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Cyber Security and Digital Forensics (with Foundation Year)

Entry requirements


No specific subjects required. Points from General Studies and AS-Level subjects (not taken onto full A-Level) can be included towards overall tariff. You must have a minimum of one A-Level.

No specific subjects required.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

Grade C/4 in English and Mathematics, or equivalent.

No specific subjects required.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

MMP

No specific subjects required.

No specific subjects required.

UCAS Tariff

72

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

4years

Full-time including foundation year | 2024

Other options

5 years | Sandwich including foundation year | 2024

Subject

Computer and information security

BSc(Hons) Cyber Security and Digital Forensics (with Foundation Year) is one of our highest-ranking degrees for graduate employment.

Develop computer programming and database skills and expand your knowledge of computer networks, systems and the legal environment you’ll operate in.

Gain vital professional skills, such as using industry standard forensic and security tools. Build your industry network and knowledge at presentations from visiting professionals. Past speakers have included Avon & Somerset High Tech Crime Unit, Fujitsu, Hewlett Packard and Price Waterhouse Coopers.

Apply what you've learnt to practical projects, including investigating computer crimes and assessing the integrity of forensic data and computer security systems.

Enter national competitions and undertake challenges so you can apply your skills and build an industry profile. Past students have achieved success in the Cyber Security Challenge UK and the British Computing Society's Ada Lovelace Colloquium.

High demand for your skills will enable you to choose a placement from a range of specialisms - choose from careers in government and the private or public sector. Roles can be within forensics and security teams, legal practices or the police and related organisations.

The Uni


Course location:

Frenchay Campus

Department:

School of Computing and Creative Technologies

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

60%
Computer and information security

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Software engineering

Teaching and learning

58%
Staff make the subject interesting
65%
Staff are good at explaining things
63%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
53%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

88%
Library resources
90%
IT resources
83%
Course specific equipment and facilities
55%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

76%
UK students
24%
International students
87%
Male students
13%
Female students
69%
2:1 or above
16%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Software engineering

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£25,000
med
Average annual salary
92%
med
Employed or in further education
69%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

70%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
5%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
5%
Food preparation and hospitality trades

A specialist subject, and not surprisingly graduates tend to go into software engineering roles or related. The degree classification students achieved made a particular difference last year — computing graduates with the best grades were much less likely to be out of work after six months and employers can even rate a good grade as important as work experience. Most students do get jobs, though, and starting salaries are good — particularly in London, where average starting salaries for good graduates were getting towards £38k last year. Be aware that at the moment, recruitment agencies are much the most common way for graduates from this degree to get their first job, so it may be worth getting in touch with a few specialist agencies in advance of graduation if you take this degree to get a foot in the door.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Software engineering

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£24k

£24k

£32k

£32k

£35k

£35k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of Hertfordshire | Hatfield
Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence)
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 120-128
Lower entry requirements
Teesside University, Middlesbrough | Middlesbrough
Cyber Security with Foundation Year
BSc (Hons) 4 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 64-80
Same University
Bristol, University of the West of England | Bristol
Cyber Security and Digital Forensics
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 112
Nearby University
Bath Spa University | Bath
Cyber Security
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 104-120

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here