Cybersecurity
This programme is designed to prepare IT professionals for a managerial or technical career in cybersecurity.
| Award Name | Degree - Masters (Level 9 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | National University of Ireland |
| NFQ Level | Level 9 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Masters (Level 9 NFQ) | Major | National University of Ireland | Level 9 NFQ |
Duration
2 years part-time.
MODE OF DELIVERY: Face-to-Face
Entry Requirements
Minimum of a 2.1 honours bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (or a cognate discipline) or
2:2 honours bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (or a cognate discipline) and equivalent (> 5 years) industrial experience in software development or software/system security.
Each applicant will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Students are also required to fulfil UCD’s English Language Requirements.
This holistic and well-rounded programme prepares students for a career in cybersecurity. It will be of great interest to executives and professional / technical staff who:
need to acquire knowledge and skills in cybersecurity;
want to gain a promotion;
want to open up new career opportunities for themselves in cyber security related roles;
are interested in doing some research in this field, perhaps in relation to a current work problem;
want to gain a qualification to add to their standing and credibility within their professional life.
Careers / Further progression
Careers & Employability
The course will prepare professionals for a rewarding career in cybersecurity; for example, to take role of a security manager, security engineer, security analyst, or IT security specialist. Career development possibilities are excellent. Organisations of all sizes in all sectors, including both Irish and foreign owned companies, are looking for people with these skills. Many global companies have a base in Ireland, including security software and cyber security companies with a security operations centre (SOC). There is a growing cyber security market globally as cyber security is recognized as critical for national security and the smooth functioning of society. This holistic and well-rounded course will be of interest to executives and professional/technical staff who:
• need to acquire knowledge and skills to equip themselves better for their current role
• want to gain a promotion
• want to open up new career opportunities for themselves in cyber security related roles
• are interested in doing some research in this field, perhaps in relation to a current work problem
• want to gain a qualification to add to their standing and credibility within their professional life
Further information
NEXT INTAKE: 2024/2025 September.
MSc in Cybersecurity
(90 credits, part-time over 2 years)
Ireland/EU fees - € 7,030 per year (total €14,060)
Non-EU fee - €10,610 per year (total €21,220)
How to apply?
The following entry routes are available:
MSc Cybersecurity PT (T380)
Duration 2 Years
Attend Part Time
Deadline Rolling*
* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised
This programme is designed to prepare IT professionals for a managerial or technical career in cybersecurity. It will be of value to people working in project/product/systems management, or as software developers or software engineers, as well as those in incident response, tech support or networking, who are looking to move into cybersecurity.
It will help companies, government and state institutions, defence forces and others to upskill their staff to fill new roles in cyber security so that they can protect their organisations, their customers and the public.
It is designed to facilitate professional learners through flexible blended study options. Lectures are pre-recorded and made available on the VLE Platform (Brightspace). Lectures are complemented by occasional full-day workshops on campus (as indicated in the timetable of each module). The combination of mainly distance but with some on-campus days allows flexible learning but with face-to-face interactions. Some module coordinators may deliver live online lectures (e.g., via Zoom) periodically (e.g., bi-weekly).
In developing the programme we have collaborated with industry and law enforcement practitioners – in particular the Leadership in Security and the Incident Response modules – to ensure that these modules meet the needs of professional learners.
The programme offers the option of undertaking a significant piece of research.
The curriculum is aligned with the ACM/IEEE/AIS SIGSEC/IFIP Cybersecurity Curricular Guidelines so that it will prepare students to take a variety of cyber security roles, including some modules for professionals seeking a managerial role in security.
Flexible study options for professional learners
The programme is designed to facilitate professional learners through flexible blended study. Lectures will be delivered online and will be complemented by face-to-face, intensive full-day tutorials that will typically be delivered three times per semester. The combination of mainly distance but with some on-campus days allows flexible learning but with face-to-face interactions.
Teaching activities will be supported by using security use cases, open-source web applications (e.g., WebGoat), cyber ranges (Kypo Cyber Range https://crp.kypo.muni.cz/) and tools (e.g., Metasploit). Where applicable, the modules of the programme will adopt problem based learning.
