$3.9 Million Award Bolsters Cybersecurity Scholarship Program
Targeted News Service |
A cybersecurity scholarship program in the
The CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service (https://www.sfs.opm.gov/) program at UT
The program's goal is to fulfill the U.S. government's needs for employees trained in cybersecurity, said Dr.
"The government is a prime target for most international crimes, and currently there are not enough graduates being produced to fill the need," Sarac said. "Our students and graduates are among the most proficient in the field. We are grateful to our program directors at the
The award includes a salary for the students, and can help cover tuition, books, health insurance, professional development and travel. In exchange for their scholarships, students are expected to serve within the federal government for a period equivalent to the length of their scholarship.
Fourteen students have graduated through the program, with eight more being supported from the 2010 award. The new award is expected to support nearly 30 students.
Dr.
"We are very pleased that
Sarac credits several components of UT
UT
"We have built a very strong cybersecurity team under the leadership of Dr.
"There is a perception that cybersecurity is a very difficult area to go into," Sarac said. "Our CSG club activities are helping us break this perception and motivate and encourage students to seriously consider this challenging, yet fulfilling domain."
Extracurricular activities also serve the dual purpose of providing additional support for students already in the program.
"Due to the nature of the field, you cannot teach every tool or every hands-on skill in class, so students need extracurricular and club activities to provide those opportunities," Sarac said.
Thuraisingham noted that students in the program mainly come from the
"We have already established a very strong interdisciplinary research program on topics such as risk, economics, games and behavioral aspects of cybersecurity with substantial funding from several federal agencies," she said. "We are now ready to build an interdisciplinary education program that will utilize the outstanding research that our faculty is carrying out."
Scholarship fo Service students can come from anywhere in the country. Annual outreach activities, such as the
Sarac said the program will do more public outreach, such as mentoring and teaching basic cybersecurity defense skills to high school students, and conducting cybersecurity workshops at retirement communities.
"Our program has been successful in equipping our students and providing graduates ready to take their places in the front line of cybersecurity defense in organizations such as the
"Our students are fortunate to be at an institution that supports such activities."
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Copyright: | (c) 2014 Targeted News Service |
Wordcount: | 835 |
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