Scholarships and Clubs

There are three scholarships available for students to help them achieve their goals to become more involved in cybersecurity and other related fields.

CyberCorps®: Scholarship for Service

Scholarship For Service (SFS) is a unique program designed to recruit and train the next generation of information technology professionals, industrial control system security professionals, and security managers to meet the needs of the cybersecurity mission for Federal, State, local, and tribal governments. This program provides scholarships for up to 3 years of support for cybersecurity undergraduate and graduate (MS or PhD) education. The scholarships are funded through grants awarded by the National Science Foundation. In return for their scholarships, recipients must agree to work after graduation for the U.S. Government, in a position related to cybersecurity, for a period equal to the length of the scholarship.

SMART Scholarship

The SMART Program provides STEM students with the tools needed to pursue higher education and begin a career with the DoD. With a full scholarship, students pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees will be able to focus on complex research to further the DoD’s mission and create lasting impact. SMART is a one-for-one commitment; for every year of degree funding, the scholar commits to working for a year with the DoD as a civilian employee. Summer internships prepare scholars for full-time employment and get them accustomed to working with the DoD.

DoD Cyber Service Academy

Given our increasing reliance on cybersecurity, information technology (IT), the growing threats to information, and information systems and infrastructures, it is critical that the Department of Defense (DoD) protect itself. To do so, the DoD must be staffed with technically savvy personnel. To help achieve this task, the DoD Cyber Service Academy (DoD CSA) was established. The DoD CCA is sponsored by the DoD Chief Information Office and administered by the National Security Agency (NSA). The objectives of the program are to promote higher education in all disciplines of cybersecurity, to enhance the Department’s ability to recruit and retain cyber and IT specialists, to increase the number of military and civilian personnel in the DoD with this expertise, and ultimately, to enhance the nation’s cyber posture.

Cyber Defense Club

Club members develop their cyber defense skills by hacking or counter-hacking in simulated network environments. Opportunities also arise to meet guest researchers from other universities and to compete in national cybersecurity competitions.