Cyber Security - Level 6 BSc (Hons) with a foundation year, Staffordshire University

Demand for professionals with the skills to detect, respond to, and prevent cyber-attacks is at an all-time high.

During this course, you will gain the knowledge and develop the skills you need to get a job in cyber security. Since cyber security is relevant to any organisation with a digital framework, you could work in a wide range of industries.

During the Foundation year, teaching is delivered by Westminster Kingsway College at our Regent's Park Centre, central London, in a combined teaching programme with lecturers from Staffordshire University and in partnership with many different industry professionals. During this Foundation year, you will also have regular visits to Staffordshire University's London Digital Institute, in East London.

After the Foundation year, you will complete the rest of the course at the London Digital Institute. During the first year, you will further your knowledge of the subject, including aspects of software development and supplication modelling, a foundation of digital technologies, as well as delving into concepts of networking, cyber security and web development.

In the second year, you’ll delve deeper into the specialisms of cyber security, tackling the subject of ethical hacking, cyber operations, and further networking technologies relevant to the discipline. You’ll also expand your knowledge of computer science, by looking at commercial computing.

In your final year, you’ll focus on your Final Year Project, and study further modules based on operating systems, and IT infrastructure, where you will work to demonstrate the aspects of cyber security and computer science that you have studied during the course

Learning support

In addition to the excellent support you will receive from your course teaching team, our central Academic Skills team provides group and one-to-one help to support your learning in a number of areas. These include:

• Study skills (including reading, note-taking and presentation skills)
• Written English (including punctuation and grammatical accuracy)
• Academic writing (including how to reference)
• Research skills
• Critical thinking and understanding arguments
• Revision, assessment and examination skills (including time management).

Additional support

Our Student Inclusion Services support students with additional needs such as sensory impairment, or learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

For information on our Higher Education policies including admissions, fees and student contracts, please see the links below:

• Admissions Policy
• Complaints Policy
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
• Fees Policy
• Student Contract

For our full list of policies, governance and fees please see our website Capital City College Group (capitalccg.ac.uk).

Foundation year

Study Skills and Professional Development (Regent's Park Centre, Westminster Kingsway College)

This module is designed to help you acquire the skills you need to develop and succeed both academically and as a professional practitioner. The focus is on your personal and professional development. You will be encouraged and supported in the creation of a portfolio to record aspects of your academic and personal skills. The module also identifies and explores ethical, legal, communication, and other non-technical factors that contribute to the success (or failure) of the development of IT systems in a professional environment. It introduces fundamental skills and knowledge that will help prepare you for professional employment or for a business start-up.

Web Technology and Programming (Regent's Park Centre, Westminster Kingsway College)

This module introduces you to web and programming techniques, developing your practical skills to enhance your employability in the growing area of software development. In studying the module, you will create solutions to computing problems you have been set. You will study web standards, design, implementation, and testing strategies.

Networks, Statistics and Probability (London Digital Institute, Staffordshire University, East London)

This module introduces a variety of topics to build your skills and understanding of networking and maths. The course also introduces networking devices and the iOS operating system (other OS can be used). You will learn how networks are set up, how devices are configured, how communication takes place on a network, and the basics of implementing network security best practices. This will enhance your confidence in communicating your knowledge and working with networking-related professions. This course includes activities that expand on the course material presented. The module also covers maths, statistics and probability in order to develop the required skills for future degree study.

Group Project (Regent's Park Centre, Westminster Kingsway College)

Teamwork is essential in computing, and this module gives you the opportunity to develop your team working skills. You will explore some of the theories about teams and group work and importantly use them to inform your behaviour whilst working on a group project. You will identify an organisation to base your work around and produce an application to support their activity. Groups will be made up of students with interests in many areas of computing so the chance to draw on each other's interests will enhance the potential solutions to the organisations you work with. At the end of the module, you will reflect on the successes and challenges of working in groups with an increased toolset for future collaborative activity.

Find out more about years 1-3 at Cyber Security - Staffordshire University London (staffslondon.ac.uk)

• UCAS Tariff - 48 points
• A level - CE
• Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016) - PPP

This course has integrated theoretical, technical, and practical modes of study. This means the theoretical underpinning is taught alongside the technical knowledge, with a heavy emphasis on practical elements of cyber security.

Assessment is based mainly on coursework, accompanied by a small number of exams. We find this is the best way to assess the integrated approach to theory and practice that you’ll engage in. Your coursework carried out in response to assignments, project briefs or self-initiated proposals, will be presented in many forms such as practical computing artefact portfolios, word-processed reflective evaluations, essays and case studies. Your approach to the coursework for a given module should be individual and distinctive. Tutors see this work throughout its development thus forming a one-to-one professional working relationship with you throughout each module. Formative assessment is carried out in tutorial and feedback is usually provided to you orally, with a written record kept either by the tutor and/or yourself. This is sometimes produced as the result of peer- or self-assessment exercises.

Foundation year

• 50% Practical exams
• 38% coursework
• 13% written exams

Year 1

• 8% practical exams
• 70% coursework
• 23% of written exams

Year 2

• 13% practical exams
• 74% coursework
• 13% written exams

Year 3

• 100% coursework

Feedback

Your course will provide you with opportunities to test your understanding of your subject informally (through formative feedback) before you complete the formal assessments. Each module normally includes practice or ‘formative’ assessments for which you receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are developmental and any grades you receive for them do not count towards your module mark but are essential for you to develop academically as a student.

There is a formal or ‘summative’ assessment at the end of each module and the grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark. You will normally receive feedback on coursework assessments within 20 working days following the date of submission. The feedback you receive will help to focus you to achieve better grades on the next set of modules you study.

UK/Channel Islands: £9,250 per year of study (full-time)

International: £14,500 per year of study (full-time)

UK and Channel Island students: This tuition fee is agreed upon subject to UK government policy and parliamentary regulation. If the UK government passes appropriate legislation, the fee for subsequent years of study may increase in each academic year, but this increase will not exceed the rate of inflation as measured by RPIX**. Any change in fees will apply to both new and continuing students. The University will notify students of any change as early as possible. Further information about fee changes would be posted on the University’s website once this becomes available.

**RPIX is a measure of inflation equivalent to all the items in the Retail Price Index (RPI) excluding mortgage interest payments.

International students: Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course, as long as you complete it in the normal time frame (i.e. no repeat years or breaks in study).

Successful completion of this degree can lead to a wide rane of jobs in computing. For example:

• Chief Information Security Officer
• Forensic Computer Analyst
• Information Security Analyst
• Penetration Tester
• Security Architect
• IT Security Engineer
• Security Systems Administrator
• IT Security Consultant