NSF invests in recruiting and training the next generation of cybersecurity professionals with addition of 6 new universities
The U.S. National Science Foundation has given the nation’s cybersecurity workforce a boost with the inclusion of six additional universities into its CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service program. These institutions will use the money to provide full scholarships and stipends of up to $34,000 to students who agree to work in cybersecurity jobs for federal, state, local or tribal governments after graduation.
NSF invested nearly $6.9 million, with an expected total of almost $21.2 million over the next five years. The six will join NSF’s 78 current CyberCorps Scholarship for Service universities, which represent 36 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The six additional universities are:
- Augusta University
- Michigan Technological University
- Old Dominion University
- University of Central Florida
- University of Cincinnati
- University of Rhode Island
"Every day, we see headlines that underscore the urgency of ensuring an adequately sized and well- trained cybersecurity workforce in the United States, particularly in government agencies," said Kim Barrett, director of NSF's Division of Graduate Education. "I’m excited that six new institutions will be added to the Cybercorps-Scholarships for Service program ranks. These diverse universities have each proposed innovative approaches to cybersecurity education and professional development that not only will support students selected for scholarships, but also increase the vitality of cybersecurity preparedness for the nation."
Students at the new universities will benefit from innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to cybersecurity education and leverage relationships with internal and external resources, such as the Lockheed Martin Cyber Innovation Lab at the University of Central Florida; the Georgia Cyber Center at Augusta University; and the Ohio Cyber Range at the University of Cincinnati.
Community colleges began participating in this program in 2015 and will play an important role in several of the new investments. Augusta University, the University of Rhode Island and Old Dominion University have all proposed partnerships with nearby community colleges Augusta Technical College, Community College of Rhode Island, Tidewater Community College and Thomas Nelson Community College.
Two of the new universities, Old Dominion University and the University of Cincinnati, are designated as Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations, a highly selective group of higher education programs that includes only 22 universities. The award to the University of Rhode Island is the first award from the CyberCorps program to an institution in the state of Rhode Island. And Michigan Technical University has a long history of K-12 outreach, which it expects to leverage as part of its project.
More information about CyberCorps SFS can be found on nsf.gov.