Stevens awards CyberCorps Scholarships to cyber security students

For the second time since 2009, Stevens faculty have requested a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for scholarships for Stevens Cyber security graduate and undergraduate students. This grant sums up to a 3.2 million dollar award to go towards tuition at Stevens. The first time the faculty applied, the grant allowed for 11 students to receive scholarships of full paid tuition and a three year stipend for students enrolled in a cyber security-focused degree program. Now Stevens is capable of selecting 14 new students for this program.

The program is termed the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program. A student accepted into this program must work in a cyber security position for a Federal, State, local, or Tribal government for an equal period of time as their scholarship length. Information regarding applying for the scholarship program can be found on the Stevens website in the Center for the Advancement of Secure Systems and Information Assurance section of the site. By visiting “SCHOLARSHIPS AND OPPORTUNITIES”, more specific information can be viewed. Requirements include being a US citizen, being within 3 years of graduation, and a GPA of at least 3.2.

This scholarship opportunity has been made possible by four faculty members looking to improve Stevens education and opportunity. The team is headed by Associate Professor Susanne Wetzel, joined by Antonio Nicolosi, both from the Computer Science department, as well as Thomas Lechler of the Howe School of Technology Management, and K.P. Subbalakshmi , Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Being a part of this program is no simple matter. The program itself is “highly competitive”, says Wetzel. When it came down to it, they had to decide “what is the best group of faculty to do this.” Being a part of this program does not simply mean turning in an application, being interviewed, and then getting accepted. If accepted to the program, students will be guided closely by the staff and will participate in programs of leadership, entrepreneurship, project management, and innovation. Out of all the colleges and universities in the country there are only 54 that are accepted into the program and Stevens is proud to be one.

Overall, this program is not only helping college students by eliminating debt, but is also allowing them to get work experience and positions to some of the nation’s highest providers of cyber security. This summer, an intern was able to assist in the FBI cyber security program. Also about 40% of the accepted students to the program have been from demographics which have been usually unrepresented in cyber security. Working with the NSF also gives Stevens the opportunity to work on INSuRE projects in which students and faculty can work closely with the government on real world projects and discover solutions. The project really opens up new doors for students with any interest in cyber security and with this being the second time Stevens has received this grant, we may be looking at a growing area of Stevens academics. Lechler says, “This award will help us to integrate project management, entrepreneurial thinking, and leadership training into Stevens’ already-robust cyber security curriculum, to ensure students are prepared to create and manage cyber security policies in the workplace.” It seems that as Stevens expands, the cyber security program will be growing with it.