Cybersecurity Scholarship Gives Free Education and DoD Jobs After College
Credit: Maskot / DigitalVision / Getty Images- The scholarship program is for cybersecurity majors at colleges recognized as National Centers of Academic Excellence by the U.S. Department of Defense.
- Scholarship creator Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand spoke at Stony Brook University in New York to promote the program.
- Cybersecurity engineers prevent and react to cyberattacks against companies and government entities.
If you’re studying cybersecurity at any of the schools designated as National Centers of Academic Excellence (NCAE) in Cybersecurity, you may qualify for a full scholarship and guaranteed job with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, creator of the DoD Cyber Service Academy scholarship program, visited NCAE Stony Brook University in New York last month to promote the scholarship to interested students. The scholarship began in 2023 to fill the nearly 30,000 open positions in cybersecurity in the DoD.
“Thousands of unfilled DoD cyber positions leave our country with a severe shortage of personnel needed to protect the United States from adversaries like Russia,” Gillibrand said at Stony Brook. “I developed the Cyber Service Academy scholarship program to help meet these needs and give our youth a path to good-paying jobs in government.
“This program will create a pipeline for a talented, highly trained cyber workforce, granting one year of free college for every year of subsequent public service.”
The U.S. government has been investing heavily into cybersecurity this year. In April, the Department of Energy invested $15 million into cybersecurity centers at six universities.
Cybersecurity engineers use computer science, engineering, math, and security skills to prevent and react to cyberattacks against companies and government entities.
The scholarship provides eligible students from their second year to doctorate with:
- Full tuition and fees
- Books and course materials
- A laptop/computer
- A room and board stipend ranging from $22,000-$32,000
One of the most important qualifiers is studying cybersecurity full time at a select NCAE — but there are plenty to choose from across the country. The DoD’s Cyber Service Academy is offered at 134 four-year private and public universities and community colleges.
You’ll be required to work for the DoD for as many years as you accepted the scholarship.