Cyber Security with Foundation Year BSc (Hons)

Buckinghamshire New University

Cyber security is an increasingly important area to build a rewarding career in. On our practical degree programme, we will help prepare you for a successful future in this field. Thanks to our close involvement with the sector, you can be sure we’ll help you develop the skills employers are looking for. You'll benefit from our industry links and experienced and supportive staff. To help you achieve your goals we have also invested in a top-end Cyber Resilience facility.

This is a four-year programme, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate programme.

Why study this subject?

Cyber-attacks are among the main security issues facing organisations in the information age. Today, all organisations operate with a potential information security risk and will need to implement strategies to protect their IT systems and data.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

This course has been designed to incorporate guidance from the Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG), a group within the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), as well as the Institute of Information Security Professionals’ (IISP) Information Security Skills framework. It reflects current issues and industry requirements and will help you improve your technical understanding of cyber security, IT services and risk management, and how this relates to the wider business and customer-facing needs.

You'll develop specialist skills in cyber security, risk and information management, underpinned with software and networked systems. You will also learn to use a wide range of cyber security related tools and techniques, alongside technical skills in computer programming, software engineering, cloud and database development. We’ll also help you to build a portfolio of work and seek opportunities to demonstrate your expertise by co-presenting at industry conferences and undertake internships or work experience.

Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules in both your first and second year from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers.

What facilities can I use?

We’ve invested in the best facilities for your next step into a computing career. The primary delivery of all modules within the course will take place within our specialist computing labs or in our cyber resilience facility. This will also include use of our networking lab for those modules involving any aspect of network or cloud-based development and/or security.

What will I study?

You will study software design and development, programming languages, technologies and applications which may include Python, Java, HTML, PHP, UML, database technologies, machine learning, algorithms and data structures, web and mobile computing, and Agile software development. Specialist modules allow you to further explore the areas of artificial intelligence, media programming, real-time systems, computer science, cloud computing and security.

You'll begin with the fundamentals in areas such as risk and information management, security auditing and network security before going on to apply what you have learned to various individual and team assignments. We'll help you to develop your ability to think strategically about real-world problems, whilst enhancing your transferable skillset to include analysis, design, research and leadership. In your final year, you'll work on a major project or extended written piece of work.