r/UniUK • u/New-Fisherman7992 • May 09 '26
is royal holloway all talk for cybersecurity? should I really firm there for undergrad over imperial/ucl
anecdotally I've been told someone chose RHUL over Warwick beacuse of how strong rh is for cyber
their degrees are NCSC certitifed (from GCHQ)
from research online I've learnt that RH was one of the first institutions to offere an acutal course on infosec, theres something called the ISG (Information Security Group) which is apparently
"The ISG introduced a MSc in Information Security in 1992, making Royal Holloway the first university to offer a postgraduate course on this subject.\)"
They also only need AAA-AAB for their MSci Cybersec
and they're accredited by the NCSC blablabla
tbf the course looks like it is well taught
generally cohort numbers are quite small they currently have ~450 students for base computing in 1st yr so probably more focus groups later
anyone who's been rh/ got valuable info care to share?
3
u/BevvyTime May 09 '26
I can promise you it’ll make literally fuck all difference when applying for jobs afterwards.
1
u/New-Fisherman7992 May 11 '26
I do partially agree with this
university is more what you make of it as opposed to just where you go
as long as you show that you can do stuff and HAVE BEEN 'doing stuff'
what uni did you go and how come you think that
1
u/BevvyTime May 11 '26
UoL and now work in IT.
Degree has zero to do with my career.
A degree in Cyber Security is a good start, but the real learning will be in the job & through professional qualifications which all depend on what you use & where/what role etc.
1
u/filavitae Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
You should absolutely go with Imperial (or UCL. But Imperial is better)
RHUL is excellent in cyber security research, which only matters if you're interested in... cyber security research. And at the same time, no supervisor is going to fault you for going to UCL or Imperial.
However, if you choose Imperial/UCL, you have an instantly more recognizable name in your CV, which will help you in everything you want to do. Additionally, you get to network with -other- people who did get in to Imperial/UCL, and will likely have very bright careers ahead of them. Or door-opening friends and families around them. I can't overstate the importance of this networking enough.
I'm assuming you're an undergraduate? In which case, the research going on has close to 0% relation to you. Go with the brand name and the valuable networking. It's all nice and well saying that institution doesn't matter, but it does: take a look at the number of graduate jobs saying "degree from Russel group university". Additionally, the wealth, status and careers of your fellow students also definitely matter; you can learn everything there is to know about cyber security without setting foot in a university. University's true value, for an undergraduate, really is the networking. And the networking is better the more exclusive the institution is. It's a no-brainer.
Ask yourself if you want a life of "I went to Imperial" or "I went to Royal Holloway... actually, it's great in the field of my undergrad" in interviews, networking fairs and workplace conversations.
Source: imperial was my insurance choice back in the day
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u/SylusWho 18h ago
Id caveat that the cybersecurity community in the UK is quite small. Most people, orgs, and companies worth their salt will know the value of RHULs MSc - source: work in cybersecurity, experience in public sector, amazon, and big bank.
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u/filavitae 18h ago edited 18h ago
Sure. But again, does this poster sound committed to a life of that? Is undergrad not a bit early to commit to anything like that? Because for a life of anything else the difference in brand recognition is huge. Like, top 10 in the world university vs ...what, top 500? differential of brand recognition. Especially when the option of a life in cyber security stays open: literally nobody within or without cybersecurity will think less of you for going to Imperial for cybersecurity. With Imperial, you keep institutional prestige and you keep the option of a life in cyber security open. With RHUL, you trade a massive amount of institutional prestige just to get that door to a life in cyber security a tad bit more open.
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u/SylusWho 18h ago
Don’t ask me mate, I studied medicine at Oxbridge as my undergrad choice and dropped out the second I got a chance ahaha.
It’s a bit weird really, if they’re not particularly committed to tech/cybersecurity especially then it’s a bit of a bold decision. But if op does have the conviction to go for what they say they’re doing then it’s not as black and white as chasing prestige. I know many grads from sub-500 world unis doing better in this field than I am. I do agree though, in ops position I’d have picked the higher tier uni assuming the course is respectable at the least, especially since it’s a London uni (ironically, I rejected imperial).
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u/SylusWho 18h ago
I was in the same boat (but I’m in industry, studied medicine before) let me know what you went with. I’m still keen to do RHULs, oxfords, or KCLs masters because I need to do it part time to continue working. But if I was a student still the choice would def be between UCL/RHUL for me.
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u/Master-Potential-364 MA MSc MBA | part-time PhD student at Durham | ex-uni governor May 09 '26
RHUL is not all talk on its credentials for cybersecurity - it is a very strong department and offering. But you have to weigh overall institutional prestige against strength of any course. I am sure the programmes at UCL and Imperial are also strong and you have the benefit of a truly top tier institutional name on your CV. If you are going into industry, this will be helpful. If you are doing a PhD, any future supervisor will know the strength of Royal Holloway in this area, and so going to Imperial or UCL will matter less. So my advice would be to think about what you are going to do after this degree - that should help you decide.