Develop your skills and academic knowledge in the growing field of cyber security through academic teaching, industry input and practical skills development.

Develop the knowledge, understanding and skills you need to work as a computing security professional.
Explore a range of cutting-edge systems, tools and techniques.
Appreciate the role information security has in an organisation and how it can be implemented and managed.
Attain useful certification for your career by undertaking the BSI ISO 27001 Lead Auditor exam

This course is ideal if you are already working on an IT environment, or wish to specialise in information security. You'll learn through academic teaching, industry input and practical skills development — and prepare for a range of exciting IT roles.

Learning and teaching involves lectures, seminars and practical tutorial sessions in small groups. You will learn about complex networks, systems and applications. This will help you to develop practical experience and expand on the effective and appropriate communication skills required to be a security professional. The four main focuses of the course are information security management, ethical hacking, system hardening and computer forensics.

Networking opportunities

Due to our strong ties with industry we regularly have guest speakers. Recent speakers have included industry professionals from Mozilla, South Yorkshire Police, RSA and Blackberry. In 2014 Sheffield Hallam University hosted the North of England's first Ethical Hacking Conference, which is now an annual event.

All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.

This course combines a sound theoretical grounding with useful practical work. Industry input is central to the course, as is self-reflection and professional development.

You learn through

• tutorials
• workshops
• problem-solving activities
• practical projects
• team work
• reports
• demonstrations
• discussions
• presentations
• structured walk-throughs
• phase tests

This course is delivered face-to-face over three semesters - teaching is scheduled based on the length of your course and the academic calendar.

This course prepares you for a career in

• strategy and policy
• information technology
• forensics (computer, mobile and network analyst)
• computer security incident response (CSIRT)
• disaster recovery
• incident and risk management
• business continuity
• secure coding
• software design and development
• applications development

Previous graduates of this course have gone on to work for

• HSBC
• Citrix
• Price Waterhouse Coopers

 

You need

• a good level of general education with good analytical skills

• an ambition to develop to a high level in the area of information security

• a degree 2.2 or above in computing or a closely-related discipline. You may also be able to claim credit points which can reduce the amount of time it takes to complete your qualification at Sheffield Hallam. Find out more

We will consider your application if you cannot meet the above criteria but have at least one year-s direct work experience in information security or a closely related discipline.

You can apply for prior certificated credit or prior experiential credit for the course if it is appropriate. We consider any professional certification of a suitable level and other criteria related to your application. In some cases we may ask you to take an entrance exam.

Overseas applicants from countries whose first language is not English must normally produce evidence of competence in English. An IELTS score of 6.0 with 5.5 in all skills (or equivalent) is the standard for non-native speakers of English. If your English language skill is currently below an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English level.

Important notice:

The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.

Final Year Compulsory modules
Module	Credits	Assessment
Dissertation ( Cyber And Networks)	60	Coursework
Hacking Techniques And Countermeasures	15	Coursework
Information Security Concepts And Principles	15	Coursework
Information Security Management	15	Coursework
Network Security	15	Coursework
Research Principles And Practice	15	Coursework
Standard Based Security Audit And Assessment	15	Coursework
Web-Based Applications And E-Commerce Security	15	Coursework

 

Elective modules
Module	Credits	Assessment
Computer Forensics, Investigation And Response	15	Coursework
Systems And Application Security	15	Coursework