Masters Degrees (Espionage)

MA International Relations is concerned with the historical, political, diplomatic, cultural and economic interaction between East and West, Asia and Europe, the ‘Orient’ and the ‘Occident’, bridged by countries in the Middle East, and seen through the prism of other nations and regions. Alongside this, postgraduate International Relations will explore the key ideas of international justice, human rights, war-crimes and terrorism, civil liberties and development of democracy in the contemporary global system. Studying International Relations at UCLan, you will also be able to tailor the course to your own areas of interests, with optional modules on other areas and world regions.
You will learn to work skilfully and confidently with ideas and theoretical concepts in International Relations, tackling the most urgent and interesting questions in modern World Politics. You will look behind the scenes of the rise of emerging powers, and you will have many opportunities to undertake in-depth study of states such as China, India and Russia, and of regions such as East Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

UCLan’s postgraduate International Relations course enjoys strong links with a range of professional bodies including:
University Association for Contemporary European Studies (London)
Political Studies Association (PSA)
Asia-Europe Foundation (Singapore)
European Institute for Asian Studies (Brussels)
International Institute for Asian Studies (The Hague)
Nordic Institute for Asian Studies (Copenhagen)
The Asia-Europe Institute at the University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

The MA in IR draws upon the academic strengthens and interests of the course team, all of whom are research active and experts in their respective fields. Generally speaking, Semester 1 provides the broad conceptual and theoretical underpinning of the programme. Students choose from a range of specialist modules in Semester 2, covering a range of geographical areas and specific themes such as Gender and International Relations, War, Conflict and Commemoration, and Espionage and Intelligence. Content, however, is likely to vary from year to year, reflecting an ever changing world and personal availability. A dissertation is completed in Semester 3.

Modules:

Concepts and Theories in IR (Core)
International Relations: 1945-2000 (Core)
Contemporary Issues in IR (Core)
Research Methods in IR (Core)
Espionage and Secret Intelligence (Option)
Dissertation in IR (Core)
International Relations in the Middle East (Option)
Religion and Global Dialogue (Option)
Gender and International Relations (Option)
War, Conflict and Commemoration (Option)

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The rapid expansion of the use of digital technology has been followed by a similar increase in computer-based crime. This increase in criminal activity has led to a demand for qualified computer forensic analysts who can investigate digital technology based crime and uncover evidence that helps build a case against suspects. Forensic computer analysts may be involved in a range of investigations, such as online fraud, digital espionage, counter-terrorism, possession of illegal imagery and information theft.

A typical investigation would involve identifying and securing computer equipment, followed by the application of forensic methods and specialist computer programmes in pursuit of evidence. Tasks include recovering data from digital media, analysis of records to establish the location of a device, uncovering data trails, careful documentation of the investigation, presenting findings and acting as an expert witness in court.

You will be taught by an internationally recognised team from the University’s Information Security Research Group, and external speakers contribute to delivering the latest expertise and developments.

The University of South Wales are the only university in Wales to gain the prestigious provisional certification from GCHQ, the UK Government’s Communications HQ, for its Masters course in Computer Forensics.

See the website http://courses.southwales.ac.uk/courses/264-msc-computer-forensics

What you will study

- Computer Forensics and Crime Investigation
- Forensics Techniques and Data Recovery
- Computer Law
- Professional Skills Development
- Advanced Research Methods
- Project Management
- Security Management
- Research Project: an investigation of your choice, related to the course
- MSc Project: the development and evaluation of a significant application or task of your choice, related to the course

Learning and teaching methods

The course is delivered in four major blocks to offer an intensive but focused learning pattern, with two start points every year – February and September. Full-time students will typically spend 12 hours in classes each week. If you choose to study part-time, this is reduced to around six hours each week. You will study through lectures, tutorials, practical
sessions, seminars and projects.

Work Experience and Employment Prospects

You will have had the opportunity to develop skills that strongly relate to the role of a forensic computer analyst or an information security analyst. These include problem solving, a systematic approach to work and an awareness of security standards and legislation.

Graduates will be well equipped for employment, including working for the police, security services, commercial sector, or organisations that specialise in computer security.

Assessment methods

You will need to spend a significant amount of time working independently, reading and preparing for assessments. While the style of coursework may vary, research-style papers or essays of around 4,000 words in length are typical. You will also work on a significant research project and a major project of your choice, where strong independent thinking, critical analysis and project management skills will be important.

Facilities

We have a full range of high-specification computer labs and an ongoing investment programme to ensure that our facilities stay at the forefront of computing developments.

