Overview

This foundation year pathway prepares students without traditional entry qualifications to progress into full undergraduate study in cyber security. At the University of Derby, the programme builds confidence and core knowledge before moving into specialist security topics, reflecting the growing need for skilled professionals as digital threats continue to rise.

What You'll Learn

• Security policies and the legal and regulatory landscape surrounding information protection

• Risk and vulnerability assessment techniques

• Security architecture and system development

• Information assurance methods and frameworks

• Ethical hacking practices

• Incident management and response

• Practical use of industry tools such as Wireshark, Nmap, Kali Linux, Encase, Matlab and Microsoft Azure

• Assessment built entirely around coursework, portfolios, presentations and collaborative projects rather than written exams

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be equipped to critically assess and respond to security incidents, and to specify, build and maintain infrastructure and software that is robust against attack. Graduates will understand the technical, legal and organisational dimensions of protecting computer systems, and will have developed the analytical and problem-solving skills needed to pursue specialist roles such as security architect, penetration tester, computer forensics analyst or cloud security specialist.