Defence and Security
Entry Requirements :
A first or second class UK Honours degree (or equivalent) ideally in a related subject. Other recognised professional qualifications or several years relevant industrial experience may be accepted as equivalent; subject to approval by the Course Director. For further and specific information please visit the course page.
English Language:
If you are an international student you will need to provide evidence that you have achieved a satisfactory test result in an English qualification. The minimum standard expected from a number of accepted courses are as follows:
IELTS - 7
TOEFL - 100
Pearson PTE Academic - 68
Cambridge English Scale - 190
Cambridge English: Advanced – with a minimum of Grade A
Cambridge English: Proficiency – with a minimum of Grade B
In addition to these minimum scores you are also expected to achieve a balanced score across all elements of the test. We reserve the right to reject any test score if any one element of the test score is too low. We can only accept tests taken within two years of your registration date (with the exception of Cambridge English tests which have no expiry date). Students requiring a Tier 4 (General) visa must ensure they can meet the English language requirements set out by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and we recommend booking a IELTS for UKVI test.
Duration:
Full-time MSc - one year, Part-time MSc - up to three years, Full-time PgCert - one year, Part-time PgCert - two years, Full-time PgDip - one year, Part-time PgDip - two years
(For MOD status students the duration may vary, subject to annual review.)
Course Format:
Overview:
This course focuses on the value of information and the principles and practice that underlie secure, effective and efficient business systems that exploit information in order to provide business benefit.
Who is it for?:
Students from Government departments, industry and other organisations within the UK and internationally come together to study and discuss issues and develop skills that will enable solutions now and in the future.
Key goals of the course are to provide students with the knowledge to:
- Develop in individuals an awareness of the management, user and supplier communities
- Recognise the stakeholder roles, needs and expectations within these communities
- Enable effective communication and a shared understanding between these stakeholders in order to meet capability objectives
- Master the principles and practice that underlie the delivery of effective, efficient and secure systems in various business spaces that exploit information in order to provide strategic benefit.
Why this course?:
There is a need to understand the strategic importance of information and develop agile, effective and secure ways to exploit it to its full potential. To do this, effective information capability management must be developed throughout the organisation so that the right information is available to the right people at the right time in an effective, efficient and secure manner.
The internationally recognised Information Capability Management (ICM) MSc has been developed to address these important issues.Skilled professionals are needed to enable organisations to realise the strategic benefits that successfully exploiting information can provide. Success in business of all types and in all sectors, both public and private, is dependant on:
- Understanding the value of information as a strategic asset
- Developing agile, effective and efficient systems that make this information available
- Countering cyber threats with appropriate cyber security.
Informed by Industry:
The Information Capability Management MSc has an External Advisory Panel that is made up of senior stakeholders from Government, industry, academia and professional bodies that meet to provide input regarding the strategic direction of the course.
Your teaching team:
- Ross Harris
- Dr Annie Maddison Warren
- Debi Ashenden
- Dr Graham Fletcher
- Ian Owens
Accreditation:
This course is accredited by two professional bodies, the British Computer Society (BCS) and the Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals (CILIP), completion of the course can lead to chartered professional status.
BCS accreditation logoChartered Institiute of Library and Information Professionals accreditation logo
Course details:
MSc students must complete a taught phase consisting of twelve modules followed by an individual dissertation in a relevant topic.
PgDip students are required to undertake the same taught phase as the MSc, without the individual dissertation. PgCert students must complete the core module (Foundations of Information Systems) together with five other modules.
Individual project:
The individual project is the opportunity for a student to utilise and demonstrate their understanding of the taught phase of the course by applying their learning to a real world problem. It is also an opportunity to develop skills and achieve a greater level of understanding in a specific area or areas of relevance to the course. Students are allocated a supervisor and have access to subject matter experts to support them in the project phase.
Assessment:
Spread throughout the programme and includes coursework, group presentations and examinations during the taught phase and for the MSc a research based dissertation.
Core modules :
- Cyber Security and Information Assurance
- Dissertation
- Emerging Technology Monitoring
- Foundations of Information Systems
- Methods and Tools for Information Systems Development
- Organisation Development
- Professional Issues
- Programme and Project Management for Information Systems
- Software Engineering (IS)
- Strategic Application of Information Systems
- Systems Architecture
- Data-led Decision Support
- Data Modelling, Storage and Management
Fees and funding:
* Students will be offered the option of paying the full fee up front, or in a maximum of two payments per year; first instalment on receipt of invoice and the second instalment six months later.
Fee notes:
- The fees outlined apply to all students whose initial date of registration falls on or between 1 August 2017 and 31 July 2018.
- All students pay the tuition fee set by the University for the full duration of their registration period agreed at their initial registration.
- Additional fees for extensions to the agreed registration period may be charged and can be found below.
- Fee eligibility at the Home/EU rate is determined with reference to UK Government regulations. As a guiding principle, EU nationals (including UK) who are ordinarily resident in the EU pay Home/EU tuition fees, all other students (including those from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man) pay Overseas fees.
Funding Opportunities:
Full funding is available (the course is free at point of delivery) for UK MOD staff.
Security clearance for Shrivenham:
Some Cranfield University courses are delivered at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Shrivenham which is a Ministry of Defence (MOD) site. All applicants to courses that are wholly or partially delivered at Shrivenham must complete the BPSS (HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard V4 April 2014) prior to registration on the course or must already hold a security clearance to this level or higher.
Your application and BPSS clearance application will be shared during the application process with the MOD who have ultimate discretion over whether to admit applicants to the Shrivenham site. This information will be returned by the MOD to Cranfield University after checks are completed and no copies will be retained by the MOD.
BPSS checks may involve confirmation of the following:
- Identity (e.g. Photo ID)
- Nationality and Immigration Status
- Employment/Academic History (covering the past 3 years)
- Criminal record (unspent convictions only)
Additionally, applicants are required to give a reasonable account of any significant periods (6 months or more in the past 3 years) of time spent abroad.
This may be revised from time to time dependent on national security requirements. For more details, please consult the BPSS Guidance.
It will take additional time to process your BPSS clearance application once you have completed your course application.
Inability to access the Shrivenham site as a result of failure to meet security clearance requirements will result in a withdrawal of offer, or, if already registered, a termination of registration.
Your career:
Takes you on to further senior career opportunities and to become one of the next generation of senior professionals delivering business benefit through exploitation of information with skills in appropriate areas including business analysis, strategy development and implementation, information assurance, cyber security, organisational development and strategic application of information systems