NCI Course Details

About this Course

The course is technical and practical in nature, uniquely embedded in industry, and develops in-depth expertise of core technical topics within the area of cybersecurity such as information security, secure programming, network security, penetration testing, malware analysis, IT law and ethics, and technologies and tools that support application and service vulnerability detection, incident detection, data and log retrieval and analysis. The course also provides a sharper focus into forensics and cloud security through the two specialisations that are offered to the learners.

A unique feature of this course is the strong collaboration of the college with the industry in the development and delivery of the MSc in Cybersecurity course. The Domain Context module creates a space into which companies may provide in-house training, professional certification preparation or deliver knowledge on the latest technologies currently used by specific cybersecurity companies. The Internship module also connects students with the industry and supports students’ employment in the cyber security domain.

Who is the course for?

This course is ideal for ICT professionals or graduates with an honours degree in computing/computer science or in a cognate area (STEM) that wish to develop a career as a cybersecurity professional; to take a leading technical or managerial role; to progress faster in their employment or to apply the knowledge in their current role. 

Candidates who do not hold a computing degree and are currently working in the IT sector may be considered based on relevant academic qualifications or extensive work experience. 

As a graduate of this course you will be able to:

• Conduct independent research and analysis in the cybersecurity domain including secure application design, development and testing within a given context e.g. web, cloud computing, and forensic investigation
• Demonstrate practical skills and expert knowledge of technologies and tools that support cryptanalysis, application and service vulnerability detection and patching, security incidents detection and log file analysis
• Critically evaluate the design and implementation and evaluation of a research idea
• Analyse and evaluate the legal, ethical and economic ramifications of developing secure applications and services
• Communicate effectively to a range of audiences in both written and verbal media and undertake self-learning in order to acquire new knowledge

Career Prospects

Several reports highlight the skills shortage in cybersecurity. The Bureau of Labour Statistics projects 36.5 percent employment growth for information and cybersecurity experts and analysts by 2022. This field has the fastest growth rate when compared with the rest of the technology jobs.

The US News and World Report published in 2015 has highlighted that information security is considered one of the best jobs for the next seven years. Ireland has a strong presence of companies in cybersecurity. The top 5 worldwide companies in this field are located in Ireland.

Considering the high demand of various type of jobs in the cybersecurity domain that currently exist in the market, graduates from this course may work in the following roles: information security analyst, secure application developer, cybersecurity tester, risk advisory on information security and forensics, cloud security analyst, etc.

According to a recent Higher Education Outcomes Report released by the CSO, ICT graduates receive the highest weekly earnings five years after graduating compared to other sectors based on the analysis of the destinations of students who graduated between 2010 and 2016.

Award and Progression

The Master of Science in Cybersecurity is awarded by QQI at level 9 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). Students who successfully complete this course may progress to a major award at level 10 on the NFQ. Students may also elect to exit early with a Postgraduate Diploma in Science in Cybersecurity at level 9.

Course Content

The course offers two specialisations: Forensics and Cloud Security. Learners must select one specialisation.

Core Modules:

• Security Fundamentals
• Secure Programming for Web
• Network Security and Penetration Testing
• IT Law and Ethics
• Research in Computing
• Cryptography
• Secure Programming for Application Development
• Research Methods
• Internship

Forensics Specialisation:

• Incident Response and Analytics
• Forensics and eDiscovery
• Elective: Malware Analysis
• Elective: Domain Context*

Cloud Security Specialisation:

• Cloud Computing
• Elective: Malware Analysis
• Elective: Domain Context*

*Note: The Domain Context module is an elective module that may have a number of instances within the same semester it runs. For example, a different module instance for each specialisation.

The module will be delivered by industry experts. All modules count towards the final award classification.

For more information on the modules taught on this course view our module descriptors.

Entry Requirements

An honours (level 8) primary degree in computing or a cognate area with a 2.2 award or higher. Cognate area means a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) degree that also taught programming/application development related modules. Candidates are expected to have programming ability. An assessment and/or interview may be conducted to ascertain suitability if necessary for candidates who do not meet the normal academic requirements.

The college operates a Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) scheme meaning applicants who do not meet the normal academic requirements may be considered based on relevant work and other experience. This may be assessed using a portfolio of learning, demonstration of work produced, and an interview. The programming ability of the applicant will also be assessed.

Laptop Requirements

This programme has a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy. Specifically, students are expected to successfully participate in lectures, laboratories and projects using a portable computer (laptop/notebook) with a substantial hardware configuration. The minimal suitable configuration is 8GB of RAM (16GB are recommended); a modern 64-bit x86 multi-core processor (Intel i5 or superior); 250+ GB of available space in hard disk; WiFi card; and a recent version of Ubuntu, macOS, or Windows.

It is the responsibility of each student to ensure their computer is functioning correctly and that they have full administrator rights. NCI IT cannot provide support for these personal devices.

Indicative Schedule

Students need to be available 09.00-18.00 Mon – Fri (class days and times vary).

Please note that exams can be scheduled during the morning, afternoon or evening Monday to Saturday. 

Duration

This course runs over 1 academic year; 2 semesters with a final internship. 

Course Fee

The cost of this course is €6,500.

(Fees revised annually)

You can spread the cost of this course with a direct debit plan.

International Students' Fees

The fee for this course for international students is €15,000.

Find out more about studying at NCI as an international student.