Security Intelligence and Cyber with Integrated Foundation Year

In a world of increasing uncertainty, the demand for specialists who can develop secure, intelligence-driven solutions to threats and risks—particularly those linked to criminal activity—is more critical than ever. 

Our BSc (Hons) Intelligence, Cyber and National Security Studies with Integrated Foundation Year course draws on connections with local, national, and global professionals to guide you from a foundational understanding to a critical, applied position.

Your journey begins with an introductory foundation year, designed to develop your skills, confidence, and core knowledge in a supportive environment. This year helps you build strong academic foundations, ensuring you’re fully prepared to progress smoothly into the undergraduate degree.   

From there, you’ll learn to design intelligence collection plans, strategically manage investigations, and develop solutions to security and cyber threats and risk scenarios, from local incidents to global events. Contemporary case studies are used throughout to illustrate the theoretical knowledge required by industry professionals.

Choose a degree that’s embedded in the UK’s strategic ecosystems. Designed with local employers in mind and delivered on the doorstep of BAE Systems and the Sellafield nuclear enterprise, our degree offers unrivalled access to real-world scenarios, guest experts, and live briefs across civil nuclear and critical national infrastructure. With work-integrated learning, small-group teaching, and a strong regional placement network, you’ll be well prepared to enter the workforce upon graduation.

This degree offers a unique opportunity to study the theory and practice of intelligence and security in both UK and global contexts. You’ll explore how intelligence agencies operate, how governments respond to threats, and how security policies are shaped in an increasingly complex world.

Module Examples

• Foundations of Security Studies

• Principles of Intelligence

• Policy and Decision Making

• Intelligence and Technology

• Transnational Threats

• Investigative Skills

• Counterintelligence and Security

• Cyber Risks and Management

• Industry Work Placement

• Project

https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate/bsc-hons-security-intelligence-cyber-and-national-security-with-integrated-foundation-year/

Year 1 (level 4)

• Written assignments

• Verbal presentations

• Simulation exercises

• Teamworking vignettes

Year 2 (level 5)

• Reports to mimic professional documents

• Portfolios comprising various elements of work to evidence your knowledge and understanding

• Documents analysing and recommending problem solutions

• Exercises to replicate emergency situations allowing you to reflect on performance and experience teamwork in dynamic environments

Year 3 (level 6)

• Research proposals and reports

• Oral Presentations

• Essays

• Reports