In a world with more smart devices than people and an increasing reliance on connectivity across the Internet, cyber threats are a growing concern for organisations, governments and individuals. Acquiring skills in Cyber Security has, therefore, become an advantage for a range of professions and roles across different sectors and disciplines.
For those with prior knowledge of computer science, see our specialist MSc Cyber Security course.
The Computer Science (Cyber Security) conversion course will give you the opportunity to establish a foundation in cyber security from technical and multidisciplinary perspectives. This is a conversion course intended for graduates with little or no prior knowledge of computer science. For those with prior knowledge of computer science, see our specialist MSc Cyber Security course.
Cybercrime is a growing threat to society, democracy and organisations with increasing high profile cyber security cases in the news. This conversion course has been designed to meet the demands of organisations seeking to protect valuable data. This course will provide you with the key skills and knowledge in computer science and systems security to enhance your career prospects in identifying and solving complex security problems.
The University of Kent is recognised by the British Government as being an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research, meaning you will be taught by staff who are top researchers in this area.
This course includes an industrial placement of between eight and 50 weeks. This provides an opportunity to work in real-world, technical and business roles, enhancing your study experience and having a dramatic impact on your choices after graduation. Our dedicated placement team help you gain a suitable paid position and provide support throughout.
This degree has been partially accredited by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
A first, 2.1 or good 2.2 honours degree (or equivalent) in computing or a related subject with a strong background in programming.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
This course requires a Good level of English language, equivalent to B2 on CEFR.
Details on how to meet this requirement can be found on our English Language requirements webpage.
Examples:
IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component
PTE Academic 63 with a minimum of 59 in each sub-test
A degree from a UK university
A degree from a Majority English Speaking Country
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
We’ve created the most progressive approach to higher education, developing and modernising our curriculum. For 2025 our courses will be designed with you at their heart to deliver a top-class student experience and career outcomes.
The following modules are what students will typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations.
The course is designed to be tailored around your skill level and your interests.
You will take all compulsory modules and one of either 'Advanced Java for Programmers' or 'Object Oriented Programming' depending on your previous programming experience. You then choose one from a list of optional modules.
At the end of the course you complete your Project and Dissertation.
Java is one of the most popular programming languages today, with very high demand for people with advanced Java skills in the industry. By joining this module you will be able to expand your programming skills with more advanced Java techniques.
The content is designed for well-qualified computer science students entering the MSc programme regardless of their diverse academic background. You will be equipped with skills and knowledge needed to tackle complex programming challenges and build high-quality Java applications. You will learn essential topics including generics, and advanced features such as reflection, lambda expressions, and high-order programming. By the end of the course, you will be able to confidently build substantial Java applications, communicate technical solutions, and continue their development in the ever-evolving field of Java programming.
Object-oriented programming is one of the most fundamental programming paradigms in Computer Science. Object-oriented programming languages are widely used within the software development industry. Focusing predominantly on the Java programming language, you will start by learning the fundamentals of programming, such as variables, statements and methods; and develop your knowledge and skills with a deep understanding of object orientation in Java, including advanced concepts such as objects and classes, inheritance and encapsulation. You fill follow a course that combines lectures with practical work, aiming to combine advanced theoretical knowledge of object-oriented programming with practical skills. Your skills and knowledge will be developed and applied over a series of practical classes and practical coursework.
The advance of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), such as the internet, mobile computing, IoT (Internet of Things) and AI, have blurred the boundary between the physical world and cyber space. A massive amount of digital data is now being generated, collected, stored, processed, transmitted and shared constantly across many different systems, people and organisations. In such a “big data” world, how can we protect our privacy and ensure others respect our privacy? What privacy-enhancing tools and techniques can be used and how well do they work? In addition to privacy concerns, cybercrime and other forms of online harms have increasingly become more prevalent; they are highlighted by many as major threats to all citizens and the society at large. What legal efforts have been made to protect us and what more can be done? What legal considerations do cyber security experts need to know about and how can they utilise and integrate these legal aspects in their work? This module will guide you through all such questions to grasp the latest development on privacy and cyber law and to be able to apply such knowledge in practical scenarios where privacy and legal considerations are important factors.
The global cost of cybercrime is more than a trillion pounds, and every year it increases. It impacts everyone from individuals to families, businesses, and governments. But why does cybercrime persist even after years of advances in cyber security, investment and collaborative efforts by law enforcement, and initiatives to increase people’s awareness of online risks? The answer lies in the pervasive nature of cybercrime itself and in those who perpetrate cybercrimes and cyberattacks – this module is all about these two topics. You’ll learn about the nuances of cybercrime, and what makes it such a challenging global, yet personal, threat. Each week we’ll delve into a new aspect of cybercrime. From the attacks themselves to how they work, why they’re successful and what security professionals and law enforcement agencies have attempted to address them. We’ll also look closely at the perpetrators of these crimes – who they are, what makes them tick, and how do they work together to construct such a vast cybercriminal ecosystem.
