for international students from specific countries. Please visit our Scholarships page for more information.
*As defined by UKVI
If you need support to spread the cost of your tuition, you may be eligible for our payment plan.
If you are a UK or Home student, you may be eligible for a postgraduate loan of up to £10,000+ from the UK Government. Click here to find out more about the loan and whether you are eligible to receive it.
Enquire now to find out more information about the course, studying with us, the application process, and to ask any other questions you may have.
Once you’re ready to apply, you can apply online to study the 1 year MSc Cyber Security Technology. This method allows you to upload your supporting documents at the time of application and automatically receive your student application number.
Please note: For 2025 applications you will be redirected to the Northumbria website to select which intake you would like to apply for.
| Apply for 2025 |
|---|
| Apply for the 1 year MSc |
| Apply for Pre-Masters + 1 year MSc |
We strongly recommend that you submit your application as early as possible to allow you to complete all of the preparations needed to study your programme. Please refer to the Dates and Fees page.
You can check more information on how to apply here, including guidelines for the application forms.
At Northumbria University London we welcome applications from disabled students and are committed to ensuring an equal and accessible application journey. Your application will be considered on an equal basis to all other applications. Please contact us if you require any assistance. This website is continually optimised to adhere to accessibility best practice guidelines; tools to assist users with specific accessibility requirements have also been provided. More information is available in our accessibility statement.
Postgraduate
UK/Home Fee: £10,460
International Fee: £19,750
Minimum 2:2 honours degree, or equivalent in any subject
IELTS 6.5, with no single element below 5.5 or equivalent
Full-time classroom
1 year (up to 2 years with advanced practice)
Coursework
Available
Available
Available
January, May, September
Postgraduate
UK/Home Fee: £13,460
International Fee: £22,750
Minimum 2:2 honours degree, or equivalent in any subject
IELTS 6.5, with no single element below 5.5 or equivalent
Advanced practice
16-24 months
Coursework
Not available
Available
Available
January, May, September