Next intake: 2026/2027 — Phase 2 open, closes 15 July

Defend the Digital World. Master Cybersecurity.

A rigorous two-year programme at the University of Minho that equips graduates with advanced technical competencies and research acumen to address the most pressing challenges in information security — a field facing a global shortage of 3.5 million qualified professionals.

Explore Admissions View Curriculum →
120
ECTS Credits
4
Semesters
20+
Faculty
15
Courses
PT
Braga · UMinho
About the Programme

Advanced Expertise for a
Threat-Defined World

The cybersecurity landscape demands professionals who can think like adversaries, build resilient systems, and lead organisational security strategy. Our programme delivers all three through a curriculum that integrates theory, practice, and research.

Academic Programme

Curriculum & Curricular Units

A carefully structured progression over four semesters, combining a solid theoretical foundation with extensive practical application across all dimensions of modern cybersecurity. Total: 120 ECTS.

Full-time attendance is standard. Part-time enrolment is possible under the University's general student-status regulations — prospective part-time students should contact the programme management committee before applying, to discuss course scheduling and dissertation-timeline implications.

Domain coverage by semester
Cryptography & Security
Sem 1–2
Networks & Systems
Sem 1–2
Applied Laboratories
Sem 2–3
Legal & Management
Sem 1
Dissertation
Sem 3–4

Foundations of Security. The first semester establishes a broad foundation covering the key domains of cybersecurity — from cloud architectures and network defence to the legal and managerial frameworks essential to organisational security. Students also complete Option 1, a mandatory 5 ECTS choice from a set of offerings defined by the programme management committee for each edition.

CCASS
Cloud Computing Applications and Services
Cloud infrastructure management, virtualisation technologies, and practical deployment of scalable applications in distributed cloud environments.
Compulsory 5 ECTS
CSS
Computer Systems Security
Principles and practice of computer security, covering threat modelling, authentication, access control, and vulnerability assessment.
Compulsory 5 ECTS
CM
Cybersecurity Management
Frameworks, risk management processes, and organisational controls for planning, implementing, and evaluating cybersecurity programmes.
Compulsory 5 ECTS
DS
Data Security
Protection of information through cryptography, authentication, and access control, addressing threats to data at rest and in transit.
Compulsory 5 ECTS
NS
Network Security
Network security across all TCP/IP protocol stack levels, covering vulnerabilities, attack types, and practical operational security tools.
Compulsory 5 ECTS
DML
Data and Machine Learning
Machine learning approaches — supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning — with emphasis on data challenges in security contexts.
Option 1 5 ECTS
LAC
Legal Aspects of Cybersecurity
Legal and regulatory framework governing cybersecurity, including European and Portuguese legislation, cybercrimes, and data protection.
Option 1 5 ECTS

Depth and Practice. The second semester deepens technical expertise in cryptography, software security, and network traffic analysis, while introducing incident management and the first dedicated laboratory module for applied, hands-on skill development.

C
Cryptography
Mathematical and theoretical foundations of cryptographic systems, including security models, proof techniques, and post-quantum considerations.
Compulsory 5 ECTS
CL1
Cybersecurity Laboratories 1
Applied Security Operations Centre (SOC) functions, integrating real-time monitoring, incident prevention, and response across security domains.
Compulsory 5 ECTS
IM
Incident Management
Incident response processes, CERT/CSIRT management, and business continuity strategies across the full cybersecurity incident lifecycle.
Compulsory 5 ECTS
IT
Intrusion Tolerance
Fault and intrusion tolerance in distributed systems, covering Byzantine fault tolerance, consensus algorithms, and resilient system design.
Compulsory 5 ECTS
NTA
Network Traffic Analysis
Traffic measurement, analysis methodologies, and network security monitoring, including intrusion detection and traffic classification techniques.
Compulsory 5 ECTS
SS
Software Security
Secure software development lifecycle, threat modelling, vulnerability identification, and standards-based secure coding practices.
Compulsory 5 ECTS

Specialisation & Research Initiation. The third semester consolidates advanced competencies through a second laboratory module, emerging specialisation topics, and the Cybersecurity Seminars — providing an intellectual bridge to the dissertation. Students also complete Option 2, a mandatory 5 ECTS choice from a set of offerings defined by the programme management committee for each edition.

CL2
Cybersecurity Laboratories 2
Capture the Flag (CTF) competitive challenges covering cryptanalysis, operating system exploitation, network security, and cloud system hardening.
Compulsory 5 ECTS
SC
Seminars in Cybersecurity
Research methodologies, dissertation writing, scientific communication, and professional development including cybersecurity careers and certifications.
Compulsory 5 ECTS
ITS
Internet of Things
IoT architectures, protocols, and security considerations across sensing, communication, processing, and application layers of connected systems.
Option 2 5 ECTS
DFA
Digital Forensics Analysis
Collection, preservation, and analysis of digital evidence from computers, networks, and mobile devices using forensic investigation techniques.
Option 2 5 ECTS

Independent Research. Semesters 3–4 culminate in the dissertation, the centrepiece of the Master's degree. Students conduct supervised original research or develop a substantive practical project in a specialised area of cybersecurity.

