Computer Science for Cyber Security
BSc (Hons)
- Typical offer for 2025
- Duration
- UCAS code
Suitable for applications.
Overview
Develop the skills you need for a career as a cyber security professional, working in a rapidly growing and vitally important industry.
The BSc (Hons) Computer Science for Cyber Security blends core computer science disciplines with specialist areas of cyber security such as:
- cryptography
- security technologies
- computer communications and networks
- electronic business
If you enjoy solving problems, are innovative and creative, and have a passionate interest in technology this programme is tailor made for you. Our graduates make a positive impact on society, not only through preventing and reducing cyber security attacks, but by applying the wide-ranging skills developed on this programme in other areas of information technology.
This programme shares a common first year with our other Computer Science programmes, allowing you to transfer before the start of the second year if you feel an alternative course suits your emerging interests or career aspirations better.
The BSc (Hons) in Computer Science for Cyber Security draws on our outstanding research strengths and expertise. Our Department of Computer Science is one of the longest established in the UK, and we have a strong heritage within the subject.
Professional accreditation
Accredited by the BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for Incorporated Engineer and partially meeting the academic requirement for a Chartered Engineer.
The BSc (Hons) in Computer Science for Cyber Security is provisionally certified by National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
I’m really excited to get to work on my final year project which is all about cryptography. I’ll be building an app which allows users to exchange messages securely. I think it will be another opportunity to be creative and I’m looking forward to exploring different types of encryption techniques.
Placement Year
This 4-year BSc (Hons) Computer Science for Cyber Security programme offers you the opportunity to take up a placement year working in industry in your third year.
The placement year is an excellent way to develop your professional experience, build industry contacts, and gain insight into the day-to-day work of a professional computer scientist. Placements are predominantly salaried positions and may lead to offers of employment upon graduation if you excel during your placement.
Support for placement applications is plentiful, with a dedicated Faculty Career Development Advisor and academic staff members overseeing placement students. All students on placement are assigned an academic supervisor who will visit them during their placement year and can provide advice and guidance.
Recent placement destinations include ATOS, Deutsche Post AG, GE, Goldman Sachs, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Intel, JP Morgan, NHS, Rolls Royce, Skipton Building Society and Thomson Reuters.
After completing your placement you’ll return to complete the final year of the programme, and apply all you’ve learnt to your final project.
Learning and assessment
Most modules use a mixture of formal lectures, practical lab sessions, tutorials and seminars. Some modules involve supervised group work, usually with an assigned academic staff member for each group. All modules require students to undertake independent study, supported through distance learning technologies such as our Virtual Learning Environment.
Reading lists and suggested resources for independent study provide further direction for students to undertake this work, and regular contact hours and informal feedback throughout the courses provide opportunities for further guidance for learners. Some modules offer the opportunity to work on live industry project through our Computing Enterprise Centre, where your learning and assessment are strongly linked to a real word project with all the benefits to your CV and experience that you would expect.
Assessments for modules mostly take the form of practical coursework, lab tests and written exams, with all forms being well represented throughout all years of the course across all modules.
In the Enterprise Pro module, the students work on a project for external clients or our collaborators in industry and academia. The projects are specifically tailored to be aligned with the studies and the topics that the students have studied.
Through these projects, the students gain crucial industry knowledge and experience to improve their employability prospects and professional skills as well as knowledge of industry developments and their needs, which helps enhance their skills. The clients end up with software products that could be potentially used by their organisations.
The students working in small groups are closely supervised and supported through laboratory practical sessions to ensure they have the right technical input to support the project and are delivering on time and keeping on track. Their interactions within the teams and with the external clients are continuously monitored by a group tutor.
Computer Science at the University of Bradford
We believe that technology should benefit everyone, and that everyone should have the opportunity to work within an exciting and future-defining discipline.
Our courses have been carefully designed to promote openness and inclusivity for all – we do not require students to have previously studied IT or Computer Science A-Levels or BTECs. Our curriculum begins from first principles, both practical and theoretical, to bring everyone up to a high standard of knowledge and expertise while still challenging and motivating those with previous subject knowledge through open-ended and extensible practical tasks.
We strongly believe that employability and practical skills, built on solid theoretical foundations, are critical for student success after graduating from our University. We embed the development of employer-focussed skills and experience into our programmes in many ways. Our module contents and curricula are built around input and feedback from our Industry Advisory Board, providing a direct line for industry experts to shape our taught content. We also embed opportunities to work on live industry projects directly into our modules, with projects available to students from both internal and external group to the University that have real problems to be solved, requiring students to produce real solutions and gain real experience.
All of our computer science students are automatically enrolled as student members of the British Computer Society (BCS).
Study abroad
All of our programmes offer the opportunity to study abroad at an international partner institution.
Study support
We have a commitment to strong pastoral care for all of our students, which includes a Personal Tutor for all students, regular contact hours for tutor groups and our supportive student service teams who are always ready to help with any questions and provide the advice that you need. In addition to standard study support through taught sessions, our Virtual Learning Environment allows students to access resources, participate in group work and submit work from anywhere in the world 24/7. Our Personal Tutor system provides students with a specific academic staff member to support them through regular meetings and interactive activities, acting as an independent source of advice and guidance on making the transition to Higher Education and assisting them with any questions or problems they encounter. University central services are rich with support teams to assist students with every aspect of their journey through our degree courses. From our Career and Employability Service, through our strong Students' Union, to our professional and efficient Student Finance team, there are always friendly faces ready to support you and provide you with the answers that you need.
Research
Most of our staff are research active, and contribute to the cutting edge of their disciplines. Bradford has a strong pedigree of world leading research, and our aim is to ensure that students benefit from our staff’s insight into the future of their subject. The integration of new and innovative research findings into our curriculum, known as Research Informed Teaching, is a core value and one of the key principles driving the design of our courses and our modules. Particularly in the final year, but throughout their course from the very first day, students are given insight into the future of computing and cyber security.