BSc (Hons) Cyber Security
London, United Kingdom
DURATION
3 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
15 Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 16,000 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for international students | for UK students: GBP 9,250 per year
Introduction
Become an expert in BSc (Hons) Cyber Security and learn how to apply your knowledge to protect organisations from illegal attacks.
As part of this course, you’ll:
- Develop a broad knowledge of computing as well as specific cyber security expertise and how to put it into practice
- Learn to use your knowledge of computer systems and networks to protect businesses and users from malicious
attacks in computer security modules - Study key topics including malware and vulnerabilities, secure coding, sandboxing, virtualisation, and ethical hacking and penetration testing techniques
- Learn practical investigative and 'hacking' techniques
- Learn through practical applications on our bespoke Hacktivity system that replicates real-world business systems and potential attacks
Share insights
If you join the university’s Ethical Hacking Society, you’ll explore the very latest developments in digital security and attend talks from industry experts to enhance your learning.
Network with professionals
You’ll gain experience in preparing and presenting work for use by courts of law and industry customers. Attending conferences will allow you to network with professionals and enhance your career prospects. You may also have the option to work with local employers as clients for your final-year project.
Cybercrime & Security Innovation Centre
As part of our Cybercrime and Security Innovation Centre, teaching staff on your course work with West Yorkshire Police to develop new ways of fighting cybercrime. This partnership will give you access to cutting-edge research and industry contacts, and an invaluable insight into the real-world applications of computer security.
Placements
We work with organisations to find placement opportunities for you and our links with the security industry and law contacts provide you with opportunities to enhance your learning.
Specialist learning
If you’d like to enhance your understanding of cyber security and develop your specialist knowledge of digital forensics, you could choose to study our BSc (Hons) Cyber Security & Digital Forensics. Alternatively, you could study our four-year MEng Cyber Security & Digital Forensics to further deepen your expertise.
Why study Cyber Security at Leeds Beckett University
- Professionally accredited – by the British Computer Society and provisionally certified by the National Cyber Security Centre
- Top 30 in the UK for Computer Science and Information Systems*
- Access to specialist software – including Hacktivity and Hackerbot to enable you to put your knowledge into practice
- Industry partnerships – including working with West Yorkshire Police
- Opportunity to join the Ethical Hacking Society –share ideas with your peers
- Placement opportunities – enhance your learning and add experience to your CV
*2024 Guardian Subject League Tables
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
There are ways you may be able to fund your course. Sometimes it is possible to get sponsorship from a government body in your country. There are many different options, so have a look through the links carefully to see if they apply to you.
- International Scholarships
- Chevening Scholarships
- US / Canada Direct Loans
Curriculum
Teaching & Learning
Independent study is a crucial part of learning at university and you will be required to undertake many hours of self-directed research and reading, and preparation and writing of assessments. Your course is delivered through several modules, which will help you to plan your time and establish a study routine. Outside of your lectures, workshops and tutorials, a range of support is available to assist with your independent study. Our subject-specific librarians will be on hand to direct you to specialist learning and study-skill resources. You’ll also be assigned an academic advisor to give you tailored feedback and support.
Year 1
What You'll Learn
Fundamentals of Computer Programming
You’ll be introduced to the fundamentals of computer programming, including variables and data types, understanding sequence, selection and iteration, basic algorithms, and structured programming and reuse.
Object-Oriented Programming
Extend the basic knowledge of programming you’ve gained in the fundamentals module by focusing on the concept of object-oriented programming and its associated design techniques.
Ethical Hacking & Penetration Testing
You'll be introduced to the motives and methods of hackers, and the steps a hacker undertakes, and will learn to apply these same techniques to perform ethical hacking and penetration testing, to test the security of systems. Students will also explore ethics and privacy in the context of cyber security.
Fundamentals of Databases
Discover the stages involved in the development of database systems and acquire database modelling and implementation skills. You will also examine the ethical and professional issues associated with the database development process.