45 ECTS
Master's Dissertation

Master's Dissertation

Students deepen knowledge acquired throughout the programme and develop autonomous research competencies, culminating in a written dissertation and public oral defence. All dissertations follow the same development and evaluation procedure. Proposals may originate from academic supervisors or from industry and public-sector partners; in the latter case, the work may be carried out in an industry context, though this is not a requirement.

Academic proposal Industry proposal Semesters 3–4
Research & Innovation

Faculty, Research & Projects

The programme is delivered by active researchers whose work spans the full spectrum of cybersecurity — from formal verification of cryptographic code to resilient distributed systems and EU-funded security projects.

20+ active researchers. The programme brings together experienced researchers and educators from the Department of Informatics at the University of Minho, spanning all core cybersecurity domains.

Tiago Filipe Oliveira
Tiago Filipe Oliveira

Five core research strands. MCS faculty conduct internationally recognised research across the full spectrum of cybersecurity, from the mathematical foundations of cryptography to the operational challenges of securing modern digital infrastructure.

Cryptography & Quantum Resistance

Research into post-quantum cryptographic algorithms and mathematical foundations for securing systems against quantum computing threats.

AI-Driven Defence Mechanisms

Application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to anomaly detection, intrusion response, and autonomous security operations.

Zero-Trust Architectures

Design and evaluation of zero-trust security models for distributed systems, cloud environments, and enterprise infrastructures.

Networking & Distributed Systems

Security of distributed and networked systems including intrusion tolerance, network traffic analysis, and resilient system design.

Data & Information Systems Security

Research into database security, data integrity, privacy-preserving computation, and the protection of information assets at scale.

Active and recent research projects. MCS faculty lead and contribute to externally funded projects covering cryptographic verification, supply chain security, ransomware resilience, IoT device security, and European cybersecurity collaboration.

FORMOSA ↗ EU / ERC

Federation of Tools for Machine-Checked Cryptography

Develops and federates formal verification tools for high-assurance cryptographic engineering, ensuring machine-checked correctness proofs for cryptographic implementations at scale. Directly underpins the Jasmin compiler work produced by MCS faculty.

Ongoing
Rescueware ↗ FCT

Intelligent Self-Configurable Data Recovery for Ransomware Resilience

Develops proactive cybersecurity strategies and resilient data recovery mechanisms to protect critical systems against ransomware attacks, combining detection, containment, and automated recovery.

2026 — 2029
FISHY ↗ Horizon 2020

A Framework for Intelligent Security Handling in Your Supply Chain

Delivers a cyber-resilience framework to continuously assess, monitor, and respond to security threats across complex ICT supply chains, addressing trust and integrity at every tier.

2021 — 2024
POISE
FCT

Programmable Asynchronous Asymmetric Secure Choreographies

Investigates programmable security protocols for asynchronous distributed systems, enabling flexible and formally verified choreography-based security guarantees for multi-party computation.

2026 — 2027
PeTALL
FCT

Privacy-Enhancing Technology for Auditable and Lawful Logging

Balances transparency and privacy in performance indicator validation, ensuring accountability and legal auditability without revealing the sensitive underlying data on which indicators are computed.

Ongoing
DISSECT ↗ FCT

Digital Infrastructure Security Assessment

Develops tooling and methodologies for automated, large-scale security assessment of digital infrastructure, enabling systematic identification and prioritisation of vulnerabilities across public and private systems.

Ongoing
CYBERACTIONING
EU

European Joint Cybersecurity Master's Programme

A collaborative European initiative developing a joint cybersecurity curriculum and open online courses (MOOC), positioning MCS within a network of leading European universities and strengthening cross-border cybersecurity education.

Ongoing
IDINA ↗ IN3+ Award

Inclusive Non-Authoritative Digital Identity

A distributed trust platform that enables legal digital identity for populations without centralised civil registry infrastructure. Trusted institutions — schools, hospitals, and NGOs — attest to identity attributes through life events, addressing a gap affecting over one billion people worldwide. Winner of the IN3+ Innovation Award 2021, presented at a ceremony attended by the President of the Republic.

2021 – 2025 · INCM · €600 k

Latest research output. The five most recent publications by MCS faculty with direct relevance to cybersecurity — spanning cryptographic verification, information security assessment, and Byzantine-resilient distributed systems.

