Cyber Security with Foundation Year

Foundation Year - helping you to achieve more

Including a foundation year as part of your four-year study programme will give you a head start in your academic and professional life. The foundation year offers the chance to strengthen your skills, knowledge and confidence – with extensive support from our expert staff – before you advance to stage one of your honours degree. It could also be beneficial if you are planning a career change and want to get to grips with aspects of subjects which are new to you.

Our degrees with a foundation year are continuous, meaning that you won’t need to apply again once you have successfully completed the first year.

High-level technical skills

Security is a vital requirement of computer-based systems. As the number of security-related incidents continues to grow, so does the demand for expertise in cyber security. As companies increasingly look to defend themselves against cyber attacks, the number of job openings is growing rapidly. If you have an interest in latest technologies, a flair for problem-solving and a capacity for quick thinking, a fulfilling career in cyber security is for you.  

Our BSc (Hons) Cyber Security prepares you to become a successful security specialist. You will study security policies, legal and regulatory requirements, risk and vulnerability assessment, security architecture and development, information assurance methodologies, ethical hacking and incident management. 

We will equip you with the know-how to critically analyse and evaluate responses to security-related incidents. You will also develop the technical skills needed to specify, build and develop the physical infrastructure and software to ensure solutions are robust and secure.  

Benefit from flexibility 

You’ll gain fundamental knowledge in the first year of studying our BSc (Hons) Cyber Security degree alongside students on our other Computing degrees. You’ll then have the option to transfer to one of the following courses if you wish: 

• BSc (Hons) Computer Science 
• BSc (Hons) Computer Games Programming 
• BSc (Hons) Information Technology 
• BSc (Hons) Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (subject to Mathematics prerequisites) 

You’ll then go on to study more specialist modules in year two with further options to tailor your studies to an area of your interest in your final year. 

Academic partnership

We are a member of the Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec) Academic Partner Programme. Our course has been recognised as industry standard and provides a link between our University with the information security industry. As a student, it will enable you to create contacts and develop your network within the cyber security community. You’ll also be able to take up individual CIISec membership. 

Boost your employability

Employability skills are integrated into many of the modules taught on the BSc (Hons) Cyber Security.  You can even choose to spend a year on a relevant placement working alongside industry professionals – an experience that will give you the edge in the graduate job market. 

In addition to assisting with internships and placements, we offer wide-ranging support to help you enhance your future prospects during your studies and to secure graduate roles when you have completed your course. This includes employability workshops and one-to-one support in areas such as CV writing and interview preparation. 

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

You won’t have any written exams. Instead you’ll be assessed either through coursework only, or by a combination of: 

• Coursework 
• Portfolios 
• Assignments 
• Case studies 
• Oral and graphic presentations 
• Collaborative and interdisciplinary teamwork projects 
• Computer-based testing 

Personal academic tutoring

Your personal academic tutor will work with you to help you get the most out of your time at university. Having someone to talk to about your academic progress, your university experience and your professional aspirations is hugely valuable. We want you to feel challenged in your studies, stretched but confident to achieve your academic and professional goals. 

There is significant demand for skills in developing, maintaining and securing computer systems, as well as on the engineering side of security protocol development and research. 

This degree delivers comprehensive training and equips you with the personal attributes you need for a variety of careers within the cyber security field. 

• Cloud security specialist 
• Security architect 
• Penetration tester 
• Computer forensics analyst 
• Application security engineer 

2025 entry

These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2025 entry.

Contextual offers may apply to students who meet certain criteria.

2025/26

Further information about our fees and support you may be entitled to.

Additional costs and optional extras

Additional information about your studies

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.

Course updates

The information provided on this page is correct at the time of publication but course content, costs and other individual course details do change from time to time and are updated as often as possible, so please do check these pages again when making your final decision to apply for a course. Any updated course details will also be confirmed to you at application, enrolment and in your offer letter.

If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.