CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: Preparing an Interdisciplinary Next-Gen Cybersecurity Workforce

As cyberspace increases in complexity, it is becoming increasingly important to develop a cybersecurity workforce ready to address the challenges of this complex and multi-faceted environment. A skilled cybersecurity workforce is crucial to developing a secure cyberspace and maintaining the Nation's global competitiveness, thus ensuring the United States' economic vitality.

With funding from the NSF CyberCorps(R) Scholarship for Service program this project at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) aims to educate students with the critical knowledge and skills needed to develop, operate, administer, maintain, and defend an increasingly dynamic cyberspace. Towards this end the project will build on synergistic collaboration among multiple disciplines affiliated with the UNR Cybersecurity Center.

A key project outcome is the development of the next generation of cybersecurity professionals who can bring an interdisciplinary approach that integrates attention to technical, political, legal, and behavioral issues into a practical, secure, and dependable cyberspace.

By bringing in scholars from multiple disciplines, this project will explore unique ways to engage students in interdisciplinary cybersecurity education, to sustain long-term research and education partnerships, and to motivate students to protect cyberspace through public service. Students will not only engage in UNR's formal cybersecurity curriculum, but also participate in research experiences and gain hands-on skills development through their involvement with the Nevada Cyber Range, Nevada Cyber Club, cyber competitions, a capstone research project, and UNR's Office of IT and Cyber Infrastructure team.

To expand outreach activities and lay the foundation for recruiting the next generation of students, SFS scholars will also be required to participate in middle/high school visits with the project faculty team, engage with school cyber clubs, and create workshops for their younger peers.

This project is supported by the CyberCorps(R) Scholarship for Service (SFS) program, which funds proposals establishing or continuing scholarship programs in cybersecurity and aligns with the U.S. National Cyber Strategy to develop a superior cybersecurity workforce. Following graduation, scholarship recipients are required to work in cybersecurity for a Federal, state, local, or tribal Government organization for the same duration as their scholarship support.

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.