The University of Alabama will provide scholarships through a national program aimed at recruiting the next generation of cyber security professionals interested in government service.

UA received a five-year $3.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to provide scholarships to UA students interested in pursuing government careers in cyber security. The scholarships are offered through the CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service, SFS, which is supported by the NSF and the Department of Homeland Security. UA’s program is called SFS@BAMA.

The program provides a full-tuition scholarship along with a stipend – $25,000 annually for undergraduate students and $34,000 annually for graduate students – along with an allowance for books, certifications and professional travel.

UA students chosen for the scholarship program must complete a summer internship and obtain employment in a governmental cyber security job after graduation for at least as many years as they receive the scholarship. Students will attend an annual job fair in Washington, D.C. and receive additional support for identifying summer internships and post-graduation employment.

Students are encouraged to apply through the program’s website, cybercorps.cs.ua.edu. Eligible students must be:

— a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

— enrolled in the bachelor’s or master’s degree or in the Accelerated Master’s Program in either computer science, criminology and criminal justice, or management information systems.

— a full-time UA student with a grade-point average of at least 3.0.

— on schedule to graduate within two years of the start of the award.

— eligible for civil service employment, including the ability to obtain a national security clearance.

— willing to work in government service for a period equal to the length of the scholarship award.

For questions specific to an area of study, UA students are encouraged to contact other faculty members on the grant. Computer science students can contact Atkison at atkison@cs.ua.edu. Students in criminology and criminal justice can contact Dr. Diana Dolliver, UA associate professor of criminology and criminal justice, at dldolliver@ua.edu. Students in MIS can contact Dr. Matthew Hudnall, UA assistant professor of MIS, at matthew.hudnall@ua.edu.

Learn more about the scholarships by reading the full article on the UA News site.