Huge Demand For University Of Malaga’s New Cybersecurity And AI Degree Program Sees Hundreds Miss Out
Spain News
Published: 18 September 2023 18:48 CET
In a surprising turn of events, the University of Malaga (UMA) has been inundated with enthusiastic applicants for its recently launched degree program in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI). The overwhelming popularity of the course has left 350 students without a coveted spot.
This groundbreaking program made its debut at the university earlier this year and quickly emerged as one of the most sought-after degrees in the academic landscape. Astonishingly, cybersecurity became the seventh most coveted first-choice course, following closely behind the traditionally esteemed fields of medicine, nursing, primary education, psychology, law, and early childhood education.
A remarkable 351 male students and 69 female students selected cybersecurity and artificial intelligence as their top preference. Initially, the university offered a limited 65 places for enrollment. However, the enthusiasm was so palpable that 67 students were eventually admitted, leaving an astonishing 353 students, all of whom had fervently listed this program as their preferred degree, without an available spot. Notably, the composition of the course is predominantly male, with only six female students among the enrolled.
This surge in interest in the new program follows the unfortunate cancellation of the computer engineering course for the current academic year, which had 55 enrolled students.
While medicine remained the undisputed first choice for 921 students who successfully passed the selection exams in June, it is worth noting that this number slightly decreased from last year's 1,033 applicants. The Malaga faculty, however, only has a capacity of 182 available places for incoming students.
Nursing secured the top choice for 822 students (a slight decrease from the 828 applicants last year), with an additional 165 new places added to accommodate the demand. Primary education garnered 687 applications, closely followed by psychology with 638. Meanwhile, law maintained its fifth-place ranking from the previous year, attracting 470 applications, with 325 openings available for first-year students.
Manuel Enciso, the director of the ETSI Informática, extended a warm welcome to the new cybersecurity and artificial intelligence students on September 12th, marking the commencement of classes. He hailed this pioneering degree as a milestone for both Malaga and Spain, expressing gratitude to the students for their audacity in choosing a novel program—one that promises a remarkable future with an ever-growing demand for experts in these fields.
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