Key Dates

Protecting information and IT infrastructure from complex and evolving cyber-threats is a critical challenge for modern organisations. The responsibility to prevent and respond to cyber-attacks falls to cybersecurity professionals, and global demand for highly trained cybersecurity professionals is at an all-time high and is expected to increase over time.

The Master of Cybersecurity is a two-year full-time coursework degree (96 credit points) aimed at students wanting to gain a professional qualification to develop expert knowledge and skills in the field.

The course is designed to meet the educational needs of students ultimately seeking to transition into or advance in a career as a cybersecurity professional. You will develop a strong capability in analysing, designing and evaluating cybersecurity technologies and management solutions for complex systems and organisations. This will culminate in a capstone unit incorporating work-related experience, giving you an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills that you have developed throughout the course in a professional context.

The Master of Cybersecurity covers areas of critical importance to operational-level and management-level cybersecurity professionals. It has been designed with input from leading industry professionals and academics in the field of Cybersecurity. Graduates will acquire an education that meets industry standards and expectations and is on a par with some of the best national and international benchmarks in the field of Cybersecurity.

On successful completion of this course you will be able to:

• Apply advanced and specialised knowledge and skills to critically analyse, design, test, implement, evaluate and manage fit-for-purpose and creative solutions to defend information, processes, IT systems, platforms and networks from cyber threat actors in contemporary contexts for professional practice or scholarship
• Develop and apply knowledge of research principles and methods to plan, execute and critically reflect on the process and outcomes of a substantial research-based project, capstone experience and/or piece of scholarship applicable to cyber security in real-world contexts
• Analyse, evaluate and assess complex cybersecurity issues, risks and vulnerabilities as they relate to the evolving strategic and operational context of organisations, IT systems and communication networks
• Design, develop and evaluate strategies, policies, procedures and practices to manage cybersecurity in organisations based on best practice standards and methods
• Clearly present a coherent and independent exposition of the method applied, conclusions made, and professional decisions taken on complex theoretical and technical cybersecurity issues to specialist and non-specialist audiences
• Demonstrate professional and ethical standards in the application of cybersecurity knowledge and skills while exercising responsibility and accountability for self-learning and professional practice whether working individually or in a team.

The AAHE Graduate Attributes below are embedded in the curricula and support the students’ ability to acquire and apply the knowledge and skills that they need to succeed in their personal and professional lives.

The Master of Cybersecurity will develop your knowledge and skills in the discipline, building towards an authentic work integrated learning (WIL) experience that allows you to apply what you have learnt to real world problems in a professional context and environment. It embeds a collaborative and technology-enabled active learning approach that encourages your participation in the learning process, peer to peer learning and ongoing reflection.

Following a thorough orientation, you will participate in small class groups where you are encouraged to collaborate, exchange ideas, learn from each other and reflect on your learning, both in the classroom and through the collaborative online learning environment.

The typical weekly process begins with you speculating about a problem or scenario that you have been given before the scheduled on-campus, face-to-face class, then actively engage with the class and reflect on the same problem or scenario. Classes themselves are interactive, with regular anonymous polls and multiple-choice questions to encourage active participation. Following the class, you will document your problem-solving process or reflection on the scenario in an online journal. In this way, using the principles of adult learning, you immediately apply your work to problem-solving, and develop into reflective practitioners. The scenarios and problems, along with the class material, are available to you anytime and anywhere through the online learning management system (LMS). You are also encouraged to engage with your peers through multiple opportunities to collaborate and to interact in the classroom and online.

In preparing for major assessments, you will regularly participate in authentic, experiential learning activities. These may be computer laboratory classes, practical exercises such as conducting penetration testing, risk assessment, team-based projects or real-world work integrated learning experiences such as working for a client in an industry project or through a work placement.

AAHE’s active learning approach guides the design of units and their content and activities. The assessments build from this approach and are carefully mapped against the unit and course learning outcomes, establishing clear alignment and assuring that the learning outcomes are achieved.

The design of assessments incorporates smaller formative assessment tasks that enable you to receive regular feedback and stay on track, culminating into one or more summative assessments that measure your learning, skills acquisition and the extent to which you are meeting the units’ intended learning outcomes.

This course has a work integrated learning unit that may involve working on an industry project for a real client or undertaking a placement that involves attending a workplace of an approved host organisation. In such cases, you may be required to undertake a police check, working with children check, immunisation check, or other checks as required.