Program Description
The Bachelor of Science in Data and Cyber Security (B.Sc. DCS) is a four-year program which provides students with the applied knowledge and skills needed for a dynamic career in the field of Data and Cyber Security (DCS). The program includes DCS courses alongside various foundational computing discipline courses, enabling graduates to contribute to the operational context of DCS functions. The interdisciplinary nature of cyber security includes elements of data security. It focuses on how hardware and software systems can be designed and operated to ensure business or institutional security by reducing the threat of unauthorized access or intervention. The B.Sc. DCS program develops students’ abilities to design, implement, and maintain advanced security mechanisms, policies and procedures within information technology environments. This is supported by exposure to data security techniques offering students a solid understanding of cyber risk assessment and safe data management strategies. These skill sets, when consolidated through the completion of an industry work placement and a capstone project, will prepare graduates for an exciting career in modern-day DCS.
Program Duration:
4 years
Admission Requirements:
1. High school graduation certificate or equivalent approved by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education with a minimum average of 60%, plus two courses: one final year Mathematics, and one final year Science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry) or Technology (Algorithms, Programming, Network, Computer Science, or equivalent); OR
2. Two-year Information Technology Diploma or equivalent approved by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
2. Two-year Information Technology Diploma or equivalent approved by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
1. The required score on the University English Placement Test or a passing score from another approved internationally recognized English language test, as validated by the Admissions & Registration Directorate OR
2. A valid (within two years) IELTS Academic Test Report Form with an overall band of 5.0 with no individual band score (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) below 5.0; OR
3. Successful completion of Foundation Program requirements.
2. A valid (within two years) IELTS Academic Test Report Form with an overall band of 5.0 with no individual band score (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) below 5.0; OR
3. Successful completion of Foundation Program requirements.
1. Must achieve the required score on the University Math Placement Test; OR
2. A valid SAT Report Form with minimum score of 480.
2. A valid SAT Report Form with minimum score of 480.
1. Admission is competitive. Eligible applicants are ranked based on their overall final year (Grade 12 or equivalent) high school percentage, placement tests rankings, and admission priority category.
2025-2026 Study Plan:
COURSE NUMBER |
COURSE TITLE | REQUISITE | HOURS/WEEK | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-req | CO-req | CR | LEC | LAB | ||
SEMESTER 1 | ||||||
COMM1010 | English Communication I | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
INFS1101 | Introduction to Computing & Problem Solving | - | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
MATH1030 | Calculus I | MATH1020 OR AMPII Score of 85% | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Elective - Effective & Experiential Learning: select 1 of 3 | ||||||
EFFL1001 | Effective Learning | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
EFFL1002 | Applied & Experiential Learning | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
EFFL1003 | Experiential Learning & Entrepreneurship | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Semester 1 Total: | 12 | 11 | 3 | |||
SEMESTER 2 | ||||||
COMM1020 | English Communication II | COMM1010 | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
INFS1201 | Computer Programming | INFS1101 | - | 4 | 3 | 3 |
INFT2101 | Networking I | INFT1201 or INFS1101 | - | 4 | 3 | 3 |
MATH1040 | Statistics | - | - | 3 | 3 | 1 |
Semester 2 Total: | 14 | 12 | 7 | |||
SEMESTER 3 | ||||||
INFS1301 | Computing Ethics & Society | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Elective: select 1 of 2 | ||||||
SCIE1001 | Science & Its Applications | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
SCIE1002 | Science & the Environment | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Semester 3 Total: | 6 | 6 | 0 | |||
Year 1 Total: | 32 | 29 | 10 |
COURSE NUMBER |
COURSE TITLE | REQUISITE | HOURS/WEEK | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-req | CO-req | CR | LEC | LAB | ||
SEMESTER 4 | ||||||
INFS2101 | Web Technologies I | INFS1201 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS2201 | Introduction to Data & Cyber Security | INFT2101 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS2101 | Discrete Structures | - | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
MATH1050 | Linear Algebra | - | - | 3 | 3 | 1 |
Semester 4 Total: | 12 | 9 | 10 | |||
SEMESTER 5 | ||||||
DACS2202 | Introduction to Computing Systems | DACS2101 or INFT2102 AND INFS1201 | - | 4 | 3 | 3 |
DSAI2201 | Introduction to Data Science & AI | - | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
INFS2201 | Database Management Systems | INFS1201 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
INFS3102 | Object Oriented Programming | INFS1201 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Semester 5 Total: | 13 | 9 | 12 | |||
SEMESTER 6 | ||||||
SOFT2301 | Software Project Management | Min 50 Credits | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Elective: select 1 of 4 | ||||||
ECON1001 | Global Economic Concepts | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
