To meet the growing demand for cybersecurity professionals, the National Science Foundation’s CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program awarded Florida State University a $4.2 million grant to help students pursue a career in cybersecurity is supporting

This is the second funding the Department of Computer Science has received to run this program.

“We are excited to receive updates from the National Science Foundation,” said Department Director Xiuwen Liu. “Over the years, with support from our Dean, we have invested significant resources in developing, implementing and maintaining a technically strong cybersecurity program to educate highly qualified cyber professionals. This award allows us to continue to help address the workforce shortage in cybersecurity, a matter of national security.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that job openings for information security analysts are forecast to grow 33% from 2020 to 2030.

The department’s grant-winning projects aim to address the cybersecurity worker shortage and improve the diversity of the cybersecurity workforce. The project will provide scholarships, tuition waivers, and professional development funding to support 32 graduate and undergraduate students in FSU’s cybersecurity degree program.

This update is associated with the first grant to receive funding from the NSF CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) program in 2016.

This program recruits and trains the next generation of information technology professionals, industrial control system security professionals, and security managers to meet the cybersecurity needs of federal, state, local, and tribal governments. is intended for This program provides scholarships funded by NSF grants to support undergraduate and graduate education in cybersecurity for up to three years. His SFS-related program at FSU is the largest of 90 programs at US universities.

In addition to scholarships and tuition, Cybersecurity Program students receive the opportunity to consider internships with qualified institutions during the summer. Scholarship recipients agree to work in a U.S. government cybersecurity-related position for the same length of the scholarship period after graduation.

“As cyber threats continue to evolve in complexity, our approach to cybersecurity education and the workforce must evolve as well,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, an advocate for FSU and other agencies. said in a press release announcing the SFS grant. “The cybersecurity talent shortage remains a significant problem in the United States, with businesses and government agencies struggling to fill equally critical cybersecurity positions. These new CyberCorps Scholarship for Service projects are will engage a diverse student population, provide an innovative, high-quality educational experience, and ensure a well-trained workforce that is ready to face the cyber threats of the future.”

A portion of the grant will be used to research the factors that influence students to work in the government sector and how to encourage underrepresented groups of individuals to major in cybersecurity. The grant also allows the department to purchase software and testbeds for security penetration testing. This allows researchers to recreate real-world settings and identify potential blind spots within cybersecurity systems.

Computer Science Professor An-I “Andy” Wang, a new member of FSU’s scholarship administration team, said: He also provides support to many of his FSU Computer Science students to complete their Master’s degree in Computer Science. This will help you acquire more computer science knowledge and increase your employment opportunities after graduation. “

In addition to Wang and Liu, researchers involved in the project are computer science professors Mike Burmester, David Whalley, and Jie Yang, with additional support from NSF program managers Victor P. Piotrowski and Li Yang. It offers. The group works with a variety of parties, including government recruiters, the NSF, and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to identify high-performing students and secure internships and careers within the federal executive branch.

For more information on the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program, please visit nsf.gov.