Ever wonder what really happens when you run a computer program? Welcome to the world of computer hardware, and how software actually controls it. You will receive a comprehensive overview from the lowest level of abstractions in hardware to the highest level of abstractions of modern programming languages. You will explore the design of instruction set architectures, memory hierarchy, and data paths. Computer architecture focuses on the high-level design principles and trade-offs that govern the organization of these components, such as pipelining, caching, and parallelism. Examples of topics that may be covered include logic circuits, machine language, processors, memory management, processes, concurrency, file systems, and operating systems. Throughout, special attention is paid to abstraction, performance, and other quality requirements. Understanding computer systems is essential for computer scientists, IT professionals, architects, and programmers to design, build, and optimise efficient and reliable computing systems for various applications and domains.
Did you know that currently a majority of cyber security incidents involve one or more human elements (be it social engineering attacks, human errors, or misuse)? Today, it is clearer than ever that creating secure systems requires an appreciation of the underlying technology, but it also requires us to develop a solid grasp of people’s psychology – the ‘why’ people do, the ‘what’ they do, and the ‘how’ we can help them to adopt better security behaviours and practices. You’ll learn about human factors, usable security, security awareness, education and culture, all within the context of today’s organisations and social environments. With the knowledge gained, you’ll be able to think of technology systems more critically and in a socio-technical way which appreciates the various nuances of cyber security.
This module will guide you through the different stages of working on an exciting computer science project. World-leading experts in the field will support you along the way by providing supervision and monitoring of your weekly activities. With computer systems becoming more crucial in everyday life, you’ll have the opportunity to conceptualise, design, develop, and test your own large system capable of solving the identified challenges. Alternatively, you will explore and critically evaluate state of the art literature, identify relevant research methodologies to advance topics in computer science, carry out independent investigations, and make an impact in the research community. You’ll be empowered to explore different skills learned throughout your degree programme and apply them in the specific domain identified for your master’s project. Finally, you will reflect on your project journey throughout the writing of a well-organised dissertation demonstrating your individual reflection and achieved learning.
The increasing reliance on the internet, electronic devices, mobile apps and online resources greatly improve the quality of our daily lives but also escalate the volume of our digital fingerprints. This means that, nowadays, it is impossible to plan or commit an unlawful activity without leaving digital traces scattered across local or remote storage and cyber spaces. Do you want to learn digital forensic skills that contribute to the investigation of suspected wrongdoing?
This module focuses on computer forensics and multimedia forensics, and introduces concepts and best practices relevant to uncover digital evidence on an investigative setting. It introduces tools and techniques for the collection, interpretation and analysis of digital evidence supporting informed reporting of findings. You will gain hands-on experience with investigative tasks and will have the opportunity to apply different tools and techniques to answer investigative questions related, for example, to ‘what’ happened, where, when, why, who and how.
Upon completion of the module, you will have a theoretical and practical appreciation of what ‘digital forensics’ entail.
Software is everywhere, and its development should be tailored according to its requirements. This module will cover principles of software engineering following agile principles for guiding its development. You will investigate software modelling as means to understand and manage software complexity. As an integral part of software development, you will learn principles of planning, cost and time estimation, quality, and risk evaluation. You will also learn why software should be developed considering social, professional, and ethical principles, including security and privacy principles. You will work with your peers to develop or evolve a software system. You will apply the principles of agile methodology in your project, manage your team effectively, organise your code using version control, and resolve problems via issue tracking. You will identify risks for software projects and follow the principles for developing software with the highest professional standards.
Web-based information systems form the heart of e-commerce. In today's digital landscape, they are also increasingly the way businesses handle all their information needs. Building such systems requires an understanding of up-to-date tools and technologies such as web page creation, client-side programming, server-side programming and databases; it also calls for an understanding of how to design systems that genuinely meet user and business needs. This module will empower you with the essential skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the dynamic domain of e-business systems and in today's digital economy. You will learn the foundations for client-side and server-side programming as well as database design and implementation, critical knowledge on e-business systems and their properties. As technology continues to evolve, we will keep you ahead of the curve by exploring novel and emerging technologies in the e-commerce landscape.
In Stage 2 you take your Year in Industry. The chance to gain real industry experience as part of your MSc course gives you a real edge in the job market and boosts your
The Year in Industry Placement provides you with a structured opportunity to combine work experience or entrepreneurial activity with academic study. The Year in Industry allows you to develop and reflect on managerial and/or professional practice in real and often complex situations, and to integrate this with the study of the relevant subject(s) of your main degree programme.