Fundamentals of Digital Forensics
You’ll cover the fundamentals of digital forensics, including tools and methodologies in digital forensics investigations. You will review device operations, the location of digital artefacts, and how to safely preserve and acquire digital evidence whilst adhering to legal, ethical and professional practices.
Computer Communications
Examine the principles involved in making information sharing possible, efficient and secure. You will gain an understanding of the techniques that networking protocols use to achieve successful communication, including error detection and recovery, multiplexing and security protection.
Year 2
What You'll Learn
Digital Forensics Processing
The next stage in your understanding of digital forensics, this module will examine the various legal aspects of forensics and explore the tools and file systems that are available for analysis.
Web & Network Security
A comprehensive and accessible overview of security mechanisms, attacks and defences in modern web applications. This covers the OWASP Top 10 Web Application Security Risks extensively from a predominantly practical perspective to enable students to conduct security assessments of websites.
Cyber Security Landscapes
You’ll learn about human and organisational aspects of cyber security, including how IT risk can be managed in an organisation. You will build your technical and applied knowledge around cryptography, encrypting and hashing data, and security principles of infrastructure security, including network, hardware, and cyber-physical security.
Digital Forensics Analysis
Develop an in-depth practical understanding of the analysis techniques and tools used by forensic examiners.
Team Project
Further your professional and entrepreneurial skills by working within a small group to design, develop and present a solution to a real or case-study-based problem.
Sandwich Year
Option modules
Software Systems Development
Focus on advanced programming techniques and study concepts including exception handling, defining interfaces and use of collections. You will also look at other topics such as the analysis of algorithms.
Web Applications & Technologies
Explore the design and development of dynamic websites. You will examine the design process alongside an introduction to server-side web development, enabling you to build a well-designed, interactive site.
Database Systems
Build on your experience of designing and implementing databases and apply your database application development and programming skills to build robust applications.
Year 3
What You'll Learn
Systems Security
You will configure (and audit the security of) Linux and Windows systems using advanced security controls, including access control lists (ACLs), containerisation such as Docker, mandatory access controls (MAC) such as AppArmor, and network-based authentication such as LDAP and Active Directory.
Incident Response & Investigation
You will learn security monitoring techniques to monitor networks and systems to detect signs of attack or compromise, methods for recovering and restoring from security breaches, and investigation methods to identify the specifics of what has occurred.
Production Project
The culmination of your course, the production project allows you to study an area chosen by you in significant depth. You will develop a product, ideally for an external client, and evaluate both the product and your performance throughout the process.
Option modules
Advanced Database Systems
Take a practical perspective on the domain of data and database development and management. You will seek to justify and implement appropriate modelling, design and programming strategies that satisfy the requirements associated with a range of modern data/database applications.
Advanced Web Engineering
Focus on current developments, standards, tools and technologies within the area of internet application systems. You will learn to build professional web-based systems using a variety of current techniques.
Advanced Software Engineering
Extend your programming skills and knowledge to a more advanced level and develop transferable programming and design abilities which will permit you to confidently work within the industry.
Developing Mobile Applications
Investigate the architectures, platforms and techniques available to build applications for mobile devices.
Applied Data Analytics
Utilise workflows for data analysis processes in various scenarios. This involves statistical/descriptive and machine learning with an emphasis on aspects of their applications. It includes data pre-processing, transformation, analysis and visualisation.
This course offers the opportunity to take a ‘sandwich’ year – a year of paid employment in industry which will build your skills and experience. This is usually taken between the second and third year of your degree, typically making your course four years in total.
Students who choose the sandwich route find it helps with both their studies and getting a job after graduation. It can build your confidence, contacts, and of course your CV. Leeds Beckett advertises lots of placement opportunities and provides support in helping you find the right placement for you.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Your future career is our business. That's why we offer further study opportunities across all our subject areas. Our postgraduate courses are a great way to enhance the skills you have already learnt, benefit from our links with industry and give you a CV that will catch the eye of employers.
- How to become a data analyst
- How to become a software engineer