CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Building the Next Generation Cybersecurity Engineering Workforce

Indiana University, Bloomington IN

Investigators

Abstract

Cybersecurity threats are the most significant challenge to information technology infrastructure in the digital age. The ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline in Spring 2021 is just one example that highlights the urgent need for a well-trained cybersecurity workforce. The CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service (SFS) project at Purdue University will provide excellent students with an educational experience that combines an interdisciplinary academic curriculum with real-world cybersecurity research and internship experiences. The combination of vital academic preparation with applied cybersecurity engineering experience will produce next-generation cybersecurity engineers uniquely situated to strengthen the U.S. government workforce's ability to respond to national security needs and protect its critical infrastructure. Purdue University has built two new innovative degree programs based on existing strengths in computer and information technology and engineering, leading to a B.S. in Cybersecurity and a M.S. in Cybersecurity and Trusted Systems. Both programs are the first in the Indianapolis metropolitan region. The SFS project at Purdue University will provide students pursuing the B.S., M.S., or an accelerated B.S./M.S. program with access to a broad curriculum in cybersecurity, synergistic co-curricular activities, cohort-based mentorship, and internship experiences. The program will engage in active recruitment and outreach through an array of ongoing initiatives, including an NSF REU Site on Enhancing Undergraduate Experiences in Mobile Cloud and Data Security, an NSF S-STEM Urban STEM Collaboratory project, a collaboration with Purdue University's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) and Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research (CACR), and a partnership with Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana. 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.