MEng (Hons) Computing (Security and Reliability) · Imperial College LondonIntegrated Master's degree · 4 years
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Imperial College London · Undergraduate

MEng (Hons) Computing (Security and Reliability) Integrated Master's degree at Imperial College London

MEng (Hons) Computing (Security and Reliability) at Imperial College London. Rather than treating security as a bolt-on module, the course threads it through the wider computing curriculum, so you spend the extended integrated master's year going deeper into how systems fail, how they're attacked, and how they can…

MEng (Hons)
Award
4
Years
Full-time
Study mode
98%
in work/study (15m)

About this course

Learn how modern computer and communications systems can be adapted to build the next generation of secure computing applications. From the provider’s course page.

MEng (Hons) Computing (Security and Reliability) is an Integrated Master's degree (MEng (Hons)) at Imperial College London, based in South Kensington. It runs 4 years, studied full-time.

For Computer science graduates from this provider, 98% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, 100% in highly skilled roles, typical earnings around £70,000. (HESA Graduate Outcomes / LEO, via Discover Uni.)

For the typical curriculum, specialisations, career paths and graduate earnings for Computer Science, see the sections below.

Course evidence score

The arithmetic mean of the official measures available for this course: NSS satisfaction, graduate activity and continuation.

9.4
/ 10
Exceptional
3 of 3 official measures
Student satisfaction
What students say in the National Student Survey
Excellent86

Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)

Graduate outcomes
In work or further study 15 months after graduating
Exceptional98

Moderate evidence Published sample: 35; avoid reading small differences as meaningful. Cohort 2022-23. Graduate Outcomes work or further study 98% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)

Continuation
Students who continue past their first year
Exceptional98

Published threshold met Discover Uni suppresses continuation data below its publication threshold. Cohort 2022-23. Continuation 98% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)

Curriculum & modules

Real modules published for this course, grouped only where the source gives a year, stage or level.

Year 1 8 modules
  • Introduction to Computer SystemsCore
  • Introduction to DatabasesCore
  • Introduction to Computer ArchitectureCore
  • Computing Practical 1Core
  • Discrete Mathematics, Logic and ReasoningCore
  • Graphs and AlgorithmsCore
  • CalculusCore
  • Linear AlgebraCore
Year 2 11 modules
  • Algorithm Design and AnalysisCore
  • Software Engineering DesignCore
  • Models of ComputationCore
  • Operating SystemsCore
  • Networks and CommunicationsCore
  • Probability and StatisticsCore
  • Computing Practical 2Core
  • Computing Group ProjectCore
  • Machine LearningCore
  • Symbolic ReasoningOptional
  • Computational TechniquesOptional
Year 3 17 modules
  • Industrial Placement (First Part)Core
    Module details

    The Industrial Placement does not contribute to your final degree classification.

  • I-ExploreCore
    Module details

    Through I-Explore, you'll have the chance to deepen your knowledge in a brand new subject area, chosen from a huge range of for-credit modules. All of our undergraduate courses include one module from I-Explore's wide selection. The module you choose will be fully integrated into your course's curriculum and count as credit towards your degree.

  • Network and Web SecurityCore
  • Networked SystemsCore
  • The Theory and Practice of Concurrent ProgrammingCore
  • Custom ComputingCore
  • Computer VisionOptional
  • GraphicsOptional
  • Data Processing SystemsOptional
  • Communicating Computer Science in SchoolsOptional
  • Advanced Computer ArchitectureOptional
  • RoboticsOptional
  • System Performance EngineeringOptional
  • Operations ResearchOptional
  • Type Systems for Programming LanguagesOptional
  • Software Engineering Group ProjectsOptional
  • Deep LearningOptional

Source: provider course page. Modules can change; required/optional status, credits, descriptions and assessment are shown only when explicitly published.

Course in depth

What this course covers, who it suits and where it leads.

What you'll study

The course covers the core computing foundations you'd expect, programming, systems, theory, but is oriented throughout towards how secure and reliable systems are actually built and kept running. As you progress you'll have the chance to specialise, with pathways such as Cyber Security, Cloud & DevOps, Data Science, AI & Machine Learning, Software Engineering, Web & Mobile, HCI, and Games, letting you shape the degree towards the kind of computing problems that interest you most while keeping security and reliability as a thread running through your choices. The extra fourth year of the MEng is where this really pays off: you'll take on a substantial project, likely involving real systems, real threat models, or real-world reliability engineering, building the kind of independent technical depth that a three-year degree doesn't have time for.

