BYU receives $3.7 million grant for cybersecurity students to train for government jobs

PROVO — The National Science Foundation awarded a grant to Brigham Young University to train cybersecurity students for federal government positions.

According to BYU, the NSF awarded the grant to six schools nationwide as part of the “CyberCorps Scholarship for Service.”

The award provides a five-year, $3.7 million grant to the BYU Electrical & Computer Engineering department.

“Many federal agencies have encouraged BYU to apply for this grant because they want more of our students working for them,” IT and cybersecurity professor Derek Hansen said. “We think our program is one of the best in the nation and this grant will help us gain more recognition and visibility as one of the top destinations for cybersecurity talent.”

Cybersecurity student recipients will learn and train for the needs of federal government positions, and the program scholarship will cover up to three years of support for cybersecurity undergraduate or graduate education. In exchange, the recipients will agree to work after graduation in a cybersecurity position for the government in organizations like the Department of Homeland Security or the National Security Agency. The recipient must work in a position for a time equal to the length of the scholarship.

The students involved in the scholarship program will also receive a living stipend: $27,000 for undergraduate students and $37,000 for graduate students. An additional $6,000 will be provided for books, certifications and travel to a training seminar.

BYU has been recognized by the National Security Agency as a center of academic excellence in cyberdefense for nearly 12 years, originally as an emphasis within the IT major.

“BYU is known within the cybersecurity industry for graduating students with high ethical standards, technical rigor, international experience and overall maturity,” Hansen said. “This new grant will pave the way for some of our brightest students to work in government jobs protecting our citizen’s data from those with malevolent intent.”

Students interested in applying for the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service should visit https://sfs.byu.edu/ or reach out to Derek Hansen at dlhansen@byu.edu.