National Science Foundation Awards $29 Million In New Cybersecurity Scholarships

The National Science Foundation is awarding $29 million to fund hundreds of scholarships at eight universities that will train more cybersecurity professionals. The grants cover a five-year period and will provide $3-4 million in funding to each university.

In exchange for receiving a scholarship, students will agree to work in cybersecurity jobs for federal, state, local or tribal governments after their graduation.

The eight recipient institutions will join 82 universities that are already part of the NSF CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program, representing 37 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Commenting on the continuing evolution of cyber threats to national security, NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan said, "The cybersecurity talent shortage remains a critical issue in the United States, with businesses and government agencies alike struggling to fill critical cybersecurity positions. These new CyberCorps Scholarship for Service projects engage diverse student populations and provide innovative and high-quality educational experiences that will ensure our nation is prepared to meet future cyberthreats with a well-trained workforce."

According to the NSF announcement, here are the eight new awardees:

• CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Cyber Defense of Intelligent Systems, Oakland University.
• CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Preparing Future Cybersecurity Professionals with Data Science Expertise, Fordham University.
• CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Building the Next Generation Cybersecurity Engineering Workforce, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis.
• CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Expanding and Strengthening the National Cybersecurity Workforce, State University of New York at Binghamton.
• CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Cybersecurity Workforce Preparation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Georgia State University.
• CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Developing the Cybersecurity Workforce in West Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas, University of Memphis.
• CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Preparing an Interdisciplinary Next-Gen Cybersecurity Workforce, University of Nevada, Reno.
• CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: High-skilled Workforce Development for the Aviation and Aerospace Cybersecurity Domains, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

All the new projects will include efforts to strengthen the recruitment and retention of a diverse student body, helping fulfill NSF’s intention to improve the representation of groups historically underrepresented in cybersecurity careers, including minorities, women, first-generation/low-income students, students with disabilities, and veterans.

Depending on the university, scholarships will be awarded either to undergraduate or graduate students or to both. Most of the programs features interdisciplinary approaches that combine training in data science, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning as well as the political and legal issues involved in cybersecurity operations. In some cases, the academic programs involved have strong connections with industry partners.

Additional information about the NSF CyberCorps Scholarships for Service  program can be found here.

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