GW CyberCorps: Information Assurance Scholarship for Service Program

The George Washington University (GW) is designated a federal Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education - Research. This enables GW to provide government-funded full scholarships for fulltime study for upper level undergraduates, masters, and doctoral students. Scholarship recipients receive a traditional education in their chosen major enhanced by detailed knowledge in computer security and information assurance provided by additional courses that address emerging technical and government policy-related issues, often using guest lectures by government and outside experts. They also receive hands-on experience in a laboratory that demonstrates traditional and emerging attacks and defenses.

Each fall, approximately a dozen students pursue their bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees with federal funding from the National Science Foundation, the Defense Department, and the Department of Homeland Security. These grants are part of GW's Partnership in Securing Cyberspace through Education and Service (PISCES) program. Federal funding provides two-year full scholarships (tuition, books, stipend, and in most cases room and board) for students to study computer security and information assurance at GW. After completing their coursework, students will help protect the nation's information infrastructure by working as security experts in a government agency for two years. Since 2002, 63 students have graduated with help from this program, earning degrees in computer science, electrical engineering, engineering management, forensic sciences, business administration, and public policy. They have gone on to work at the organizations shown on this web page.

"Just as the Reserve Officer Training Corps [ROTC] trains traditional military officers, our CyberCorps program is training the cyber-age experts who defend and secure the information infrastructure," said SEAS Professor Lance Hoffman. "And just as ROTC has summer camp for its students, this program is placing trained students in summer internships and post-graduate jobs working on federal computer systems."

In addition to students from around the country, we have special arrangements with a few organizations:

We work with the University of Hawaii to identify very good students and make them aware of CSIA scholarship opportunities at GW, and encourage appropriate candidates to apply for admission to study for a master's degree. Over the past years, several students from the University of Hawaii have been awarded GW CyberCorps scholarships. They have all immediately gone to work for the federal governement.

GW is a founding member of CyberWatch, a consortium of universities and community colleges that share best practices, methodologies, curricula, course modules and materials, and provide faculty training and support in IA. GW facilitates efforts at these institutions to identify and encourage bright students who are graduating to expand their horizons beyond community college to GW, or beyond an undergraduate degree to a graduate degree related to CSIA at GW. The first such student to be awarded a GW CyberCorps scholarship graduated from GW in May 2012.

Collaborating on these projects along with Professor Hoffman and Professor Rachelle Heller of the Department of Computer Science are GW department representatives. Professor Martha Crosby is in charge of the Hawaii program.

Eligible majors include, but are not limited to, Mathematics, Biometrics, Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Programming, Computer Support, Data Base Administration, Computer Systems Analysis, Operations Research, Information Security (Assurance), Information Systems Technology, Forensic Science, Business Management, Business Administration, Public Policy, and Public Administration.

As President Obama said on May 29, 2009, "America's economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity." With our multidisciplinary academic program in information assurance, our signature government guest lecturer Seminar, our 100% placement rate for CyberCorps graduates, and our location at the center of the government cybersecurity workforce, GW provides unparalled opportunities for students who want to serve their country while gaining cutting edge knowledge of this field that will be so important in the upcoming decades.

Scholarship program eligibility, requirements and benefits at a glance.

Cyber Security at GW -- An Overview