Cyber Security (specialisation)

Entry requirements

A completed Bachelor's degree in Computing Science or related area

Entering the Master’s specialisation in Cyber Security requires a Bachelor’s degree in one of the subjects below. Your foreign Bachelor's degree must be equivalent to a Bachelor's degree obtained at a Dutch research university (BA or BSc). Please be aware that there are two types of higher education in the Netherlands: a university of applied sciences and a research university. Learn more about the differences.

Your eligibility will be determined based on courses relating to these skills in your BSc transcripts and level of mathematics. Work experiences, English certificate, etc. are all secondary in the selection.

• Computing Sciences
• Engineering
• or a related discipline, such as Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Telecommunication, Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics.

For more information, please check the detailed entry requirements on our website.

Proficiency in English

You need to have fluency in both written and spoken English. You can prove that with a language test (TOEFL iBT, IELTS Academic, or Cambridge) or with a Bachelor's degree from a research university in one of the following countries: Australia, Canada (excluding Quebec), New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Programme overview

Our society relies on ICT to an ever-larger degree, making cyber security a topic of growing importance. The Master’s specialisation in Cyber Security will teach you how to contribute in the design, deployment and analysis of new security systems.

The programme focuses on topics such as as cryptographic codes, operating systems and protocol verification. But you’ll also get a broad scope of cyber security to include mathematical, organisational, legal and ethical aspects, with particular attention for privacy issues.

What will you learn?

• Get a theoretical and technical understanding of current issues in cyber security
• Learn about the societal, legal and ethical implications of cyber security, with a particular attention to privacy issues
• Gain experience in designing, conducting and presenting your own research

Radboud's research in the field

Over the last decade, Radboud University has made a name for itself in this field both in and outside the country. The Digital Security Group revealed security flaws in the chip-card used for public transport smart cards like the London Oyster and the Dutch OV-chipkaart. Researchers of our group also found security vulnerabilities in commonly used car immobiliser systems.

Currently, we’re leading the development of the IRMA card, an ID card that will give users the freedom to only reveal those personal attributes that are needed for a certain purchase, and so better protect their personal data against misuse. Also, our experts are involved in the development of the Networking and Cryptography library (NaCl), a new easy-to-use, high-speed and high-security software library for network communication, encryption, decryption, digital signatures, etc.

Career prospects

Although this Master’s is an excellent stepping-stone for students with ambitions in academic research, most of our graduates work as consultants, managers or researchers for companies that specialise in cyber security or that heavily rely on ICT security.

Graduates from this programme can find jobs in a variety of areas:

• Companies that specialise in cyber security, such as security evaluation labs
• IT security divisions of more general consultancy firms
• Firms that produce security technologies
• Organisations that heavily rely on ICT security, both in the private and public sector. The most common being an organisation in the financial sector.
• Academic research (PhD)
• Industrial research

If you have any questions, email us here: study-information@ru.nl

Learn more via the Radboud University contact form.

Fees and funding

There are various scholarships available for studying at Radboud University. Some of the opportunities are described below. A full list, including detailed information, can be found on our website.

• Radboud Scholarship Programme
• Radboud Encouragement Scholarship
• NL Scholarship