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This programme will allow you to take a broad approach to African, Indian, American, British and European history from the early modern period to the 21st century.

A core module will allow you to sharpen your research skills, and you’ll choose from a wide range of optional modules spanning nations, continents, periods and themes to explore topics that interest you. You could study black internationalism alongside early modern Europe, the Spanish state, Stalinism, political violence in India or apartheid.

You’ll be taught by leading researchers as part of a large and diverse School of History and Leeds Humanities Research Institute, supported by active research groups and extensive library resources. Our research interests range from social history and identity to political history, nationalism and internationalism, meaning this flexible programme offers plenty of opportunities to gain important skills while focusing on issues that suit your interests.

You’ll study in a supportive environment with a wide range of resources. The world-class Brotherton Library has one of the best history collections in the UK, ranging from monographs and journals to conference papers, theses and over 100 digital databases of primary sources and other materials for fundamental research. The Brotherton also has its own special collections including the Leeds Russian Archive and the Feminist Archive North.

The Alf Mattinson Collection is full of printed works and papers related to the history of the Labour Party, and the Romany collection and Liddle Collection offer insights into Romany culture and the First World War respectively.

This programme is also available to study part-time over 24 months.

Course content

You’ll study one core module in your first semester, introducing you to different research methodologies in history and allowing you to develop your skills. You’ll also select from a wide range of optional modules throughout the year, allowing you to pursue topics that interest you such as the history of Yorkshire, the European Enlightenment or issues surrounding global security.

You’ll also have the opportunity to work collaboratively with partner organisations, such as the West Yorkshire Archive Service, by studying the ‘Making History: Archive Collaborations’ module.

This programme will equip you with in-depth subject knowledge, as well as high-level skills in research, interpretation and analysis. You’ll be able to demonstrate these when you complete your dissertation on a modern history topic of your choice, which you’ll submit by the end of the programme.

If you choose to study part-time, you’ll study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.

Course structure

Compulsory modules

• Research Methodology in History 30 credits
• Dissertation (History) 60 credits

Optional modules

• Making History: Archive Collaborations 30 credits
• Secrecy and Espionage in Early Modern Europe 30 credits
• Approaches to Contemporary European History 30 credits
• 'The continuation of war by other means? : Case Studies in Wartime Diplomacy 1931-1945 30 credits
• Coolies, Convicts and Concubines: Slavery and 'Unfree' labour in India and the Indian Ocean World 30 credits
• Medicine and Warfare in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries 30 credits
• Women, Gender and Sexuality: Archives and Approaches 30 credits
• International History and its Challenges: European Foreign Policies in the Age of Imperialism 30 credits
• Defending the Nation: Britain during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1793 to 1815 30 credits
• Stalinist Terror 30 credits
• India since 1947: Community, Caste and Political Violence 30 credits
• Patriotic Protest: Social Movements and Political Dissent in the United States of America 30 credits
• Sexuality and Disease in African History 30 credits
• The War on Terror 30 credits
• Guns and Global Security 30 credits
• Insurgency and Counterinsurgency 30 credits
• The Fragility of the Spanish State: Identity, Conflict and Resistance, 1808-1939 30 credits
• The British Settler Colonies in Africa - From Colonial Conquest to the Present Day 30 credits
• Race and Second Wave Feminism in the US 30 credits

For more information on typical modules, read Modern History MA Full Time in the course catalogue

For more information on typical modules, read Modern History MA Part Time in the course catalogue

Learning and teaching

We use a range of teaching and learning methods. The majority of your modules will be taught through weekly seminars, where you’ll discuss issues and themes in your chosen modules with a small group of students and your tutors. Independent study is also crucial to this degree, giving you the space to shape your own studies and develop your skills.

Assessment

We use different types of assessment to help you develop a wide range of skills, including presentations, research proposals, case studies and essays, depending on the subjects you choose.

Career opportunities

This programme will heighten your cultural and social awareness as well as allowing you to build your historical knowledge. You’ll also gain high-level research, analysis and communication skills that will prove valuable in a wide range of careers.

Graduates have found success in a wide range of careers in education, research and the private sector. Many others have continued with their studies at PhD level.

We offer different forms of support to help you reach your career goals. You’ll have the chance to attend our career groups, meeting students with similar plans, or you could become a paid academic mentor to an undergraduate completing their final-year dissertation. You could also apply for one of the internships we offer each year.

Careers support

We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.

The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.

