Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service Program at UTD

University Of Texas At Dallas, Richardson TX

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) has identified the development of research and teaching programs to "make the nation secure" as one of its six strategic goals and establishes an NSF scholarship for Service (SFS) program. The program is built on strong educational and research foundations in Information Assurance (IA) that UTD has been developing since 2000. The main objectives of the project are to graduate at least 22 highly qualified students in the graduate level IA concentration track program and to provide active mentoring and support to successfully place the graduates in covered federal positions. A team of faculty, engaged in IA-related research funded by various government agencies, leverages these research activities to enhance the education process of SFS students. The program includes a substantial research experience and students are expected to publish papers in journals and conference proceedings. This integration of research, development and education efforts as well as close collaborations with industry, academia and research labs enable to recruit and graduate students with knowledge of cybersecurity both in theory and practice. The project reduces the current personnel gap in cyber security for the national information infrastructure and it implements a promising approach for recruiting women and minority students.