MSc Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust at Edinburgh: Entry and NCSC Condition
Edinburgh’s MSc Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust has a demanding entry profile and an NCSC certification that comes with a condition. Here is what the university, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and course directories publish.
The key facts
| Item | What is published |
|---|---|
| Length and start | 1 year full time from September 2027, or part time over up to 3 years |
| NCSC status | Edinburgh says the MSc is fully certified, but to earn the certified route you must choose 100 credits from specific course combinations. The NCSC list, reviewed 7 September 2026, shows an expiry date in 2029 |
| Entry | A UK 2:1 honours degree, or international equivalent, in informatics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computer science, econometrics, electrical engineering, linguistics, mathematics, philosophy, physics, psychology or another quantitative discipline. Edinburgh says entry is competitive and that exceeding the minimum improves your chances |
| Maths and programming | A course listing quoting Edinburgh says your degree should typically have covered calculus, linear algebra, discrete mathematics and probability |
| International fee | Not in the page text we read. Listing sites quote £43,300 for 2026 and £45,410 as a provisional figure for 2027 |
The certification condition
Because certification depends on the courses you choose, the label on the degree does not tell you whether your own timetable counts. The NCSC also notes that for some listed degrees certification applies to a specific pathway. If NCSC certification matters for your plans, ask Edinburgh to confirm which options make up the certified combination before you select your courses.
Who it suits, in our reading
This suits applicants with a strong quantitative degree and programming experience who can exceed the minimum entry bar. If your degree is in an unrelated field, other certified courses are likely a better match, and our guide to cybersecurity degrees without a computer science background lists some.
Fees and visa funds
Because the fee is high, budget from Edinburgh’s own course page, which lists the current figure. Edinburgh is outside London, so the outside-London living-cost figure applies: £1,171 a month for up to nine months on GOV.UK today, rising to £1,203 for applications from 30 November 2026 under Statement of Changes HC 584, as reported by immigration law firms. Use our calculator.
Correction, November 2026
An earlier version of this guide said to expect international fees in the region of £35,000 to £39,000 and that a typical offer is closer to a first-class result. Course directories list higher fees than that range, and we could not re-confirm the first-class statement, so both were removed. The earlier version also did not mention that certification depends on your choice of 100 credits.
What we could not confirm
We could not read Edinburgh’s own fee table or its English-language requirement, so this guide gives no test scores and treats the fees above as directory figures. We found no independent graduate outcome figures.
Sources and checks
- University of Edinburgh, Cyber Security, Privacy and Trust MSc (2027 entry), read on 5 November 2026
- Hotcourses Abroad, course listing (provisional 2027 fee) and IDP, course listing (2026 fee), read on 5 November 2026
- National Cyber Security Centre, NCSC-certified degrees (reviewed 7 September 2026), read on 5 November 2026
- GOV.UK, Student visa: money you need and Richmond Chambers, commentary on HC 584
Figures checked: November 2026. This is general information, not admissions or immigration advice, so confirm fees, entry and certification on Edinburgh’s pages.