The online portion of study consists of an engaging mixture of videos, assignments, quizzes and tutorials. In addition to making the study materials available, lecturers will answer student queries through the course discussion boards, or through a virtual classroom environment. Tutors provide regular additional support through the online portal. The full-day workshops/practicals will cover exercises and group activities for all the modules taught in that specific trimester.
The workshops/practical sessions are intensive mandatory study days on campus. These sessions currently fall on a Friday and consist of 3 days per semester. (Please refer to your timetable for details).
Academic rigour and a focus on the needs of practitioners
When developing the programme we met with industry practitioners to understand which cybersecurity skills are most needed. We have recruited law enforcement and industry practitioners as Adjunct Faculty. To link the academic curriculum to professional practice, we are working with industry to formulate 30-credit Professional Cybersecurity Projects that students can tackle at the end of the programme. These projects will be co-supervised by a practitioner from industry and a member of the academic staff at the UCD School of Computer Science. Projects will be classified depending on application areas (e.g., management, secure software development, IT security operations, research, enterprise architecture). Depending on the student’s chosen career path, they can identify a project in their area of interest. Instead of the Professional Project, students can take additional taught modules and a Case Study. We also offer the option of an academic research project under the supervision of a UCD academic.
Stage 1 - Option
Leadership in SecurityCOMP47800
Malware AnalysisCOMP47810
Cybersec. Professional ProjectCOMP47820
Cybersecurity Research ProjectCOMP47830
Cybersecurity Case StudyCOMP47840
Trends in CybersecurityCOMP47850
Ethical HackingCOMP47860
Incident ResponseCOMP47870
Network SecurityCOMP47880
Applied CryptographyCOMP47890
Cyber Risk Assessment and StandardsCOMP47900
Secure Software EngineeringCOMP47910
Information SecurityCOMP47920
Cybersecurity Law and RegulationLAW42160
The programme will use exams, group projects as summative assessment strategies. It will also use a variety of formative assessment strategies, such as journal writing to promote reflection, debates, presentations, and peer reviews. Students must attend UCD for one or two days at the end of each trimester to take exams in the modules taken that trimester. Students will be informed of the specified exam dates at the start of each trimester. The examination periods can be found in the University calendar.
When undertaken over 2 years, the MSc programme will require on average around 15 hours of study per week in addition to the workshops, tutorials and exams.
Learning outcomes on successful completion of the programme will depend on the modules taken but will include some or all of the following.
Knowledge and understanding
Demonstrate deep knowledge of information security principles and challenges in networks and software systems, protection mechanisms, approaches to assess and mitigate risks, security standards, data protection and cybersecurity regulations
Demonstrate deep knowledge of network security, secure software systems development, and cryptography
Understand strengths and limitations of important public key and symmetric/asymmetric cryptographic protocols
Demonstrate advanced knowledge of security trends and technologies
Applying knowledge and understanding
Perform risk assessment, management and mitigations of secure infrastructures and operations
Track strategic threats and maintain situation awareness
Identify cybersecurity laws that apply to complex organisations and apply protection measures to comply with these laws
Apply network security and secure software development concepts to the design, configuration and implementation of networked, software and distributed systems technologies
Perform vulnerability assessment and penetration testing
Develop patches to fix vulnerabilities in software projects
Apply cryptographic techniques to secure software, systems and computer networks
Apply incident response principles and methodologies to secure infrastructures and operations
Apply advanced security knowledge to address industry and research problems
Making judgements
Evaluate trade-offs involving security, regulations, business, economic and management principles
Apply appropriate (quantitative/qualitative) risk assessment techniques to measure security risks
Appraise intrusion detection system and security of modern internet protocols (e.g., IPv6)
Identify effective penetration testing strategies
Apply appropriate incident response principles and methodologies to secure infrastructures and operations
Apply appropriate cryptographic protocols to secure networks, software and systems
Assess strengths and limitations of modern security trends and technologies
Communications and working skills
Communicate security risks and mitigation strategies to executives
Work and engage in discussions in security teams, share work fairly to meet the obligations set by the group
Explain advantages and disadvantages of cryptographic protocols
Communicate security research challenges and methodologies adopted to tackle the problem and the results obtained
Learning skills
Attract and assess security talent
Lead security teams and influence organisational culture
Be curious about latest security vulnerabilities and technologies
Actively promote security practices within the organisation
Identify novel security research directions
Jacquie Jago-Stafford
01 7162485