Cyber Security with Foundation Year
Entry requirements
UCAS Tariff
A typical offer will require a UCAS Tariff score between 32 - 56. Every application is considered on an individual basis. For further details of our international English entry requirements, please visit our General Entry Requirements pages.
About this course
Cyber security is an increasingly important area to build a rewarding career in. On our practical degree programme, we will help prepare you for a successful future in this field. Thanks to our close involvement with the sector, you can be sure we’ll help you develop the skills employers are looking for. You'll benefit from our industry links and experienced and supportive staff. To help you achieve your goals we have also invested in a top-end Cyber Resilience facility.
This is a four-year programme, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate programme.
**Why study this subject?**
Cyber-attacks are among the main security issues facing organisations in the information age. Today, all organisations operate with a potential information security risk and will need to implement strategies to protect their IT systems and data.
**Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?**
This course has been designed to incorporate guidance from the Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG), a group within the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), as well as the Institute of Information Security Professionals’ (IISP) Information Security Skills framework. It reflects current issues and industry requirements and will help you improve your technical understanding of cyber security, IT services and risk management, and how this relates to the wider business and customer-facing needs.
You'll develop specialist skills in cyber security, risk and information management, underpinned with software and networked systems. You will also learn to use a wide range of cyber security related tools and techniques, alongside technical skills in computer programming, software engineering, cloud and database development. We’ll also help you to build a portfolio of work and seek opportunities to demonstrate your expertise by co-presenting at industry conferences and undertake internships or work experience.
Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules in both your first and second year from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers.
**What facilities can I use?**
We’ve invested in the best facilities for your next step into a computing career. The primary delivery of all modules within the course will take place within our specialist computing labs or in our cyber resilience facility. This will also include use of our networking lab for those modules involving any aspect of network or cloud-based development and/or security.
**What will I study?**
You will study software design and development, programming languages, technologies and applications which may include Python, Java, HTML, PHP, UML, database technologies, machine learning, algorithms and data structures, web and mobile computing, and Agile software development. Specialist modules allow you to further explore the areas of artificial intelligence, media programming, real-time systems, computer science, cloud computing and security.
You'll begin with the fundamentals in areas such as risk and information management, security auditing and network security before going on to apply what you have learned to various individual and team assignments. We'll help you to develop your ability to think strategically about real-world problems, whilst enhancing your transferable skillset to include analysis, design, research and leadership. In your final year, you'll work on a major project or extended written piece of work.
Modules
**Foundation Year**
**Core**
Preparing for Success: Knowledge and Creativity
Preparing for Success: Self-development and Responsibility
Inquiry Based Learning
Digital Media
Computing Essentials
**Year one**
**Core**
Computer Architectures
Programming Concepts
Networks
Cyber Systems and Threats
Computing Computational Fundamentals
**Opportunity**
2 x 10 credit year one Opportunity modules
**Year two**
**Core**
Information Security
Malware and Cyber Security Management
Research Methods
**Optional**
Digital Forensics Investigation and Penetration Testing
Data Essentials
Network Systems
**Year three**
**Core**
Secure Business Management
Extended Independent Work
**Optional**
Security Auditing and Response
Network Security
Cloud Computing
Software Testing and QA
Digital Innovation
Assessment methods
You will be taught by a team of expert academics and specialist professionals. Together, they use their collective experience of academia, industry and commerce to give you the theoretical knowledge and practical skills you’ll need for your career.
The high level of industry experience on our teaching team means we can give you a real flavour of what it’s like to work in a professional environment. We encourage problem-based learning via case studies and classroom exercises throughout the modules. You’ll also benefit from small class sizes that give you a chance to develop close working relationships with other students and tutors.
Course assignments reflect real-life problems because we believe that’s the best way to learn – and it’s more fun! You’ll be taught through lectures, tutorials, practical sessions and seminars.
A variety of assessment methods will be used as appropriate to the module, including assignments carried out in the student’s own time, in-class assignment, workshops and presentations.
The wider Computing Department and our Careers service also offer development opportunities that may involve placements, internships or employment in local companies.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
Extra funding
Buckinghamshire New University offers a range of bursaries and scholarships. For more information, please visit https://www.bucks.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/financial-support-bursaries-and-scholarships
The Uni
Buckinghamshire New University
School of Creative And Digital Industries
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.
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
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
£22k
£21k
£26k
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.
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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.
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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
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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?
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