Today the U.S. National Science Foundation announced six new academic institutions are being awarded CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service (SFS) grants, an investment of over $16 million toward training the next generation of cybersecurity professionals and strengthening the cybersecurity workforce at government organizations.
"It is critical that we unleash the enormous talent embedded in our communities and bring new, diverse perspectives into the nation's cybersecurity workforce," said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. "NSF recognizes the persistent shortage of cybersecurity talent in the United States and strives to bridge this gap by providing diverse student populations with innovative and high-quality educational experiences. This investment reaffirms NSF's commitment to developing a solid workforce of cybersecurity graduates with integrated AI skills, ready to tackle future cyber threats."
Spanning 43 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the CyberCorps SFS program stands as a beacon in addressing the escalating demand for cybersecurity professionals. This program not only extends full scholarships and stipends to students but also forges a modern approach to cybersecurity education. The recipients of these scholarships commit to contributing their expertise to federal, state, local or tribal government cybersecurity roles post-graduation.
CyberCorps SFS aims to both address the shortage of cybersecurity professionals and emphasize the importance of diversity in the field. Each project is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse student body, ensuring representation from historically underrepresented groups in cybersecurity careers.
Awardees will dive into cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, hardware security and other interdisciplinary cybersecurity fields such as psychology and criminology. The projects undertaken by the scholarship recipients will be instrumental in shaping the future cybersecurity workforce and landscape.
The awardees and their projects are:
- CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Building the Next-Generation Cybersecurity-Ready Workforce, Florida Atlantic University.
- CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Defending Cyberspace through Active Learning, University of Delaware.
- CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Empowering the Cybersecurity Workforce with a Focus on Artificial Intelligence, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
- CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Building Research-minded Cyber Leaders, Brigham Young University.
- CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: CyberRamblers Bolster National Security, Loyola University Chicago.
- CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Preparing a Diverse Next-Generation Workforce Through Integrated Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence Scholar Experience, Boise State University.
