Cybercrime is the term applied to criminal and harmful behaviours that are facilitated through the use of digital technologies, or that only occur due to the existence of such tools. This is distinct from cybersecurity, which involves techniques of protecting digital technologies, electronic data, networks, and programmes against criminal or unauthorised access. Cybersecurity is a technical approach to preventing and tackling cybercrime.
The discipline of criminology, which seeks to uncover the underlying causes behind deviant and law-breaking actions, provides the foundation for our MSc Cybercrime. It will help you understand the behaviours and motivations that lead to cybercrime.
As more people and services look to digital technologies, the risks and threats of cybercrime continue to grow, exposing a shortfall in qualified professionals who understand that people are at the heart of this issue. Study our MSc Cybercrime and join the next generation of cybercrime researchers and investigators.
3 start dates per year: February, May and September
Next start date: 24 May 2021
Application deadline: To guarantee time for your application to be reviewed, please apply by 10 May 2021
Duration: 2 years (part time)
Format: Online, with optional face-to-face events
Total course fees: £10,500 (including a £250 acceptance fee)
Application form links: Start your application for May 2021 or September 2021 now
With an MSc in Cybercrime, you'll gain the skills needed to meet the demand for experienced cybercrime investigators and help make the online world a safer place.
On this course, you'll focus on the acts of cybercrime and the criminals behind them.
You'll discover the motivations and behavioural aspects behind cybercrime and other online deviant behaviours such as harassment and bullying, to find out what leads people to harm others on the web.
The critical and analytical knowledge you develop will ready you to act as a link between traditional police officers and technological forensic investigators.
You'll take a global approach to cybercrime and investigate the international cooperation needed to tackle it.
You’ll also have opportunities to collaborate with specialists in the cybercrime field, through The University of Portsmouth's Cybercrime Awareness Clinic, and our affiliations with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), local constabularies and regional organised crime units.
Course Leader Dr Lisa Sugiura discusses the increased demand for people with the right skills to identify, investigate and counteract cybercrime:
This course will give you the skills to pursue a career in combating cybercrime.
On this course, you'll:
This module equips you with the skills to prevent, detect and react to cybercrime by addressing motivations, current responses and investigations at the forefront of cybercrime research and professional practice. You’ll learn to locate and access information pertinent to cybercrime through digital and emerging technologies, and explore how current and emerging internet and related technologies are used to commit criminal and deviant acts.
Using case studies on major underlying conflicts on the internet, this module provides a core understanding of how the internet functions as a space of interacting influences. You'll focus on the different regulatory influences that impact online behaviour and the shaping and function of the modern internet, and get an in-depth understanding of specialised areas at the forefront of cybercrime.
You’ll examine the full picture of cybersecurity on this module, evaluating it on a global scale as well as looking at current national and international strategies. You'll gain an in-depth and systematic knowledge of the nature of cybersecurity threats facing organisations and states, and feel confident analysing the challenges of national cybersecurity strategies and the impact of governance.
On this module, you’ll explore the wide range of research methods used to investigate cybercrime such as qualitative, quantitative and mixed research methods. This experience will help you know how to apply them wherever appropriate. You’ll develop a research proposal based on your knowledge, and will evaluate challenges involved in ethical research and how to address them.
Your dissertation will consist of a small-scale research project demonstrating your grasp of research design, methods and ethics as learned on your Master’s course. You can submit an academic dissertation or an applied work-based project report. Our association with the Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office can help you access data or interview subjects for your dissertation or project and they can give you feedback on research questions.
All assessments for this course are based on coursework submitted online. Your performance is assessed through coursework including:
You can also test your skills and knowledge informally before assessments via online quizzes, group discussions, peer review activities and virtual seminars.
Tutors will provide feedback on practice and formal assessments so you can improve your work for the future.
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I'm a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Cybercrime, Distance Learning Postgraduate Programme Area Leader, Themes Strategic Innovation Fellow (TRIF), and the Deputy Director of the Cybercrime Awareness Clinic, at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies.
Course Leader Lisa Sugiura discusses how the MSc's specialist staff will help you understand cybercrime from a criminological perspective:
To join this course, you must have:
If you’re unsure whether you’re eligible to apply, please speak to one of our course advisers on +44 (0)23 9400 3692, or email info@study-online.port.ac.uk
Our MSc Cybercrime is designed to equip you with the expertise needed to find success within the cybercrime field.
In addition to developing the specialist knowledge required to address cybercriminal activity, your research alongside our industry experts will familarise you with real-world processes and offer important experience collaborating with others.
These skills, coupled with the support you can receive from our exceptional Careers and Employability Service, will help position you as a valuable hire to employers across the world.
To learn more about the paths of progression available to you after graduation, visit our Careers and opportunities page:
Got a question about our courses? Complete the form below and a member of our course adviser team will contact you shortly.
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