Since 2003, the George Washington University's (GWU) Partnership in Securing Cyberspace through Education and Service (PISCES) program has produced 88 federal government employees and supported 17 more scholars through the CyberCorps(R): Scholarship for Service (SFS) program. This project from the GWU proposes to continue to provide cybersecurity education opportunities for an additional 24 students from diverse backgrounds, to become cybersecurity professionals and help protect the safety and security of our nation's information infrastructure. This will be achieved by combining scholarship support, university courses in computer security and information assurance, internships, laboratories, and government service, with a unifying and reinforcing seminar that prepares students with the knowledge, perspective, and expertise to succeed in their future cybersecurity government positions.
GW will apply its multidisciplinary approach to this cybersecurity project, by bringing students from a variety of schools (e.g., Engineering, Law, International Affairs, Arts and Sciences). GW SFS scholars will take cybersecurity-related courses in and outside their home departments as appropriate for their individual program of study. A unique seminar course and weekly meetings will bring all the students together in a cohort and provide opportunities to examine a range of security issues from various points of view (e.g., technical, legal, policy, business, forensics, national security studies), thus providing an opportunity for cross-training and expanding the breadth of their expertise. Scholars will be assembled from three academic pathways: students who transition from community colleges, students who enroll in a 4-year institution from the start, and career changers seeking a master's degree. This will enrich the diversity of each cohort and broaden participation for a wider pool of interested and qualified candidates looking to serve in cybersecurity positions with the government.
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.
