Join

 As a PhD Student / Postdoc

There may (or may not) be PhD / Postdoc opportunities available any time of the year. If you are (a) really good, and (b) interested in a PhD / Postdoc in system security, send us an email (please include [VUSeek] in the subject and attach your CV).

 As a Bachelor Student

Apply for a Bachelor’s in Computer Science at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. VUSec is involved in a number of Bachelor courses (course material on Canvas and more information in the study guide):

  • Operating Systems (OS)
  • Compiler Construction (CoCo)
  • Secure Programming (SP)

See also our page on student projects.

As a Teaching Assistant (TA)

If you are a year-2+ Bachelor student or Master student at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, we have a number of teaching assistantships available throughout the year for our Bachelor courses above as well as for our Master courses below. All our TA positions require:

  • Good communications skills
  • Familiarity with C/C++ programming
  • Knowledge of the specific course material (see study guide), e.g., by having attended the specific course at VU (required for MSc courses) or equivalent elsewhere.
  • A commitment of at least 10 hours/week throughout the period the specific course is offered, with the exception of Compiler Construction in the shorter Period 3 (fixed at 16 hours/week). 
  • A commitment to help with organizing/grading practical assignments and handling related questions from students.

If you are interested in these positions for one or more of our courses, please fill out the VUSec TA form and then email us at . Do include [VUSeek] in the subject, attach a grade list, and confirm you have submitted the form.

 As a Master Student

Apply for a Master in Computer Science at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. For VUSec, the most obvious program is our Computer Security Master (which VUSec is actively co-organizing). Another option is the regular Computer Science Master.

Our Computer Security Master is unique in the  Netherlands in focusing on system security issues in operating systems, hardware, applications, and networks and less on theory such as the math behind cryptography. For us, it’s systems all the way down.

Our philosophy is that you learn by doing and, moreover, the way to learn most about security solutions is to break them. So, you will learn how to write exploits and how to bypass some of the strongest defenses  commonly deployed.  The courses are extremely challenging and most of them have a very hands-on  character.

Students graduating in our Master will have knowledge of:

  • Security issues in system-level software including weaknesses and defenses (and how to bypass them);
  • Static and dynamic analysis techniques for software (benign and malicious, binary and source) ;
  • Research in attacks and defenses;
  • Reverse engineering and forensics

VUSec is actively involved in many Master courses (course material on Canvas and more information in the study guide), such as:

  • Binary and Malware Analysis (BAMA)
  • Software Security (SoftSec)
  • Advanced Operating Systems (AOS)
  • Hardware Security (HS)
  • Network Security (NS)
  • Verification for Security (VS)

Students frequently play a leading role in our research projects.  See our page on student projects. Also check out some published papers from thesis projects carried out by our Master students below.

Published Master Thesis Results

Life after university

In this field, there is pretty much 100% employment rate. On this page, you will find some links to organizations that may help you find the right job for you.

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