GARC1001 | Qatar History & Society | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
GARC2001 | Human Development in Qatar | COMM1020 | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
GARC2002 | Globalization & Environment | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Semester 6 Total: | 6 | 5 | 3 | |||
Year 2 Total: | 31 | 23 | 25 |
COURSE NUMBER |
COURSE TITLE | REQUISITE | HOURS/WEEK | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-req | CO-req | CR | LEC | LAB | ||
SEMESTER 7 | ||||||
DACS3101 | Applied Cryptography | DACS2101 AND MATH1050 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
INFT3101 | Networking II | INFT2101 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
INFT2201 | Introduction to Operating Systems | INFS1201 & INFT1201 OR SOFT2301 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS3203 | Secure Software Development | DACS2201 AND INFS3102 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Semester 7 Total: | 12 | 8 | 12 | |||
SEMESTER 8 | ||||||
DACS3201 | Network Security | DACS2201 AND INFT3101 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS4101 | Security Engineering Principles | DACS3101 OR DACS3203 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS3202 | Cyber Security Analytics & Visualization | DSAI2201 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
INFS3201 | Web Technologies II | INFS2101 & INFS2201 & INFS3102 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Semester 8 Total: | 12 | 8 | 12 | |||
SEMESTER 9 | ||||||
DACS3301 | Privacy in the Digital Era | DACS2201 | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Elective - Global Awareness and Regional Challenges: select 1 of 4 | ||||||
ECON1001 | Global Economic Concepts | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
GARC1001 | Qatar History & Society | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
GARC2001 | Human Development in Qatar | COMM1020 | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
GARC2002 | Globalization & Environment | - | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Semester 9 Total: | 6 | 6 | 0 | |||
Year 3 Total: | 30 | 22 | 24 |
COURSE NUMBER |
COURSE TITLE | REQUISITE | HOURS/WEEK | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-req | CO-req | CR | LEC | LAB | ||
SEMESTER 10 | ||||||
COMP4101 | Practicum | Min 80 Credits | - | 3 | 1 | 6 |
DACS4103 | Scripting for Cyber Security | INFT2201 AND DACS 2201 AND INFS3102 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS4202 | Penetration Testing | DACS3201 AND DACS4101 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Elective: select 1 of 9 | ||||||
DACS4102 | Web Security | DACS2201 AND INFS3201 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS4210 | Cyber Security Policies, Strategies & Procedures | DACS3301 | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
DACS4105 | Fundamentals of Cyber-Physical Systems | DACS3201 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS4208 | Industrial Control Systems Security | DACS4105 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS4203 | IoT & OT Hacking | DACS4202 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS4204 | Cloud Security | DACS3201 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS4205 | Digital Forensics | DACS3201 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
INFT4208 | Governance & Management of IT | INFT3101 | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
DACS4110 | Selected Topics in Data and Cyber Security | DACS4101 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Semester 10 Total: | 12 | 7 | 15 | |||
SEMESTER 11 | ||||||
COMP4201 | Capstone Project | COMP4101 | - | 3 | 0 | 0 |
DACS4206 | Security Monitoring & Incident Response | DACS3201 AND DACS3202 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Elective: select 2 of 9 | ||||||
DACS4102 | Web Security | DACS2201 AND INFS3201 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS4210 | Cyber Security Policies, Strategies & Procedures | DACS3301 | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
DACS4105 | Fundamentals of Cyber-Physical Systems | DACS3201 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS4208 | Industrial Control Systems Security | DACS4105 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS4203 | IoT & OT Hacking | DACS4202 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS4204 | Cloud Security | DACS3201 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
DACS4205 | Digital Forensics | DACS3201 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
INFT4208 | Governance & Management of IT | INFT3101 | - | 3 | 3 | 0 |
DACS4110 | Selected Topics in Data and Cyber Security | DACS4101 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Semester 11 Total: | 12 | 6 | 9 | |||
SEMESTER 12 | ||||||
COMP4301 | Work Placement | COMP4201 ; CGPA>2.0 | - | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Semester 12 Total: | 9 | 0 | 0 | |||
Year 4 Total: | 33 | 13 | 24 | |||
Program Total | 126 | 87 | 83 |
Graduate Future Pathways:
Graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Data and Cyber Security (B.Sc. DCS) program may choose to further specialize or pursue graduate studies in their area.
Graduate Career Opportunities:
The Bachelor of Science in Data and Cyber Security (B.Sc. DCS) is an applied program with learning outcomes closely linked to the labor market. A wide range of career opportunities in the field currently exist, and include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Computer Systems Security Analyst
- Cyber Security Analyst
- Information Security Analyst
- Information Security Risk Analyst
- Data Security Manager
- IT Auditor
- Penetration and Vulnerability Tester (Ethical Hacker)
- Digital Forensic Specialist
- Governance, Risk and Compliance Officer