  1. 2025

    Jazzline: Composable CryptoLine Functional Correctness Proofs for Jasmin Programs

    J. B. Almeida, M. Barbosa, G. Barthe, L. Blatter, G. Delerue, J. D. Duarte, B. Gregoire, T. Oliveira, M. Quaresma, P.-Y. Strub, M.-H. Tsai, B.-Y. Wang, B.-Y. Yang ACM CCS 2025

    DOI ↗ Cryptography
  2. 2025

    Assessing the Information Security Posture of Online Public Services Worldwide: Technical Insights, Trends, and Policy Implications

    D. Ribeiro, V. Fonte, L. F. Ramos, J. M. Silva Government Information Quarterly, Elsevier

    DOI ↗ Infosec
  3. 2025

    BLADE: Byzantine-Tolerant Learning under an Asynchronous and Decentralised Environment

    G. Ferreira, A. Nunes Alonso, J. Pereira European Dependable Computing Conference (EDCC 2025)

    DOI ↗ Byzantine Resilience
  4. 2025

    Leakage-Free Probabilistic Jasmin Programs

    J. B. Almeida, D. Firsov, T. Oliveira, D. Unruh ACM POPL 2025

    DOI ↗ Side-Channel Security
  5. 2025

    Rethinking BFT: Leveraging Diverse Software Components with LLMs

    J. Imperadeiro, A. Nunes Alonso, J. Pereira IEEE/IFIP DSN 2025 — Supplemental Volume

    DOI ↗ Byzantine Resilience

Publications sourced from ORCID profiles of MCS faculty. For a complete list of research outputs, visit the the Faculty tab above.

Admissions

Entry Requirements & Application

The programme welcomes candidates with a solid background in computing disciplines and the intellectual commitment to advance their expertise in cybersecurity.

Eligibility Criteria
1

Degree holders in Informatics, Informatics Engineering, Systems and Informatics Engineering, or a closely related field of Information Technology.

2

International graduates under the Bologna Process holding a degree in a relevant knowledge area from a participating country.

3

Foreign degree holders whose credentials are formally recognised by the School of Engineering as equivalent to a Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline.

4

Alternative qualifications — those with an academic, scientific, or professional curriculum acknowledged by the School of Engineering as demonstrating the capacity to undertake graduate study.

Bologna Process International Students Welcome Professional Experience Considered
Application Deadlines — 2026/2027
Phase 2
4 July – 15 July
Academic Year 2026/2027
Phase 3
3 September – 10 September
Academic Year 2026/2027
Ready to Apply?
All applications are submitted through the official University of Minho student portal. Phase 2 is open now and closes 15 July 2026 — apply as soon as your supporting documents are ready.
Apply via UMinho Portal →
Apply early — places are limited
(+351) 253 604 430
International Students

Practical guidance for applicants from outside Portugal — language, credential recognition, visa and residence procedures, tuition fees, and on-arrival support.

Language of Instruction

The programme's official language of instruction is Portuguese. However, most faculty members are fully comfortable teaching in English upon request, and the great majority of course materials — textbooks, research papers, and reference works — are in English. International students are nonetheless expected to attain a working command of spoken and written Portuguese sufficient to follow lectures, supplementary materials, and day-to-day academic life. To support this, students may enrol in courses offered by BabeliUM, the University of Minho's language centre, which offers annual, semester, and intensive summer formats. Prior preparation is encouraged but not a requirement for admission.

Degree Recognition — Non-EU Applicants

Applicants holding degrees awarded outside the European Union or European Economic Area must obtain formal recognition of their credentials through the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES). Three pathways are available: automatic recognition (up to 30 days, for degrees from accredited institutions meeting Portuguese standards, subject to a modest administrative fee — please consult the DGES portal for the current amount); level recognition; and specific recognition (both up to 90 days, processed through the receiving university). Recognition may be initiated in parallel with your application, but confirmed credentials are required prior to final enrolment. Applicants are strongly advised to begin this process as early as possible to avoid delays.

Open DGES Recognition Portal →
Visa & Residence Permit

Citizens of European Union and European Economic Area Member States, as well as Swiss citizens, are not required to obtain a visa to study in Portugal — a valid identity document is sufficient. Citizens of other countries should consult the nearest Portuguese diplomatic mission regarding the appropriate study visa, and apply once admission to the programme has been confirmed. Upon arrival in Portugal, non-EU students must register with the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) in order to obtain a residence permit for study purposes.

Visit AIMA →
Tuition Fees & Cost of Living

Tuition fees apply to both domestic and international students. Any specific figures cited elsewhere should be regarded as indicative references only; the definitive, up-to-date amounts are those published by the University of Minho on its postgraduate fees page, which candidates should consult before submitting an application. Living costs in Braga are generally lower than in other major European university cities; further guidance on accommodation, transport, and student support is available through the University's International Relations Office.

Open UMinho Postgraduate Fees Page →

The University of Minho's International Welcome Centre offers incoming students administrative support, orientation activities, and assistance with accommodation, health insurance, and integration into academic and social life in Braga. The Department of Informatics and the programme's academic management committee remain available to support international applicants throughout the admission process.

Get in Touch

Contact & Further Information

For enquiries regarding the programme, admissions, or research opportunities, please do not hesitate to reach out to the course administration team.

Email
dc-mcs@di.uminho.pt
Telephone
(+351) 253 604 430
(+351) 253 604 470
Institution
University of Minho
School of Engineering, Braga, Portugal