This project provides scholarships for students seeking degrees (either undergraduate or graduate) in Information Assurance (IA). Each scholarship is for the last two years of a student's degree program. Students receive valuable education and training -- including hands-on laboratory experience -- in state-of-the-art FPGA based security, intrusion detection, digital forensics, security visualization, and ad hoc network security. Upon graduation, scholarship recipients must work for a Federal government agency in an IA position. The scholarship program helps to address the nation's need for qualified information technology professionals working in government agencies. The project has a proactive approach to recruitment of minorities and females into the scholarship program.
This grant was awarded in 2008 to continue a very successful Scholarship for Service program at Mississippi State University. During the life of this grant, 26 students were supported at least partially on scholarship. Of those students, 11 were undergraduate students, 13 were graduate students, and 2 students were supported partially as undergraduates and partially as graduate students. Two of the undergraduates supported on this grant are now finishing the 5 year BS/MS program on the newest SFS grant. The Cyber Corps program at Mississippi State University has been used overall to support nearly 100 students. Of the students supported by this grant, 100% have gone on to fulfill their obligation in service to the government, with the exception of the two still completing their MS, and one who has been deferred to complete a PhD at the University of Tulsa. This program produces graduates who are qualified to fill Security Engineer positions in the Federal Government and have completed an Information Assurance Certificate equivalent to the NSTISSI 4011 certificate required by government security personnel. At MSU, our program is open to undergraduates and graduate students in the following disciplines: computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, software engineering, and information systems. MSU actively recruits men and women, as well as minority students. Of the 26 students supported on this grant, eight were african americans, one was a vietnamese american, one was a pakistani american, and five were women. MSU's Cyber Corps program continues to grow. Over the course of this grant, an average of average of eight or nine students per year were supported, with approximately 20% of the students being women and 35% being minority students.
