The National Science Foundation is again trying to increase the amount of well-educated people willing to work for the government to secure online resources.
The NSF this week announced funding for its Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service (SFS) training and education program. The SFS program typically covers tuition, room and board, and books for up to two years of undergraduate-, master's-, or doctorate-level study. In addition, undergraduates receive an annual stipend of $8,000 and graduates receive $12,000, according to the NSF.
Who will build the next enterprise architects?
Universities that participate or have participated in the SFS include Alabama State University, Auburn University, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins and Syracuse University to name a few. All of the US national laboratories, such as Ames and Argonne participate as well.
According to the NSF, the SFS program is composed of two programs:
The Scholarship Track, which provides funding to colleges and universities to award scholarships to students in the information assurance and computer security fields. "Scholarship recipients shall pursue academic programs in information assurance for the final two years of undergraduate study, or for two years of master's-level study, or for the final two years of Ph.D.-level study. These students will participate as a cohort during their two years of study and activities, including a summer internship in the Federal Government. A limited number of students may be placed in National Laboratories and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers."
Those who get scholarships will become part of the Federal Cyber Service of Information Technology Specialists who protect the United States government's information infrastructure, the NSF states. Upon graduation, after their two-year scholarships, recipients will be required to work for two years for the feds. A limited number of students may be placed in National Laboratories and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers.
The Capacity Building Track provides funds to colleges and universities to improve the quality and increase the production of information assurance and computer security professionals. Professional development of information assurance faculty and development of academic programs can be funded under this program, the NSF stated.
Follow Michael Cooney on Twitter: nwwlayer8
Layer 8 Extra
Check out these other hot stories:
HTTPS Everywhere gets Firefox "Firesheep" protection
Space X gets first private FAA reentry license from space
The battle for space shots heats up on the ground
10 free iPhone apps for spectacular stargazing
NASA, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, World Bank team to offer hackathon
World Toilet Day spotlights the throne
Cisco co-founder now talks, lives, breathes turkey
NASA satellite shows comet throwing off cosmic snowstorm
US court eJuror system could lead to whole new list of jury duty excuses