Skip to main content

Help make our digital world safer

In the Security & development major, you study specific problems in the field of security and learn how to arm yourself against them. As a cyber security specialist you will be trained in the very latest technologies and techniques in the field of cyber security, cyber crime and cyber warfare. Cyber security specialists provide more security and privacy in the digital world.

Our course is supported by the Cyber Security Coalition non-profit organisation and listed in the Cybersecurity Higher Education database powered by ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity.

This bachelor's major is taught entirely in English.

Kickstart your career in cyber security now!

Get in touch

Howest - Cyber Security Professional

Your class schedule

Every week you will have between 20 and 24 hours of lessons. Your lesson hours are scheduled to be as complimentary as possible. Below you can view a sample schedule. Schedules may vary from year to year. The final class schedule for the school year is finalised in September.

Student watching a screen

First year

In the first year, you will get a deep dive into more general computer science courses such as Programming Fundamentals, Computer Architecture and Web Development. Next to the fundamental courses there are cyber security oriented courses as well such as Cyber Security essentials as well as Web Pentesting fundamentals. Class days are divided into lectures (morning) and labs (afternoon).

Theoretical material received in the morning is applied to the afternoon sessions. Lessons in the morning are followed in group, while you receive individual guidance and feedback from the coaches in the afternoon.

Second year

In the second year, you will have a number of specialisation modules within the programme you have chosen. Along with a number of foundation subjects, you will delve into Web Pentesting, Web Technology Security, Forensic Analysis, IT Law and Reverse Engineering, among others.

Third year

The final year is split into two halves. In the first half, you complete your training in network infrastructure security, threat and risk management, cryptography and you conduct a security audit within a real organisation. The second half of the year consists of an internship and a bachelor's thesis.

Course unit descriptions for this study programme
students during a job fair

Numerous job opportunities

Cyber Security Professionals are in high demand. There is no shortage of job opportunities:

  • Netwerk & Systems Engineer
  • Forensics Expert
  • Penetration Tester
  • Risk & Security Consultant
  • IT Consultant
  • Data Privacy Officer
  • Secure Software Developer
  • ...

SME or multinational?

You can work in both large multinationals and smaller SMEs.

Many students come to study with us from other regions. Not only for our unique programmes, many practical projects and tailor-made courses, but also because we have a reputation within the industry for delivering high-quality degrees.

Studenten Toerisme en Recreatiemanagement met lesgever aan de Broeltorens in Kortrijk

How to apply as an incoming international student

All information on nominations, applications and tuitions can be found here.

Info day
Saturday 4 May
FROM 10h TILL 13h
Read more

Come and visit us

These are the next info days in Bruges:

All info days

More info?

Receive the brochure by post
Subscribe to the newsletter of this study programme.

Student met brochure van Howest

Strengths of the programme

100% job security

SnapChat, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Yahoo!, ... only a small selection of companies that recently had to deal with cyber crime. The demand for security specialists has never been so high! As a Cyber Security specialist you will be trained in the latest technologies and techniques in the field of Cyber Security.

You will be proficient in both the attacking and the defensive side of Cyber Security and you will also be familiar with legislation and security management!”

With a degree in Cyber Security you are hugely sought after in the labor market. With 1000s of vacancies for security experts you can immediately get started with 100% job security both in Belgium and abroad!

Want to do business?

Many of our students also start their own business! In 2017 we started a Cyber Security & Blockchain incubator in Bruges!

Certificates

For many people, obtaining certification is a real boost for their career. These often cost thousands of euros at other agencies. Howest offers the possibility to obtain a lot of certificates during your training, for free or at a greatly reduced price!

  • The Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) training is one of the most current and in-depth security training of its kind. The CEH certificate is internationally known as a valuable addition to Microsoft, Cisco or Linux certificates.
  • A Cisco Certified Network Associate, abbreviated CCNA certification issued by Cisco. The certificate is seen by many companies as an indication of the level of practical network knowledge.

