U of I Gets $4.6 Million in Cybersecurity Scholarships From National Science Foundation Program | Idaho

MOSCOW - The University of Idaho Center for Secure and Dependable Systems (CSDS) has earned another $4.46 million toward cybersecurity training scholarships, preparing students to work at the highest levels of government through the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Program (SFS).

Idaho’s cybersecurity jobs have increased 160% since 2015, according to the Idaho Department of Labor.

Since U of I started participating in the SFS program in 2001, the university has secured more than $20 million in funding for its participants and graduated more than 110 students from the program. U of I was one of the first five participants to be awarded the grant, and one of three to remain continually funded in the program.

“The SFS program is one important part of U of I’s ongoing role in meeting Idaho’s and the nation’s critical need for cybersecurity professionals,” said Terence Soule, professor and chair of the U of I Department of Computer Science. “U of I was one of the nation’s first institutions to recognize this need, offering our first course in cybersecurity 30 years ago.”

The NSF funding covers all tuition and degree-related fees for participants in the SFS program until 2026. Program participants are assigned to a faculty-led research project investigating cybersecurity and cyber defense issues. Undergraduate students earn a $25,000 annual stipend, and graduate students earn $34,000. Additional support funds are available to help offset student health insurance, professional development and books.

U of I offered the first cybersecurity bachelor’s degree program in Idaho, was one of the first to start a master’s program in the Northwest and is on track to launch its doctoral program. U of I students train alongside 15 nationally and internationally recognized U of I faculty with expertise in power engineering, information assurance, industrial control systems and transportation.

As one of the National Security Agency’s first seven National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, U of I has led advanced cybersecurity education and research for more than three decades.

The CSDS was approved by the Idaho State Board of Education in 1999 as a research entity of U of I within the College of Engineering. CSDS was also recently appointed academic support center lead, representing community colleges and universities nationwide for the newly launched Department of Defense University Consortium for Cybersecurity (UC2).

Congressionally mandated by the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, the UC2 exists to facilitate two-way communication between the U.S. Secretary of Defense and academia across the United States.

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