Who it's for

This course suits someone who is curious about how things break, not in a destructive sense, but in the way that makes you want to understand exactly why a system fails, where its weak points are, and how you'd design it differently. You'll probably already enjoy programming and problem-solving, but what will set you apart here is patience: security and reliability work rewards people who like tracing a problem carefully rather than rushing to a quick fix. If you're drawn to the idea of a longer, more research-flavoured degree, one where the fourth year lets you dig into a single substantial project rather than moving straight into work after three years, the MEng structure will suit your temperament. Expect plenty of independent study alongside taught material, and a course culture where asking "how do we know this system is actually safe?" is taken seriously rather than treated as a niche concern.

University & format

Imperial College London is a public, research-intensive Russell Group university based in South Kensington, founded in 1907 and home to around 17,565 students. It holds a Gold rating in the Office for Students' TEF 2023 for teaching quality and was. This MEng (Hons) is a four-year, full-time integrated master's degree taught in English. Most accepted students arrive with A-levels or equivalent (97% of recent entrants), typically presenting UCAS tariff scores in the 224–239 range, reflecting what entrants have actually held rather than a fixed requirement.

Student satisfaction

How students on this course answered the National Student Survey, by theme.

The teaching on my course
92%
Learning opportunities
89%
Assessment and feedback
73%
Academic Support
93%
Organisation and management
84%
Learning resources
92%
Student voice
81%

Share of students responding positively.

Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)

Applicant information

The next application dates for this course, followed by facts the provider publishes.

Application timelineWhat happens next
  1. 2027 entryCompleted applications can be submitted

    Your application needs a reference before you can send it.

  2. 2026 entryFinal date for 2026 applications

    Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.

  3. 2026 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice

    Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.

  4. 2027 entryEqual-consideration deadline

    18:00 UK time for most undergraduate courses.

Show 5 later dates
  1. 2027 entryUCAS Extra opens

    Applicants who used all five choices and hold no offer may be able to add another choice.

  2. 2027 entryLast day applications go directly to providers

    Applications received after 18:00 UK time are entered into Clearing.

  3. 2027 entryClearing opens

    Eligible applicants can see vacancies and release themselves into Clearing.

  4. 2027 entryFinal date for 2027 applications

    Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.

  5. 2027 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice

    Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.

PlacementPublished placement option

Industrial placement. Availability, selection and pay can vary.

Open daysFind out more about our September Open Days

See and book current events. Dates can fill or change.

Entry & how to get in

Typical offer (from the provider)The university’s course page lists a typical A-level offer of A*A*A. Always check the provider for the current offer and subject requirements.
Most entrants held A-levels or equivalent97% of accepted students came in with A-levels or equivalent (entrants over recent years).
Typical UCAS tariff: 224 - 239 pointsThe most common UCAS tariff band among accepted students. This is what entrants had, not a stated requirement.
Entry requirements are set by the universityGrades, subjects and contextual offers vary. Check Imperial College London's official course page for the current offer.

Who gets in

What recently admitted students actually held, official admissions data, not a stated requirement.

UCAS tariff of entrants

Grades are the A-level equivalent of each points band. Tap a band to check your own chances below.

Qualifications held on entry

QualificationShare
A-levels or equivalent97%
Other2%
a previous degree1%
another higher-education qualification1%

Entry & your chances

An honest read from the official entry data, plus your personal match.

Competitive entry

Accepted students typically held strong UCAS tariffs. Check how your predicted grades compare and whether a contextual offer applies.

Will you get in? Plot your grades

Pick your predicted A-levels and watch your UCAS points land on the real spread of students admitted to this course.

Each bar is the share of admitted students in that UCAS-points band (lower → higher). Grades show the A-level equivalent.

Add your grades to see where you land

Your points will drop onto the distribution above, with an honest above / within / below read.

Based on the official admitted-student tariff distribution. Many universities make contextual (reduced-grade) offers, so a result below the range doesn’t rule you out.

How to apply

Undergraduate applications go through UCAS. Here’s what matters for this course, the right deadline, the grades to aim for, and the steps in order.

Apply by13 January 2027, 18:00 UK timefor this course
Typical gradesA*A*A*+A-level equivalent admitted students held
  1. 1
    Register on UCAS Hub

    Create your UCAS application and add this course. One application covers up to five choices.

  2. 2
    Write your personal statement

    A single statement covers all your choices, so keep it broad enough for similar courses while showing genuine interest in this subject.

  3. 3
    Submit by 13 January 2027, 18:00 UK time

    UCAS equal-consideration deadline for most undergraduate courses. Source: UCAS 2027 dates.

  4. 4
    Reply to your offers

    When decisions are in, pick a firm (first) choice and an insurance (back-up) choice with slightly lower grades.

  5. 5
    Results day & confirmation

    On results day (mid-August) your place is confirmed if you meet the offer. Just missed? Talk to the university, or find a place through Clearing.

💡 Many universities make a contextual (reduced-grade) offer, for example based on your school’s results, time in care, or where you live. Ask Imperial College London whether you’re eligible before you apply; it can lower the grades you need.

