CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: The Bulldog Cyber Scholarship

The Bowie State University (BSU) proposes a new CyberCorps®: Scholarship for Service (SFS) program, called the Bulldog Cyber Scholarship (Bulldog) program. The Bulldog program aims to increase the quantity and diversity of new entrants to the government cybersecurity workforce by awarding two-year scholarships to highly motivated students specializing in cybersecurity.

These include students from BSU's computer science major and those who transfer from community colleges. The Bulldog program will allow students to enhance their knowledge and develop technical skills by participating in undergraduate research. BSU has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security.

The Bulldog program will strengthen an existing infrastructure that attracts and supports students to enter the cybersecurity profession. In addition, the project will benefit from existing partnerships with community colleges through which the pool of student talent gains BSU access and continues into the STEM workforce.

The specific objectives for the project are: 1) Recruit 20 talented and highly motivated students to the program over five years. 2) Work closely with the NSF SFS program office and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to ensure full placement of students into government cybersecurity positions, with at least 70 percent of scholarship recipients securing placement in the executive branch of the Federal government; no more than 20 percent of scholarship recipients in a non-executive federal agency, national laboratory, or state, local or tribal government organization; no more than 10 percent in cybersecurity at qualified institutions of higher education that provide SFS scholarships. 3) Provide the students with a robust support system that includes advising, mentoring, and close monitoring to ensure the scholars graduate within two years of entering the program. 4) Prepare students for long-term career success and produce professionals who can contribute to the defense of our nation through quality education, faculty-mentored research, and collaborative skills-development activities. 

This project is supported by the CyberCorps® 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.