Everything you need to know...
International/EU: £14,415 per year (£1,200 for placement year)

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Course summary
- Learn the skills to provide in-depth cyber defences that are highly sought after by industry
- Develop knowledge of network and application cyber security
- Understand the fundamental principles behind the tools and techniques used to secure data
- Create complex technical solutions to real-world security problems
You will develop a deep understanding of practical cyber security, including key concepts of networks, applications and systems. You will become a cyber security practitioner who understands and can build upon the fundamental principles to provide complex cyber defences to solve real-world problems.
Student View
Watch student Ryan Belton talk about what it’s like to study on this course.
How you learn
All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.
This course starts by helping you to develop strong practical skills in cyber security though lectures and hands-on tutorial sessions. During these sessions, you will build the knowledge, experience, understanding and critical thinking needed to solve cyber security problems.
Those fundamental skills are further developed by introducing you to real-world projects. You will collaborate in small teams to produce deliverables introduced and inspired by industry. This helps you prepare for the world of work in a supportive learning environment.
During your final year, you will create a significant cyber security deliverable guided by a dedicated project supervisor. As part of this individual project, you will undertake research and develop new skills while creating a solution to a complex cyber security problem.
The course encourages you to take an active approach to learning and self-development to develop highly sought-after cyber security skills through problem-solving activities, practical implementation and teamwork.
You learn through
- lectures
- hands-on lab sessions and tutorials
- regular feedback
- teamwork and group-based learning
- applied learning discussions
- self-study
Applied learning
Work placements
You will have the opportunity to arrange a year-long work placement between your second and third years. This gives you real-world experience to prepare you for your future career by immersing yourself in the industry you have been learning about.
Students from this course have been on placement with companies such as IBM, various police forces, Microsoft, NHS, the civil service and BAE Systems. Students have the opportunity to practice cyber security skills while on placement as well as benefiting from the network of practitioners that they work alongside.
Live projects
During each year of your study, you will be applying your learning using industry-based and industry-inspired projects. These projects will challenge you to solve real-world cyber security problems while developing team and project management skills.
We work in partnership with the North East Business Resilience Centre (NEBRC), a non-profit organisation aiming at supporting and helping to protect regional businesses from cybercrime. NEBRC employs our students to deliver specialist services during their studies. The NEBRC was established in 2019, funded by a variety of private and public partners including the Police, to provide specialist services to a range of businesses and members across England.
Networking opportunities
We are a member of the Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec) Academic Partner Programme which accredits our course to industry standard. The CIISec is the only information and cyber security institution to have been granted Royal Charter status. This partnership supports our students to develop contacts within the cyber security community. It also provides access to a world-class speaker track and the opportunity to network with prospective employers.
Future careers
This course prepares you for the following careers
- chief information security officer
- incident response analyst
- information security analyst
- penetration tester
- security architect
- IT security engineer
- security systems administrator
- IT security consultant
Previous graduates of this course have gone on to work for companies such as
- Cisco
- Citrix
- 3Squared
- F-Secure
- NextGen Security
- Servelec Group
- Hewlett-Packard
- IBM
- Sec-1
- Info-Assure
- Sky
- G-Research
- Exponential-e
Accreditation
This course is accredited by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered IT Professional and partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer.
Course news
The Lovelace Colloquium, named after the first computer programmer Ada Lovelace, celebrates women in IT and offers an excellent programme of panels, lectures and competitions for female students. Sheffield Hallam hosted the event in 2016.
Where will I study?
You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.
City Campus
City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.
City Campus map | Campus facilities | Keeping safe on Campus

Adsetts library
Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreEquipment and facilities
Using our well-equipped security, forensics and network labs furnished with switches, routers, security appliances, virtualised desktops and servers, configurable wireless access points and direct ADSL internet links, you will work with
- the major cyber security technologies, such as SIEMs, intrusion detection systems, web application defences, vulnerability discovery and penetration testing applications
- mobile, web and desktop platforms
- in-house cyber-attack ranges and industry-standard targets such as Hack The Box
Learn more about your department
Computing facilities tour
Take a look around the facilities and equipment in the Department of Computing at Sheffield Hallam University.
Entry requirements
All students
104 UCAS points, including 56 points from two A levels or equivalent, or an alternative qualification such as an Access course.
If you don't meet these criteria you may be qualified for our Extended Degree Programme in Computing.
If English is not your first language you need an IELTS score of 6.0 or above, with a minimum score of 5.5 in each skill.
Please note the University will only admit students who are aged 18 or over at the point of enrolment.
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page. You can also watch a video guide on how to apply.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Modules
Module and assessment information for future years is displayed as currently validated and may be liable to change. When selecting electives, your choices will be subject to the core requirements of the course. As a result, selections may be limited to a choice between one of two or more specified electives in some instances.
You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information.
Year 1
Module | Credits | Assessment |
---|---|---|
Module: Computer Systems And Architecture | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Introduction To Computer And Information Security | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework Exam |
Module: Mathematics And Cryptography | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework Exam |
Module: Networking Fundamentals | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework Exam |
Module: Professionalism And Employability Skills | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Programming Fundamentals | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Year 2
Module | Credits | Assessment |
---|---|---|
Module: Database Administration And Security | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework Exam |
Module: Ethical Hacking | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Network Intrusion Detection | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Network Services And Administration | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Project Based Learning | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Secure Networking Technologies | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework Practical |
Year 3
Module | Credits |
---|---|
Module: Placement Year | Credits: - |
Final year
Module | Credits | Assessment |
---|---|---|
Module: Advanced Penetration Testing | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Enterprise Applications Management | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Information Security Management | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Project (Network, Cyber And Forensics) | Credits: 40 |
Assessment:
Coursework Practical |
Module | Credits | Assessment |
---|---|---|
Module: Data Storage | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework Exam |
Module: Mobile Security | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Module: Network Security | Credits: 20 |
Assessment:
Coursework |
Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fee for UK students starting full-time undergraduate study in 2022/23 is £9,250 per year. During your placement year you will pay a reduced fee of £1,200.
† If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2022/23 is £14,415 per year. During your placement year you will pay a reduced fee of £1,200.

Financial support for home/EU students
How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.
Additional course costs
This link allows you to view estimated costs associated with the main activities on specific courses. These are estimates and, as such, are only an indication of additional course costs. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
Additional costs for Computing courses (PDF, 246.1KB)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.