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Cyber Security (with Placement Year)

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C, or grade 4, or above, including English and Maths.

UCAS Tariff

112

from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent).

About this course


Course option

4years

Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Computer and information security

Cyber attacks make headlines across the globe. Demand for talented computing graduates is outstripping supply, so fine-tune your network and data skills with us, take an optional placement year, and be ready to make your mark in the global cyber security industry. Our new Cambridge-based course is being prepared for National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) certification, while our close links to cyber security institutions such as OWASP and Cyber Crime Prevent bring industry experts into the classroom.

As a student at ARU, you’ll start by understanding the fundamentals of computing including computer networks, Linux operating systems, client/server architectures and secure high-level software development. You'll come to understand and recognise the cybercrime threats that organisations, and their infrastructures, face.

We’ll go on to study the cryptographic principles underpinning digital security and their application, how organisations' infrastructures can be protected from attack and how digital forensics can be used to investigate cyber related crime and malware infections. In a Security Management module, we’ll investigate how organisations visualise security operations, undertake threat intelligence and investigate potential threats.

Our degree course includes access to the CCNA Routing and Switching and EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) curriculums. This gives you the chance to progress your learning to full certification – you’ll just need to pay for your exam fees.

Our specialist labs are the perfect place you apply your knowledge and skills, carrying out penetration testing, digital forensic investigations and analysing how malware operates. They’re equipped with tools such as Kali Linux Penetration Testing Distribution, X-Ways Forensic, Autopsy, Cisco PacketTracer, OWASP ZAP and Burp Suite.

The university is active within both the Cyber Security and Digital Forensics industries working closely as Academic Supporters for OWASP Cambridge (Open Web Application Security Project), CIISec (Chartered Institute of Information Security), BCS Cybercrime Forensics Special Internet Group, CREST and ISACA London.

With our Cyber Security and Networking Research Group we host regular networking events with industry, hosting guest speakers, capture the flag events and open source project placements through Google Summer of Code (GSoC).

We work actively with both national and international law enforcement through our working relationships and research activities with Home Office, ECTEG (European Cybercrime Training and Education Group) and Cyber Resilience Centre in the East.

You have the option to take a placement year as part of your course, and gain valuable work experience.

Modules

Year one, core modules
Computer Systems
Introduction to System Architecture and Automation
Software Principles
Core Mathematics for Computing
Cyber Crime Fundamentals
Year two, core modules
Database Design and Implementation
Network Routing and Switching Essentials
Digital Security
Networking Technologies
Principles of Digital Forensics
Ruskin Module

Year 3
Work Placement - Computing and Information Sciences

Year four, core modules
Final Project
Ethical Hacking and Countermeasures
Digital Forensics and Malware Science
Professional Issues: Computing and Society
Security Management and Governance
Software Security

Assessment methods

We’ll use a range of assessment methods to help measure your progress. Besides exams, you’ll undertake coursework, lab tests, group work, presentations, case studies and log books.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Cambridge Campus

Department:

Computing and Technology

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

50%
Computer and information security

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Software engineering

Teaching and learning

70%
Staff make the subject interesting
70%
Staff are good at explaining things
60%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
70%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

60%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
80%
Course specific equipment and facilities
40%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

75%
UK students
25%
International students
86%
Male students
14%
Female students
73%
2:1 or above
11%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Software engineering

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£21,500
med
Average annual salary
85%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

47%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
9%
Information technology technicians
8%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

A specialist subject, and not surprisingly graduates tend to go into software engineering roles or related. The degree classification students achieved made a particular difference last year — computing graduates with the best grades were much less likely to be out of work after six months and employers can even rate a good grade as important as work experience. Most students do get jobs, though, and starting salaries are good — particularly in London, where average starting salaries for good graduates were getting towards £38k last year. Be aware that at the moment, recruitment agencies are much the most common way for graduates from this degree to get their first job, so it may be worth getting in touch with a few specialist agencies in advance of graduation if you take this degree to get a foot in the door.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Software engineering

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£23k

£23k

£25k

£25k

£31k

£31k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here