Scholarship for Service at Towson University

Towson University, Towson MD

Investigators

Abstract

The CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service (SFS) program at Towson University (TU) provides full, two-year scholarships to up to thirty undergraduate Computer Science students in the Security Track, during the five-year period of the project. TU works with its partners, Anne Arundel Community College, Community College of Baltimore County, Harford Community College and other Maryland Alliance in Information Security and Assurance (MAISA) institutions, to recruit highly-qualified computing students with particular attention to groups underrepresented in cybersecurity. This program leverages TU's established collaborations with, and proximity to, military and state/federal agencies to facilitate internships and job placements. In addition to a strong cybersecurity curriculum with an extensive hands-on component, this program provides scholarship recipients with security-related research projects, monthly seminars on security-related topics, and participation in a computer security student club and cyber defense competitions. The project directly impacts the development of qualified computer security professionals with strong technical skills who will be joining the state and federal workforce to secure our national information infrastructure. TU has been a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education since 2002 and was one of the first institutions offered an undergraduate Computer Security track in its ABET-accredited Computer Science program.