Fees & funding

What this course costs and how UK student finance covers it.

Tuition per year

Homeup to £9,790 / yr
Internationalset by the university

Standard capped home fee at English providers (2026/27); Scotland, Wales & NI differ.

Check fees at Imperial College London →

For students who normally live in England

illustrative Maintenance Loan per year
£9,790tuition used per year, illustrative full-time England fee-cap scenario
illustrative borrowing over 4 years

2026/27 Student Finance England figures. Maintenance support is means-tested and this two-point view is not an entitlement calculator. The course total uses its published length and home fee where both are available; a missing full-time fee uses the clearly labelled England-cap scenario, while part-time fees and unknown lengths are never guessed. Use the official calculator. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use separate systems: SAAS, Student Finance Wales, and Student Finance NI.

Starting on or after 1 January 2027?

The Lifelong Learning Entitlement is a separate system. A new learner’s tuition entitlement is currently stated as £39,160 (about 480 credits at 2026/27 fee levels), subject to prior study and eligibility. Check the official LLE guide.

Paying for it

  • Tuition Fee Loan: can cover eligible tuition up to the applicable limit and is paid straight to the provider.
  • Maintenance Loan: up to £10,830/yr away from home outside London (England, 2026/27), means-tested on household income.
  • Repayment: 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below it; written off after 40 years.
  • Earn alongside: most students work part-time in term, part-time roles on the StudySmarter job board.

England figures shown; Scotland, Wales & NI run their own schemes, check gov.uk.

Funding matched to this course

Scholarships & bursaries you could qualify for

All Imperial College London funding →

Named awards published by the university. Compare the eligibility and application route before budgeting for one.

Amounts, exclusions and deadlines can change. An award is not guaranteed unless the university confirms it.

StudyKit · free

Still deciding what to study?

StudyKit brings course choice, applications and funding together in one place, with a personal AI assistant. Find what really fits you and start your UCAS application step by step.

Career quizApplication walkthroughSalary & CV check

Careers & earnings

What Computer Science graduates actually earn, from real outcome data, 15 months, 3 years and 5 years after graduating.

Graduate earnings: this course

WhenMedianTypical rangeGraduates
15 months after£70,000£40,000 – £89,50035
3 years after£64,000£50,000 – £90,00080
5 years after£83,500£62,500 – £126,00080

Nominal earnings for graduates of this course/subject at this provider. Moderate evidence. Published sample: 35; avoid reading small differences as meaningful. Cohort 2022-23.

Graduate outcomes, 15 months on: this course

98%
in work or further study 15 months on
100%
in highly skilled work or study
98%
continue past their first year
80%
find their work meaningful
100%
say work fits their future plans
  1. 1Graduate / Junior DeveloperFirst engineering role · 0–2 yrs
  2. 2Software EngineerShipping features end-to-end · 2–5 yrs
  3. 3Senior / Lead EngineerOwning systems and mentoring · 5–9 yrs
  4. 4Principal / Engineering ManagerArchitecture or leading teams · 9+ yrs

How pay grows: this course vs Computer Science nationally

Starting (15 months) HESA GO
£70,000
£25,000 – £35,000
After 3 years LEO
£64,000
£23,375 – £33,000
After 5 years LEO
£83,500
£29,750 – £42,000
national rangethis course’s medianaxis £19,000 – £88,000

National figures for Computer Science graduates, HESA Graduate Outcomes (15 months) and the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset (3 & 5 years). These are national, not university-specific; actual pay varies by employer, region, role and experience. Different cohorts, so the bars are not one group over time.

Work out your pay

Headline figures hide a lot. Calculate realistic take-home pay for this field by role, region and experience, then check your CV before you apply.

What happened to 100 students?

Choose an outcome to translate the published percentage into a simple 100-person view. Each dot represents one percentage point, not an individual tracked student.

98 of 100

were in work or further study

15 months after graduation

87% working4% working and studying7% in further study100% in highly skilled work or study

Source: Discover Uni, using Graduate Outcomes and continuation data. Cohorts: 2022-23. Moderate evidence. Published sample: 35; avoid reading small differences as meaningful. Cohort 2022-23. Each tab is a separate published measure; categories can overlap and should not be added together.

Value compared with similar courses

How this course’s 5-year median earnings compare with Computer Science courses at the same study level.

UK occupations graduates enter

Published graduate destinations, joined conservatively to UK SOC 2020, ONS pay and Skills England demand.

  • Information Technology ProfessionalsSOC 2020 213 · 90% of published destinations · ASHE median £55,357

Discover Uni JOBLIST/JOBTYPE; ONS ASHE 2025 provisional, all employee jobs; Skills England Occupations in Demand 2025. SOC is shown only for an exact normalised label match; demand is shown only at exact four-digit SOC. Published sample: 85; response rate: 65%. Pay describes the occupation across workers, not a guaranteed graduate salary.

