CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Cybersecurity Scholar Incubator

The Cybersecurity Scholar Incubator project at the University of Cincinnati (CSI:UC) addresses the severe shortage of cybersecurity workforce at US government agencies through a multidisciplinary approach to prepare highly skilled cybersecurity scholars for government jobs. The CSI:UC project leverages resources and experiences gained from various cybersecurity education and research projects.

These include an innovative early college program that engages and admits underrepresented high school students to study Information Technology (IT) and cybersecurity, a successful collaboration with community colleges, three National Security Agency (NSA) funded veterans and government transitioning workers training programs, and National Science Foundation (NSF) funded cybersecurity research projects. Scholars admitted to the SFS program will be supported by faculty with diverse expertise ranging from cybersecurity policies and laws to strong hands-on IT skills, and to fundamental and theoretical research.

In addition, UC is home to two centers designated by the Department of Homeland Security and the NSA as Centers for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education and Cyber Operations. In addition, UC is home to the Ohio Cyber Range Institute that advances cybersecurity education as well as workforce, and economic development across the State of Ohio.

The CSI:UC five-year project will recruit and award scholarships to 24 scholars who are pursuing undergraduate, master’s or doctoral degree programs. Three unique cybersecurity programs hosted by the School of Information Technology, the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and the Department of Political Science provide students with various options in choosing a study plan in Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and doctoral degrees.

The project plans to broaden participation in cybersecurity by recruiting fifty percent of its scholars from underrepresented groups. In addition to completing their degree programs, the scholars will participate in extracurricular and experience-based learning activities to build strong hands-on competence and practice inter-personal communication and leadership skills.

Student success teams and co-op advisors will monitor the scholars’ degree progress, support their co-op and internship opportunities, and prepare them for job interviews. Furthermore, the scholars will participate in summer workshops to practice cybersecurity skills, survey cybersecurity technologies and research papers, improve resumes, prepare for interviewing for government jobs, and understand SFS program expectations.

Through the project, the scholars will have multiple opportunities to attend onsite or virtual SFS job fairs. The CSI:UC project is a critical step toward preparing a qualified cyber workforce for government jobs and advancing cybersecurity education and research.

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.