Where relevant, students develop, reinforce and apply professional and/or technical expertise in an employment or entrepreneurial context. The Industry Placement requires you to document your experiences in relation to both your university studies as well as to a wide range of employability skills. To be able to undertake this module it is necessary for you to secure a placement. The placement should be appropriate to your degree and experience. The length of the placement should normally be at least 44 weeks. It must be completed between the end of Summer Term and the start of the late Summer Term the following year. The particular combination of your degree course and choice of modules together with the great variety of increasingly diverse Year in Industry situations make the 'curriculum' of the Year in Industry essentially unique.
The Year in Industry provides you with a structured opportunity to combine work experience or entrepreneurial activity with academic study. The Year in Industry Report runs in tandem with the Year in Industry experience and offers you the opportunity to reflect and document your accomplishments during your industrial practice.
The Year in Industry allows you to develop and reflect on managerial and/or professional practice in real and often complex situations, and to integrate this with the study of the relevant subject(s) of your main degree programme.
Where relevant, you will develop, reinforce and apply professional and/or technical expertise in an employment or entrepreneurial context.
The Industry Report requires you to reflect on and evidence your experiences in relation to both your university studies as well as to a wide range of employability skills.
To be able to undertake this module it is necessary for you to secure a placement.
The placement should be appropriate to your degree and experience. The length of the placement should normally be at least 44 weeks. It must be completed between the end of Summer Term and the start the late Summer Term the following year.
The particular combination of the your degree course and choice of modules together with the great variety of increasingly diverse Year in Industry situations make the “curriculum” of the Year in Industry essentially unique.
Assessment is through a mixture of written examinations and coursework, the relative weights of which vary according to the nature of the module. The final project is assessed by a dissertation.
For course aims and learning outcomes please see the course specification.
We have a large range of equipment providing both UNIX (TM) and PC-based systems and a cluster facility consisting of 30 Linux-based PCs for parallel computation. New resources include a multi-core enterprise server with 128 hardware threads and a virtual machine server that supports computer security experiments.
All students benefit from a well-stocked library, giving access to e-books and online journals as well as books, and a high bandwidth internet gateway. The School and its research groups hold a series of regular seminars presented by staff as well as by visiting speakers and our students are welcome to attend.
There is a makerspace which offers exciting new teaching and collaboration opportunities. Among other equipment, it contains milling machines, a 3D printer, laser cutter and extensive space for building and making digital artefacts.
Our taught postgraduate students enjoy a high level of access to academic staff and have their own dedicated laboratory and study room. Students whose course includes an industrial placement are supported by a dedicated team which helps them gain a suitable position and provides support throughout the placement.
Staff and research students publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: Journal of Artificial Evolution and Applications; International Journal of Computer and Telecommunications Networking; Journal of Visual Languages and Computing; Journal in Computer Virology.
Strong links with industry underpin all our work, notably with Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Agilent Technologies, Erlang Solutions, Hewlett Packard Laboratories, Ericsson and Nexor.
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
Our graduates have gone on to work in:
Recent graduates have gone on to develop successful careers at leading companies such as:
The University has a friendly Careers and Employability Service, which can give you advice on how to:
You have access to a dedicated Employability Coordinator who is a useful contact for all student employability queries.
You can gain practical work experience as part of your degree through our industrial placements scheme - we have a dedicated Placement Team who can give advice and guidance. All our placements are in paid roles.
In previous years, students have worked at a wide range of large and small organisations, including well-known names such as:
You can take your work placement abroad. Previous destinations include Hong Kong and the US.
An industrial placement gives you invaluable workplace experience, which greatly enhances your employment prospects and also helps put your academic learning into a real-world context.
The 2025/26 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Tuition fees may be increased in the second and subsequent years of your course. Detailed information on possible future increases in tuition fees is contained in the Tuition Fees Increase Policy. If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Tuition fees may be increased in the second and subsequent years of your course. Detailed information on possible future increases in tuition fees is contained in the Tuition Fees Increase Policy. If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
You'll need regular access to a desktop computer/laptop with an internet connection to use the University of Kent’s online resources and systems. We've listed some guidelines for the technology and software you'll need for your studies.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, as well as general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Next steps
Learn more about the application process or begin your application by clicking on a link below.
You will be able to choose your preferred year of entry once you have started your application. You can also save and return to your application at any time.
Supporting your success
Kent ranked top 40 in The Times Good University Guide 2025.
Fees and funding
Kent has risen 11 places in THE’s REF 2021 ranking, confirming us as a leading research university.
Accommodation
