Course of study and teaching guides Master in CyberSecurity

Syllabus

Syllabus 2023-24

Credit distribution

Number of compulsory credits: 48
Number of optional credits: 18
Number of credits in Master's Degree Final Project: 24
Number of credits in Complementary Training: 0

Distribution of contents

In general, the syllabus is spread over three four-month periods. The first two semesters include 60 credits of compulsory and optional content prior to the Master's Degree Thesis. The third four-month period is dedicated to the 24 ECTS credits for the Master's Degree Final Project, and to the reinforcement of either its research nature or its innovative and entrepreneurial nature, with two optional subjects (6 ECTS each). The first alternative is intended for students who subsequently wish to continue their doctoral studies in this field, while the second is intended for students with interests related to working in this profession. This professional profile may be reinforced with the total or partial development of the End of Degree Project (EDP) in collaboration with companies in the sector (e.g. through extracurricular internships agreed with the company or through collaborations in which specific agreements have been defined, among other mechanisms).

The distribution of contents is specifically established as follows:

The first four-month period establishes compulsory subjects with a block of subjects that covers the basic aspects of cybersecurity, both from a technological perspective and in terms of legal and formal aspects.
2. The second four-month period is made up of four compulsory subjects, each worth 3 ECTS, that extend the concepts of the first four-month period in different specific areas. In this second term, students can choose from a series of optional subjects, of which two possible profiles are recommended: Security Engineer or Cybersecurity Analyst (see Profile of graduates and career opportunities).
1. For profile 1, which is related to Security Engineering, the student must choose the subject Security in IoT, 5G and Cyber-Physical Systems.
2. For profile 2, which is related to Cybersecurity Analysis, the student must choose the subject Advanced Cyber Intelligence Techniques
3. In order to make up what remains of the four-month period, the student must choose 2 optional subjects (worth 3 ECTS each), out of a possible 4. Although students can choose whichever of these four electives they wish, it is recommended that those students who are interested in profile 1 choose Hardware Security and Distributed Systems Security, while those who are interested in profile 2 choose Human Factors in Security, Privacy and Rights on the Internet and Advanced Aspects of Cybersecurity Management.
Finally, the third four-month period is focused on the EDP. This includes the subject Final Master's Degree Thesis, on which, as the name suggests, the subject of Final Master's Degree Thesis is taught, and can be oriented in two ways:
1. Professional orientation, for which a set of seminars on entrepreneurship and innovation is offered (Seminar on Innovation and Entrepreneurship II).
2. Research orientation, for which the student will opt for a complement with introductory seminars on research (Introduction to research).

From an operational point of view, profiles 1 and 2 are offered through two specific configurations of optional subjects provided in the master's degree subjects, although there is no obligation to follow these configurations with the exception of their possible time dependencies. The degree does not, therefore, include specific mentions or intensifications, and students can consequently choose to follow either of the two itineraries, or the configuration of their choice.

Time distribution of courses

Semester	Quarter	Course	T	Credits
C1		Técnicas de Ciberataques Hacking Ético / Ethical Hacking	OB	6
		Técnicas de Ciberdefensa / Security Operations, Incident management and forensics	OB	6
		Técnicas de Ciberseguridad y Comunicaciones / Cybersecurity and Network Security	OB	6
		Técnicas de Gestión de la Ciberseguridad / Risk Analysis, Management and Cybersecurity Governance	OB	6
	T1	Criptografía / Cryptography	OB	3
	T2	Seminario sobre Innovación y Emprendimiento I / Seminar on Innovation and Entrepreneurship I	OB	3
C2	T1	Régimen Jurídico de la Ciberseguridad / Law and Regulations	OB	3
	T1	Seguridad Software y ciclo de vida del Software Seguro / Software Security & Secure Software Lifecycle	OB	3
	T1	Infraestructuras de Autenticación y Autorización / Authentication and Authorization Infrastructures	OB	3
	T1	Tecnologías de Ataques y Malware / Malware and Attack Technologies	OB	3
		Laboratorio de Proyectos en Ciberseguridad / CyberSecurity Projects Laboratory	OB	6
		Perfil 1: Seguridad en Sistemas IoT, 5G y Ciber Físicos / 5G, IoT and Cyber-Physical Systems Security	OP	6
		Perfil 2: Técnicas Avanzadas de Ciber Inteligencia / Advanced Cyber Intelligence Techniques	OP	6
	T2	Factores Humanos en la Seguridad, Privacidad y Derechos en Internet / Human Factors, Privacy and Online Rights	OP	3
	T2	Seguridad Hardware / Hardware Security	OP	3
	T2	Seguridad en Sistemas Distribuidos / Distributed Systems Security	OP	3
	T2	Aspectos Avanzados de la Gestión de la Ciberseguridad / Advanced Aspects of Cybersecurity Management	OP	3
C3		Trabajo Fin de Máster / Master's Thesis	OB	24
		Introducción a la investigación / Introduction to research	OP	6
		Seminario sobre Innovación y Emprendimiento II / Seminar on Innovation and Entrepreneurship II	OP	6

OB: Obligatoria/Mandatory
OP: Optativa/Elective

Validation and recognition of credits

Although the Master's Degree in Cybersecurity does not extinguish any degree, the adaptation of current degrees to the new Master's degree is envisaged. This adaptation will be carried out by the Academic Recognition Committee of the Faculty of Computer Science, at the student's request. The general rule governing the process of adaptation of students from existing studies to the new Master's Degree in Cybersecurity is to guarantee the acquisition of the competences required by this syllabus without any additional effort on the part of the student, unless insurmountable needs are detected in this respect.

The Academic Recognition Committee will use the following Adaptation Tables for the current Master's Degree in New Technologies in Computer Science for the adaptation process:

In general, the recognition and transfer of credits is regulated at the University of Murcia by the Regulations concerning the Recognition and Transfer of Credits in Undergraduate and Master's Degrees leading to the award of the corresponding official degrees by the University of Murcia".

In particular, the following is established for the Master’s Degree in Cybersecurity:

Recognition of credits obtained on official non-university higher education courses: Maximum 0 ECTS.
Recognition of credits obtained on own degrees: Maximum 0 ECTS
Recognition of credits obtained thanks to the accreditation of work and professional experience: Maximum 12 ECTS.

In the case of recognition of credits for the accreditation of work and professional experience, the possibility of recognition is contemplated only in the following subjects that are considered to be associated with basic training in cybersecurity principles up to a maximum of 12 credits:

Cyber Attack Techniques Ethical Hacking
Cyber Defence Techniques
Cybersecurity and Communications Techniques
Cybersecurity Management Techniques

In order to be recognised, at least 1 year of professional experience in activities related to the content of the corresponding subject must be demonstrated, and under no circumstances may recognition be granted for more than two subjects. These are subjects that are introductory to the different contents of the master's degree, and we, therefore, understand that they may correspond to the most frequent current professional profiles.