Moreover, you will be well prepared for the advanced Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) certificates.

Techniques

Offensive security

Learn not only to think like a hacker but also learn their techniques and tools to test the security of your systems. Do not wait until someone else discovers the weak link in your defense, but start looking for it yourself!

Defensive security

Keep control of your data! Learn everything about how you can protect systems and networks against all kinds of external threats. If data has leaked to the outside anyway, ... no problem because you are also adept at protecting your data through cryptography!

Knowledge

Legislation and security management

A good knowledge of the relevant legislation is of course essential for a Cyber Security specialist. In addition to your practical knowledge, you will also be able to coordinate security within your company thanks to your thorough knowledge of issues such as security management, threat and risk assessment, security frameworks, etc.

Practical Reverse engineering & Malware analysis

Learn all about analysing the latest viruses and malware. This course goes beyond theory and lets you gain hands-on experience thanks to specially developed samples.

Cyber Security Community

By participating in numerous activities and attending various security conferences, you will really become part of the international Cyber Security community.

Some of the events that our students took part in this year: Brucon, Infosecurity, Cyber Security Challenge, Cebit, Chaos Communication Congress, ...

Register now!

Have you decided? We look forward to welcoming you to our Howest community! 
You can find all information about registering via the link below.

Apply now

Studenten in pauze met koffie op de campus

FAQ

If you don't find what you're looking for or have a specific question about this program, please feel free to contact us. We are available every weekday from 9am to 5pm. Direct other questions to this contact person:

Kurt Schoenmaekers

Kurt Schoenmaekers

Contact person international Cyber Security Professional students

Olga Belyaeva

Olga Belyaeva

International Admissions Officer

In the case you buy a laptop through Howest, you can look here which laptop is recommended by your course. In the case you already own a laptop or wish to buy a new one yourself, it needs to qualify to the same specifications.

Would you like to study abroad for a semester? Or are you interested in an international internship? You can! You will discover all the opportunities to go abroad within Howest on this page. During your studies, we will work together to make your international adventure a reality!

Prior computer science knowledge is useful, but not a necessity. If you still want to prepare a bit, there is our introductory course on programming and web, but this content is also covered in the lessons.

For maths, we expect you to have had at least 4 hours of maths per week in secondary school. If this is not the case, the entry-level maths courses are recommended. In order to help you further, we also set up monitor sessions during the academic year.

We take the term applied in Applied Computer Science very literally. As a professional bachelor, you are meant to understand things to some extent but the absolute added value is in executing and doing! The many project work, the many working lectures and labs prove that you get to work yourself. We therefore believe that passion and motivation is the key to success. The euphoric feeling after all the hard work of a project is therefore not to be underestimated. The further you progress in the course, the more the importance of practical tasks comes to the fore. At the very end, there is then the icing on the cake with the internship.

Most students come from science disciplines in ASO or from computer science and accounting-informatics in TSO. Didn't have computer science? No problem. Do you want to prepare yourself a bit before classes start anyway? Then take one of the introductory courses in programming or web. There are also entry-level maths courses if you have had less than 4 hours of maths in secondary school.

We use state-of-the-art development techniques from day one. Our code AND projects are managed by market leaders in the field. We always follow the principles of Continuous Development & Integration. This helps us build a true DevOps culture, and embrace new technology such as GitHub Copilot and chatGPT, for example. In the early years, the focus is mainly on using these capabilities, but later we build on this to integrate everything and also set it up ourselves. We also differentiate ourselves by offering our specialisation domains. For instance, we are a market leader in cybersecurity and offer a full-fledged Artificial Intelligence (AI) graduate course. In the Software Engineering track, a lot of innovative development technologies are covered and the DevOps story can be fully explored. In addition, the unique Web3 track teaches you to set up software securely and distributed (democratically), as well as to provide the principles of digital ownership and identity in existing applications.