THE University of the East is set to offer a Bachelor of Science in Criminology with a specialization in Cybersecurity. It will be launched by this private university starting August 2024 on its Caloocan campus.

“We look forward to producing highly competent and upright graduates who can deliver efficient services in crime prevention, crime detection and investigation, law enforcement, public safety, and criminological research,” UE College of Arts and Sciences Dean Michelle Concepcion said.

UE’s new criminology degree program will carry in its four-year curriculum cybersecurity specialization courses like cyberspace and cybersecurity, information assurance and security, network and data communication protocols, digital forensics, machine learning in security, and security penetration testing and audit.

“In these times when digital and cyber threats and attacks have become increasingly rampant, we hope to arm our aspiring criminology students with the knowledge and know-how to fend off and foil these technology-aided crimes whether perpetuated globally or locally,” Concepcion stressed.

With the Philippine National Police recruiting thousands of new police officers every year and the heightened need for security workers in various fields, graduates of criminology are highly in demand.

The PNP is hiring thousands of personnel yearly, recruiting over 6,000 personnel in 2023 which has lowered the ratio of cops per person from only 1:500 to 1:125. The agency also earlier vowed to improve its capability to respond to cybercrimes and digital scams by capacitating regional offices and police stations through training.

“UE aspires to help provide the country with highly equipped professionals who can anticipate and address new and complex forms of criminality and who possess the needed character and competence to meet the challenges of globalization in the field of criminology,” Concepcion explained.

Aside from entry into the police force and other relevant government agencies, career options for criminology graduates include business continuity management and security management in the private sector, research in specialized organizations, teaching in academia, security consultancies, and many others.

Republic Act 11549 has lowered the minimum height requirement for applicants to the PNP, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and the Bureau of Corrections from 1.62 meters to 1.57 meters for males and from 1.57 meters to 1.52 meters for females while granting height waiver for applicants belonging to cultural communities or indigenous peoples.

For the past 77 years, UE has produced hundreds of thousands of graduates, many of whom have excelled in their respective fields in the country and abroad.