Workforce Capacity
Carnegie Mellon University and CyLab have been designated by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. This certification as a center of excellence is presented in recognition of a significant contribution in meeting the national demand for information assurance education, developing a growing number of professionals with information assurance expertise in various disciplines, and ultimately contributing to the protection of the national information infrastructure.
CyLab responds to the growing demand for Information Assurance Professionals by offering programs for both students and faculty.
Student Programs
Students admitted to the Information Networking Institute (INI) graduate program in Information Security Technology Management (MSISTM) and the Heinz College graduate program in Information Security Policy Management (MSISPM) are eligible for participation in the Scholarship for Service (SFS) program. SFS, a scholarship for service program offered by the U.S. of Personnel Management, provides full financial assistance to a few highly qualified applicants each year who satisfy all the requirements.
View detailed information about the SFS program in reference to admission in INI graduate programs.
Faculty Fellowship Programs
The Information Assurance Capacity Building Program (IACBP) is an intensive, in-residence summer program to help build Information Assurance education and research capacity at colleges and universities designated as Minority Serving Institutions - including, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).
Results
The IACBP has produced tremendous results, ranging from the creation of new courses, certifications and degree programs to the development of grant proposals and publications. One participant has been designated as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance.
Goals
The goals of the capacity building program for faculty from Minority Serving institutions are: To help build new capacity or expand existing capacity to offer Information Assurance (IA) courses and programs at institutions not currently designated as Centers of Academic Excellence by:
- Enabling participating faculty members from non-CAE institutions to develop/expand their knowledge and expertise in the area of Information Assurance
- Providing the opportunity for participants to develop curricula and course materials to incorporate new courses in IA into their home institutions' programs and/or incorporate modules on IA into existing courses
To expand the number of PhD-level researchers in the IA area by:
- Enabling participants to identify links between their current areas of research and Information Assurance
- Providing expert guidance and mentoring to help participants begin research projects in IA that are related to their areas of expertise and active research
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0830879.