Scholarships for Service in Information Assurance

University Of South Alabama, Mobile AL

Investigators

Abstract

The CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service (SFS) program at the University of South Alabama (USA) prepares at least 20 highly qualified Information Assurance (IA) and cybersecurity professionals for service in federal, state, local, and tribal governmental agencies. The project develops a Cyber Scholars Program that expands the national IA academic reach to students throughout the Gulf Coast region, increasing diversity and capacity of the national cybersecurity workforce. The USA School of Computing (SoC) has three ABET-accredited computing programs, including a health informatics degree program that offers substantial interaction in IA and a unique opportunity to attract women into the computing field. The project collaborates with local minority institutions such as Bishop State Community College, a designated underrepresented institution, and other community colleges in the region, raising awareness of cybersecurity issues in a wide variety of rural communities. USA has a strong K-12 outreach program in partnership with industry and government agencies, including an annual GEMS (Girls Exploring Math & Science) conference for middle school girls and Summer Security Seminars for high school students.