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Designed for

The MSc in Cyber Security and Management is designed for those wishing to develop a career as a cyber security professional, or to take a leading technical or managerial role in an organisation critically dependent upon data and information communication technology.

It is suitable for those from a computer science or information technology education background. The programme is also able to cater for those with no formal studies in computer science but where significant interest in cyber security can instead be demonstrated.

The Course Provides:

1. Cyber Security in the UK has become a ‘tier 1’ priority alongside international terrorism and major national incidents. The serious threats emerging from the cyber-sphere are a recognised phenomenon worldwide and as such studies in cyber security are strategically important on a global scale.

2. Our goal for the MSc programme is to give focus to the strategic deployment and implementation of Cyber Security within an organization. We want to develop strategic thinkers who understand the Cyber threat to an organization and its resources and are able to build and support secure systems that support the strategic growth of a business.

3. The course covers all aspects of Cyber Security including network security, computer security and information security. You will learn the most important technical concepts of security—such as encryption, intrusion detection, penetration testing, access control, digital forensics and investigation, risk management, security governance and network security.

4. Alongside this, the course focuses on the business context so that students can progress their careers more rapidly through organisations and aim very particularly at management positions.

When you study the MSc Cyber Security and Management at Warwick, you will gain an unparalleded exposure to industry. All taught modules contain considerable input from industry experts who, through case studies and guest lectures, contribute to the design and delivery of material making for a vey rich learning environment.

An example of some of the companies involved in the CSM programme since it was launched in 2012 include HP, Amethyst Consulting, Deep Secure Ltd, Siskin Technology, SOCA (Serious Organised Crime Agency), CSC, VMware, OCSIA, Nottingham Police, Mozilla, Metropolitan Police, Kaspersky, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Telefonica, IBM, Blackstage Forensics, Derbyshire NHS Trust and Nettitude.

You will have additional opportunity to engage with industry through industry visits, conferences, and mentoring or advice from industry experts at key stages of your work.

Course Content

Students study nine taught modules as part of the programme of study.
Core Modules:
1. Security Architectures and Network Defence
2. Cryptosystems and Data Protection
3. Information Risk Management and Governance
4. Industrial Espionage and Counterfeiting
5. Digital Forensics

Elective Modules (3 from this list):
1. Cyber Intelligence and Operations
2. Cyber-Physical Systems
3. Enterprise Cyber Security
4. Globalisation and Outsourcing
5. Financial Analysis and Control Systems
6. Organisations, People and Performance
7. Leadership

A ninth module to be selected from the full list of WMG elective modules.

Learning Style

The taught component of the course is highly interactive and varied with a mixture of lectures, syndicate or group work, practical and lab based work, and technology enabled learning.
Class sizes are kept to a maximum of 30 students per class.
Module leaders are experts in their fields and are supported by external speakers working in organisations at the forefront of their fields.
Assessment is through Post Module Assignment based on the learning objectives of each respective module.
50% of the Masters credit is achieved through your individual project or dissertation, for which you will have close 1-1 supervision
Each module will usually be delivered in intensive one-week blocks so you are fully immersed in the subject area for that period. These one-week sessions are scheduled at intervals from October through to June.

After Your Graduate

Graduates can expect to go on to work within corporate information - security and technology teams, consultancies, government information-security departments, management tracks in information critical organisations and cyber security related research.

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The fascination of forensics combines with the complexity of computing in this stimulating course. A relatively new specialism, electronic security and digital forensics is an area of expertise that’s challenging and rapidly evolving- technology is constantly developing, and therefore so are the problems that go along with it.


Why study Electronic Security and Digital Forensics at Middlesex?

The smooth running of societies and economies is now dependent on the security of computer networks, and cyber crime, from fraud, identity theft and cyber stalking to terrorism and espionage, can affect anyone and is at the forefront of government policy. But many court cases have collapsed because of a lack of experts trained in the meticulous art of tracking down evidence. Our innovative course was created to meet the demand for skills in an area that’s chronically short of well-qualified graduates.

The course has a strong practical focus, with an emphasis on both in-depth technical and legal theory and hands-on project work. You’ll work in our specialist computer forensics laboratory in our award-winning technology centre, using the latest forensic software, including Forensic Toolkit version 5.0, Encase version 7.0 and Micro Systemation XRY Complete. You’ll also have the opportunity to achieve XRY Logical certification during the course.

