Get prepared for a career in an area that needs skilled graduates to prevent security threats. Cybersecurity experts need to think like the hacker in order to effectively protect against cyber attacks, and this is what Aston will teach you.

On this new course, you’ll work in a specialist computer lab, testing systems by attempting to hack in. This is a critical part of your learning to identify and protect against security threats.

What you’ll learn

You will learn how to help organisations to keep their businesses and customers safe with this practical course that will develop your professional and technical skills.

The practical orientation of our programme, and industry input, will enable you to gain the full range of professional skills you need to start a career in cybersecurity.

Throughout the course, you will develop expertise in cybersecurity and the key applications of computing science with a particular emphasis on applications in industry and commerce.

You’ll be given a grounding in computer science early in your course before focusing on a range of topics including security management, designing secure systems and human factors in security.

If you choose our four year programme, you’ll spend your third year in a paid professional placement of direct relevance to your studies. This placement will give you invaluable practical experience in a real work environment and further enhance your career prospects. Our staff will help you find a suitable placement and support you during your year.

Our current and recent placement employers include companies in the UK and abroad such as: IBM, 3M, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Intel, BT, Corus and TNT.

In your final year, you’ll undertake a project to enable you to further explore a particular subject. Your project could be based on a topic from an extensive list or you can suggest your own, perhaps based on your professional placement.

The government has identified a shortage in qualified graduates in the area of cybersecurity, calling it a 'national vulnerability that must be resolved' in its National Cybersecurity Strategy. Our graduates will be in high demand and will find stimulating and rewarding positions with high-profile organisations, either in cybersecurity roles or across a range of computer science careers.