Job market & outlook

How Computer Science graduates fare in the labour market, and how AI is reshaping the work.

85%
in work or further study 15 months after graduating, across Computer Science courses nationally.
Graduate Outcomes
75%
of working graduates are in highly skilled work or further study.
highly skilled
85%
of students continue past their first year (still enrolled or completed).
continuation

How AI is changing the work

AI doesn't replace the profession, it shifts it: routine tasks get automated, while judgement, working with people and using AI well become more valuable.

What AI takes off your plate

  • Boilerplate and scaffolding code
  • First-pass tests and docs
  • Routine debugging and refactors
  • Standard data wrangling

More human than ever

  • System design and architecture trade-offs
  • Reviewing and owning correctness & security
  • Translating fuzzy problems into software
  • Leading delivery and mentoring

The strongest graduates pair subject depth with the ability to use AI tools critically.

Roles & employers

Where Computer Science graduates typically go, indicative destinations from graduate career data. Each role links to live openings on the StudySmarter job board.

Where they work

  • Tech companies
  • Banks & fintech
  • Consultancies
  • Government (GDS) & startups

Is this course right for you?

The essentials UK applicants ask about: finance, outcomes, entry and quality.

💷

Student finance

For comparison, the standard full-time England tuition cap is up to £9,790 per year in 2026/27; the actual fee varies by course and provider. If you normally live in England, eligible students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, plus a Maintenance Loan for living costs. Under Plan 5 you repay 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below that, and the balance is written off after 40 years.

📈

Where graduates go

98% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, with a median salary of £70,000. See the full breakdown in Careers & earnings above.

🎯

Your entry chances

Use the UCAS points calculator above to see how your predicted grades compare with admitted students, and whether a contextual offer could apply.

Official-data snapshot

Averaging the official measures published for it, this course scores 9.4 out of 10: NSS 86.3% · in work or study 98% · continued 98%.

Who studies here and in this subject?

Provider- and UK subject-level context.

Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine

All students22,525
International52.9%
Aged 25+20.2%

Computing across the UK

Students205,990
Aged 25+31.2%

HESA student record 2024/25. Counts are rounded.

Local crime-data context

A neutral snapshot around the published teaching location.

Around South Kensington

3,468 street-level reports returned within roughly one mile across 2026-04 to 2026-06.

Anti Social Behaviour 750Violent Crime 642Other Theft 530Shoplifting 370Theft From The Person 293

Police.uk street-level API. Approximate locations, not confined to campus. England, Wales and Northern Ireland; not Scotland.

Is Computer Science right for you?

Tick what applies to you and see how good a fit it is.

International students

What applying to Imperial College London from outside the UK involves: fees, English, visa, funding and living costs.

Tuition fees

International tuition is set per course by Imperial College London; international fees are typically £12,000–£30,000/year for classroom subjects and higher for lab/clinical ones. You’re not eligible for UK Tuition Fee or Maintenance Loans, so plan for fees plus living costs upfront.

English language

Most UK undergraduate courses ask for around IELTS 6.0–6.5 (no band below 5.5–6.0), or an accepted equivalent. If you’re just short, most universities run a pre-sessional English course that counts towards the requirement.

Student visa

You’ll usually need a Student visa (Student Route). After you accept an offer the university issues a CAS; you then show funds for fees plus about £1,023–£1,334/month living costs and pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for NHS access.

Scholarships & funding

Imperial College London offers the GREAT - Imperial College London Scholarship for international students, see Scholarships above.

Living costs

Budget roughly £1,100–£1,400/month outside London and £1,400–£1,800/month in London for rent, food and travel; the figure also matters for your visa.

Working while you study

A Student visa usually allows up to 20 hours/week in term time and full-time in holidays, useful alongside study, though not something to rely on for fees.

Visa rules and fees change. Always confirm the current requirements with Imperial College London and gov.uk before you apply.

Common questions

Entry is competitive. Accepted students typically held strong UCAS tariffs. The most common tariff band among recent entrants was 224 - 239 UCAS points. Use the calculator on this page to see where your predicted grades would put you; many universities also make lower contextual offers.
Set by Imperial College London. Most accepted students held A-levels or equivalent. Check the university's course page for the exact offer.
For Computer science graduates from this provider, 98% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, 100% in highly skilled roles, typical earnings around £70,000. (HESA Graduate Outcomes / LEO, via Discover Uni.)
For comparison, the standard full-time England tuition cap is up to £9,790 per year in 2026/27; the actual fee varies by course and provider. If you normally live in England, eligible students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, plus a Maintenance Loan for living costs. Under Plan 5 you repay 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below that, and the balance is written off after 40 years. See Fees & funding on this page to work out your numbers.
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