Course highlights:

We have strong links with industry - we work with companies such as Microsoft and Siemens, and we are a Cisco local academy and a Xilinx university partner.
The course is accredited by the British Computer Society for Chartered IT Professional (CITP) status. This means that on graduation, you’ll have fulfilled the academic requirements for achieving those titles, though you’ll need to complete further professional development.
The course is led by Dr Carlisle George, a former barrister who has co-edited two books on regulatory issues in healthcare information. He is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics and leads the university’s ALERT (Aspects of Law and Ethics Related to Technology) research group.
You’ll also improve your communication, teamwork, time-management, organisational, analytical and critical skills.

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Designed for

The MSc in Cyber Security Engineering is designed for those wishing to develop a career as a cyber security professional.

Cyber Security

Cyberspace comprises the network of digital devices, used to store, modify and communicate information. It is global, interactive and completely changes our environment. It extends beyond the Internet, mediating interaction between individuals and groups.
Our world is increasingly shaped by cyberspace. Opportunities for interaction are emerging in ways, only imagined by previous generations. As the influence of cyberspace in our lives continues to grow, so does the associated security risk.
As organisations worldwide harness the opportunities of cyberspace, they create huge demand for cyber security professionals. Cyber security professionals who can function at various strata within an organisation - server room, operations room, board room - you choose. Their task is beguilingly simple: enable the good and prevent the bad.

GCHQ Certification

GCHQ, the UK government's National Technical Authority for Information Assurance, identified the shortage of cyber professionals as a concern that needed to be addressed. Part of their strategy was to identify cyber security master's courses that would "... help prospective students make better informed decisions when looking for a highly valued cyber security qualification".

Course Content

You will study a broad range of cyber security topics. Some focus on technology, some on people, some on organisations. Insofar as possible, we seek to avoid teaching topics in silos of narrow expertise. Throughout, the practical application of insight is valued equally with abstract analytical skill. The following should give you a sense of the course content:
◾Cryptography
◾Counterfeiting
◾Risk
◾Digital forensics
◾Governance
◾Data protection
◾Network security
◾Intelligence
◾The enterprise cyber perspective
◾Security architecture
◾Industrial espionage
◾Cyber-physical systems
◾Standards and guidance
◾Cyber security research

Teaching Style

Tutors adopt their own distinctive style within their taught weeks. Most modules are taught by more than one tutor, which, together with the wide range of guest speakers, gives real breadth of insight into any topic. The external input is especially evident in the Enterprise Cyber Security module where colleagues from IBM make a substantial contribution to the week's activities.

After You Graduate

Graduates can expect rapid career progression in within a wide range of organisations relating to cyber security in a range of roles.

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Security management is a rapidly growing profession, with companies under increasing pressure to combat regulatory and actual risks. This distance learning course provides you with the skills and expertise to overcome these challenges through the insights of intelligence professionals, the police service and security studies.

More about this course

Taught via Informa’s online learning platform, this course allows you to set your own schedule and to fit your studies around work or other commitments.

But flexible distance learning doesn’t mean missing out on high-calibre tuition. This course is taught by leading experts in each of the relevant fields, who deliver their lectures via video and audio files and tutorial discussions.

Throughout this course, you’ll examine security threats such as cybercrime, corporate espionage and identity theft on both a theoretical and practical level. You’ll look at strategies to combat these risks and how they’re implemented.

You’ll also look at security on a broader scale, relating to terrorism, intelligence analysis and the domain of public protection. This will involve studying government agencies and law enforcement, and the way intelligence can be obtained and used.

To successfully complete the course you must pass each module. Assessment will incorporate essays and coursework, with the final year culminating in a dissertation.

To find out more about the PGCert portion of this course, please view this web-page: http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/security-management-distance-learning---pg-cert/

To find out more about the PGDip portion of this course, please view this web-page:
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/security-management-distance-learning---pg-dip/

Modular structure

The MSc programme is comprised of seven modules. You can apply direct for the MSc level but also have the option to enrol at Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) and Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) level as well.

The PGCert level is three modules of study, the PGDip comprises the same three modules plus three others and the MSc is all six modules plus a dissertation. If you enrol at one of the lower levels you also have the option of continuing your studies at the higher level on the same or future intakes. Further fees will apply.

The modules include:
-Security Studies
-Security Management
-International Financial Crime and Security
-Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism
-Intelligence Analysis
-Contemporary Issues in Crime, Safety and Security
-Security Management Dissertation

After the course

This course prepares you for a role working in the security and intelligence field, whether for diplomatic organisations or international companies. With the experience gained through your studies, you’ll be particularly suited to due diligence work.

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