This unique program provides international students with the opportunity to study, in one full time or two years part time, fundamental and advanced security topics such as cryptography, penetration testing, digital forensics, IT security management, and ISO 27001. Heriot-Watt University is proud to be the first university in the UAE to make available to international students an MSc in Network Security with such advanced topics. The aim of both the MSc and the Postgraduate Diploma in Network Security is to provide our graduates with the fundamental knowledge and practical skills required for a Network Security-related professional position in an organisation. The programme covers topics such as securing enterprise Infrastructures, building and securing wireless networks, penetration testing (ethical hacking) and security audit, as well as network and security administration. Students undertake four courses in semester 1 and a further four courses in semester 2. On this programme, the following taught courses are mandatory:

• Computer Network Security
• Industrial Programming
• Advanced Network Security
• Research Methods and Project Planning

Students can then choose four courses from the following:

• Network Applications
• Mobile Communications and Programming
• Database and Information Systems
• Software Engineering Foundations
• Advanced Software Engineering
• Big Data Management
• Rigorous Methods for Software Engineering

In addition to these taught courses, students pursuing the MSc qualification undertake a Master’s project, which culminates in a dissertation. Required Credit Hours: minimum hours