Cyber Security
Entry requirements
A level
GCE A levels - grades BBB, and to include minimum grade B in one of the following subjects: IT, Computer Science, Mathematics, CCEA Digital Technology, Software Systems Development or a science subject.
122 UCAS tariff points from Access to HE Diploma in one of the following subjects: Computing, IT, ICT, Science or Mathematics.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Pass overall with a minimum overall score of 30 or minimum 120 UCAS Tariff points from three Higher Level subjects, including HL5 in at least one of IT, Computing. Mathematics or a science subject.
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
CTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in IT
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in IT or Computing
T Level
T level - Overall grade Merit in Digital Production, Design and Development. Applicants with T level in Digital Business Services, Digital Support Services or Science will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Please note that offers for this course are typically based on grades rather than the UCAS tariff, dependent on the qualifications presented.
About this course
As computing technology becomes more integral to our homes, workplaces and public services, cybercrime is increasingly widespread and dangerous. With our BSc (Hons) Cyber Security, you’ll be part of the solution as you learn to investigate breaches and harness secure systems.
You’ll specialise in identifying different cyber security attacks and mitigation techniques, detecting and responding to network-based intrusions, ethical hacking and testing approaches, and applied cryptography. And because other people’s private data is involved, you’ll also explore the legal and ethical implications and how they relate to cyber security.
Throughout our cyber security degree, you’ll also gain a broad understanding of core computing subjects, such as programming, mathematics for computing, databases, networks and operating systems. Extensive group work will develop your ability to think logically and use your initiative to critically analyse problems. By the time you graduate, you’ll have a set of skills that are in high demand in our technology-led world, across both the public and private sectors.
**FEATURES AND BENEFITS**
- The course gives you the opportunity to specialise in the fascinating and fast-growing field of cyber security, gaining knowledge and skills that are highly valued by both security specialist and general tech companies.
- You will study a curriculum designed in conjunction with industry to equip you with the range of skills and strengths that employers demand.
- The four-year placement route gives you the opportunity to spend your third year on an industry placement, boosting your employment prospects on graduation. This may be subject to availability.
- You will experience what it's like to work as part of a professional team, finding solutions to complex problems via group projects. You can also get involved with extracurricular work to further apply your skills, for example, hackathons, gaming events and the Students’ Union Computing Society.
- We are investing £115m to transform the way we teach and you learn in the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Open from Autumn 2023, our new Dalton building will enhance collaboration between students, staff and industry and provide improved teaching spaces, including a new computing and mathematics studio.
- Our excellent facilities include teaching laboratories equipped with high-specification PCs with specialist, industry-standard software running on either Windows or Linux.
- Our dedicated drop-in lab provides an informal social working space with regular support sessions from our programme support tutors.
The Uni
Manchester Metropolitan University
Department of Computing and Mathematics
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.
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
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
£22k
£27k
£30k
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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Teaching Excellence Framework (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?
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