Royal Holloway’s BSc in Computer Science (Information Security) has been awarded certification by GCHQ, making it the only bachelors degree to have this certification.

This means that Royal Holloway is now the only university to have a full spectrum of degrees in cyber security certified by GCHQ. In 2014 the MSc in Information Security received certification and the MSci followed shortly afterwards, receiving provisional certification in 2016.

GCHQ is the UK’s intelligence and security service that deals with cyber security, and GCHQ certification of degree programmes provides guidance to prospective students and employers on content and quality, so that they can better understand, and distinguish between, different qualifications. It is designed as part of the Government’s UK Cyber Security Strategy, which requires the UK to have ‘the cross-cutting knowledge, skills and capability it needs to underpin all our cyber security objectives’, in order to help make the UK one of the most secure places to do business in cyberspace and resilient to cyber-attack.  

“We are thrilled that Royal Holloway is the first university to have its BSc /MSci and masters programmes in Computer Science certified by GCHQ,” Professor Paul Hogg, Vice-Principal and Dean of Science commented.

“Our research and teaching expertise in cyber security already attracts high quality students from around the world, and studying on a GCHQ-certified degree programme provides an additional form of recognition which will help employers looking for a highly valued qualification distinguish between applicants.”

As part of the National Cyber Security Programme, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is providing bursary funding for adults looking to retrain and start a new career in cyber security. The DCMS has confirmed £500k funding to help adults who want to retrain for a job in cyber security by taking a GCHQ-accredited master’s degree. Royal Holloway is taking part in this scheme, inviting applications from skilled professionals who can see themselves at the forefront of the battle against cybercrime.

Royal Holloway hosts one of only two UK Cyber Security Centres for Doctoral Training (CDT). The Information Security Group (ISG) has also recently won the award for the Best Cyber-Security Education Programme at SC Awards Europe 2017. The award category includes all cyber security education programmes throughout the UK and Europe, and is based on the quality of instruction, programmes and how well these prepare students for the marketplace.

Learn more about the challenging degree programmes in Computer Sciences and Information Security offered at Royal Holloway.

There may be limited places for outstanding candidates available for September 2017 on some programmes.