SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego City College will soon offer it’s first four-year degree. It’s the second community college in the district to do so. This one will be in cyber defense and analysis.
“It just opens a new door of exploration and options,” said Maximus Gastelum, a freshman at City College. “Now that there’s a four-year degree here, it changes the plan a little bit,” Gastelum said.
Gastelum says he was planning to transfer out of City College after two years, but this new Bachelor’s program has him excited about a different career path.
“It's an opportunity for anyone to compete for that above-livable wage job,” said David Kennemer, an Associate Professor at SDCC.
Kennemer pushed for this four-year degree. He says there was a growing interest among students.
“They would come to me after completing the associate program, like what’s next?”
The state only recently allowed community colleges to offer Bachelor’s degrees. The idea was problematic because it could put them in competition with other universities statewide. But Kennemer says, that’s irrelevant.
“State, UC they do not have a Bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity. Even if there were, the number of students we take and the number of students they take wont account for all those jobs.”
Kennemer is referring to more than 81,000 job openings in cybersecurity throughout the state. That’s according to Cyberseek, an organization working to improve the cybersecurity talent gap.
“We’re a huge cyber hub here," Kennemer said. "This is big, this helps fill that need for those employers.”
Faculty says City College will open applications for the degree in October. The program will then launch in fall of 2024.
