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Cyber Security (Taught)

Course details
  • MS
  • 12 Months
  • Full-time
  • 10/2026
  • Postgraduate
Course location
Colchester Campus

Course summary

Our MSc Cyber Security course provides you with the essential skills to support cyber security within the private and public sector, with a strong focus on security by design, digital identity, digital forensics and network security. If you’re a computing graduate and are pursuing a career as a cyber security professional - or in other areas that need a systematic and deep understanding of the subject - or you want to carry out further research in the subject, this is the Masters degree for you.

You will develop your ability to critically evaluate the theories, techniques and systems used in your chosen area of specialisation. You will develop research and problem-solving techniques, and undertake research through practical project experience.

On this course, you will gain a practical, real-world embedding of current cyber security-related technologies to allow you the flexibility to deploy them imaginatively within a fast-developing threat-laden world. Alongside a general coverage, you will cast a sharp eye on:

  • security by design as an underlying ethos of software design

  • a grounding in computer security and cryptography

  • an understanding of network security

  • the technical side of online digital identity, authentication and biometrics

  • a detailed understanding of digital forensics

  • the influence of AI on cyber security

  • the ability to engineer practical solutions to cyber security problems, both individually and in groups

You will be part of our School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering: a community of scholars leading the way in technological research and development. Today's computer scientists are creative people who are focused and committed, yet restless and experimental. Our work is driven by creativity and imagination as well as technical excellence. That's why we are ranked 6th in the UK for research power in computer science (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021).

Modules

You can tailor your learning experience with a choice of optional modules. More information about these can be found on the University of Essex website.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for this course can be found on the course finder on the University of Essex website – www.essex.ac.uk

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

LocationFeeYear
England£12725Year 1
Northern Ireland£12725Year 1
Scotland£12725Year 1
Wales£12725Year 1
Channel Islands£12725Year 1
Republic of Ireland£12725Year 1
EU£24675Year 1
International£24675Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.

Additional fee information

Fees displayed are for 2026-27 entry. Fees for part-time courses are calculated pro-rata to the relevant full-time fee.

Tuition fees may be subject to annual increases in each year of study in line with inflation.

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