CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (Renewal): An Enhanced and Integrated Scholar Experience in Cybersecurity

Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville TN

Investigators

Abstract

The renewal of the Tennessee Tech University (TNTech) project will allow this CyberCorps®: Scholarship for Service (SFS) program to continue supporting National Defense through the production of well-trained cybersecurity professionals. The program supports the success of the SFS scholars by combining integrated experiences in education, research and outreach and leveraging existing resources and university-wide collaboration among faculty and administration. The TNTech CyberCorps® program supports both undergraduate and graduate students with a focus on improving scholar preparation in emerging areas such as Artificial Intelligence and quantum information science and technology. In addition, the program is the first in the state of Tennessee with the opportunity to serve the economically distressed Appalachian region. With the rapid growth of Tech’s computer science and cybersecurity program, the renewal allows TNTech to continue to produce highly trained cybersecurity professionals who contribute to the nation’s cyberspace security. It also allows new innovations in the SFS program and enables the Cybersecurity Education Research and Outreach Center at TNTech to continue deepening its local, regional, and national impacts. The objectives of the TNTech SFS program include continuing to expand higher education choices in cybersecurity for local and regional students through federal scholarship opportunities. The project will also enhance SFS scholars’ knowledge, skills, research aptitude, and service-learning motivation through a program that values fair participation in education, research and outreach. The program will continue supporting the pipeline of SFS scholars to federal agencies in Tennessee (and the region). Program performance will continue to be assessed in this new project period. The project continues to refine strategies and techniques that can potentially be effective in addressing SFS program management challenges including scholar on-boarding and providing wide-ranging experiences and flexible paths for scholars. This project is supported by the CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service (SFS) program, which funds proposals establishing or continuing scholarship programs in cybersecurity and aligns with the U.S. National Cyber Strategy to develop a superior cybersecurity workforce. Following graduation, scholarship recipients are required to work in cybersecurity for a federal, state, local, or tribal Government organization for the same duration as their scholarship support. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.