Professional field: 5.3 "Communication and Computer Equipment"

Field of higher education: 5 "Technical Sciences"

The doctoral program "Information Technologies and Cyber Security" provides the acquisition of the necessary knowledge, skills and professional competencies for the development and successful defence of a dissertation. The training is carried out in a regular and independent form of training with a duration of up to three years, and in part-time and by distance form of training with a duration of up to four years. Those who successfully defend their dissertations acquire the educational and scientific degree of "Doctor" in "Information Technologies and Cyber Security"

Objectives of the doctoral program:

• Training of highly qualified specialists for research in the field of information technologies and cyber defence;

• Deepening the fundamental and professional competence for research and applied activities in the field of modern informatics;

• Deepening the knowledge related to the modern theoretical and methodological principles of research in the field of the doctoral program;

• Formation of skills for performing in-depth scientific analysis and formulation of new hypotheses;

• Formation of skills for independent research;

• Building experience for conducting research and presenting its results in national, regional and international forums.

The doctoral students are trained according to an individual curriculum, in accordamce with the Regulations for the conditions and the order for acquiring scientific degrees in "Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov" Defence Institute.

Scope of the doctoral program

The program covers an interdisciplinary scientific field located on the border between natural sciences and technical sciences. It is characterized by in-depth knowledge of information technology and cybersecurity, information systems, informatics and computer science. There is a specific practical focus on information systems in the field of security and defence.

The successfully graduated doctoral student:

• possesses and applies knowledge of research methods in the field of information technology and information security and performs original research;

• knows and uses well the literature sources in the field of dissertation research;

• presents and interprets knowledge at the highest level not only in the fields of modern information technology and cybersecurity, but also in related scientific fields.

After completing the training, skills are acquired for:

• systematic, substantiated exposition of scientific ideas;

• independent research and applied activity;

• critical analysis of scientific ideas in the field of modern information technologies and cybersecurity, as well as their applications;

• fast search, extraction, systematization, synthesis and evaluation of the necessary information from various sources;

• defining policies, researching existing means of information security, proposing to improve existing methods and developing new means of protection;

• creating, maintaining, designing and programming of information systems and networks.

Opportunities for realization

Successful graduates of the doctoral program are specialists who can be realized in the field of software and hardware systems, including their cyber protection, development of mathematical models and algorithms. Doctors in the doctoral program "Information Technologies and Cyber ​​Security" are valued as lecturers in higher education institutions and researchers capable of developing independent research. In the specialized units for IT support and cybersecurity, the graduates of the doctoral program are highly valued and wanted specialists.