USA CyberScholars Program

Applicants for scholarship awards must meet all of the following:

• be a United States citizen or permanent resident
• be currently enrolled at or accepted for enrollment at a National CAE (such as USA)
• be attending school on a full-time basis while receiving a scholarship under the program
• be willing to pursue studies with an emphasis in information assurance
• be at least a Junior (completion of 60 semester hours) as an undergraduate applicant by August with at least a 3.2 GPA
• be in the first or second year of a masters degree program with a 3.5 GPA for graduate applicants
• meet criteria for Federal employment
• be recommended by the CAE for the scholarship program
• be able to obtain a security clearance

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USA School of Computing

150 Student Services Drive

Shelby Hall, Suite 2101

Mobile, Alabama 36688-0002

1 (251) 460-6390

Applications can be submitted at any time. To be considered for funding beginning Spring 2025, please submit by Oct 25, 2024. Note that application packages must be complete before being considered for selection, you must be a US Citizen or a permanent resident, and must be able to obtain a security clearance to apply.   Requirements (see submission info below):

• Apply for admission to USA for the academic program you plan to pursue
• Submit a USA SFS Application
• Submit official Transcripts for all institutions attended (current USA SoC students may submit their PAWS transcript)
• Submit a Resume (note that a government format rather than business format is preferred)
• Include Awards, Honors, and Distinctions List (can be listed on the resume or separate)
• Submit at least two Letters of Reference (one must be an academic reference - see application details)
• Submit a Competency Statement (see USA SFS Application for specifics and this helpful link)

Applications may be submitted electronically via email to amclark@southalabama.edu or via physical hard-copy.

Ms. Angela Clark
School of Computing
150 Student Services Dr., Shelby Hall 2101
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL 36688

  For more information regarding the scholarship program, contact the SFS scholarship program coordinator, Ms. Angela Clark, at amclark@southalabama.edu. / 251.460.7539 / SHEC 2306

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USA School of Computing

150 Student Services Drive

Shelby Hall, Suite 2101

Mobile, Alabama 36688-0002

1 (251) 460-6390

About Our Cyber Scholars Program

USA Scholarship for Service students participate in a cohort and engage in a wide variety of activities. Students are expected to engage in research groups, cyber security competitions, attend guest lectures and participate in conferences when appropriate.

Scholarship for Service Job Fairs

USA Cyber Scholars attend the annual SFS Job Fair in Washington, DC each year. Students have the opportunity to attend sessions relating to employment in the Federal workforce, meet with agency recruiters, and network with agency officials and Cyber Corps students from across the country as well as interview for summer internships and permanent positions. 

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Conference Presentations

Scholarship students also present in conferences to expand their cyber security knowledge and to present their research. Two SFS students recently attended the Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) Conference in Cleveland, Ohio March 17-19, along with faculty member Ms. Angela Clark. The WiCyS organization's main focus is to recruit, retain and advance women in cybersecurity. The annual WiCyS conference provides opportunities for students to attend workshops, technical presentations, and networking events as well as a Career Fair. Claire Wills, graduate CIS student, presented her poster on "Identification of Clear Text Data Obfuscated Within Active File Slack." Her research mentor is Dr. Michael Black.

SFS Students Compete in Cyber 9/12 Competition

Pictured L-R: Joel Dawson, Adam Minor, Chris Patrick, and Aurora Herriott. Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Phil Menard

In March 2017, four SFS students participated in the Atlantic Council Cyber 9/12 competition in Washington, DC. This competition focuses on policy challenges relating to cyber crises and conflicts. Students must prepare a response to a national, international, or private sector cyber security breach. This is the third year the University of South Alabama has participated and advanced to semi-final rounds in this competition.

Research

Currently USA Cyber Scholars are engaged in research in the following areas:

• Assessing Vulnerabilities and Risk in Network-Capable Medical Devices
• Formal Analysis of Security in Internet Voting
• Assessing Vulnerabilities for In-Vehicle Computer Networks
• Enhanced Software Security through Program Partitioning
• Data Collection for Cyber Anomaly Event Detection
• Assessing ways to deanonymize internet traffic in The Onion Routing network
• Developing Systems for Increasing Organizational Cyber Situational Awareness
• Applications and Implementations of Homomorphic Encryption Schemes Over the Integers
• Assessing Vulnerabilities in Hospital Policy for the Bring Your Own Device Mobile Paradigm
• Software Security and Data Obfuscation
• Inherent Bluetooth capabilities and Individual Privacy Risk
  
  

  Professional Development

• Research presentations at weekly Software Protection and Exploitation Group (SPERG) meetings
• Presentations and participation in the USA Digital Forensics Research Group
• Conducting tours and presentations for USA Computing Day and USA Day on campus for prospective students
• Conducting hands-on learning activities for K-12 outreach
• Participation in cyber competitions such as CCDC, DC3, TAMU, Facebook CTF
• Attendance at several BSides security conferences
  
  

  Service

• Mentoring for BEST Robotics
• ACM tutoring
• Conducting hands-on learning activities for K-12 outreach
  

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  USA School of Computing

  150 Student Services Drive

  Shelby Hall, Suite 2101

  Mobile, Alabama 36688-0002

  1 (251) 460-6390

1. What is the NSF SFS program? The NSF Scholarship for Service program was created to increase the number of qualified students entering the fields of Information Assurance (IA) and Cybersecurity to meet our country's information technology needs for national defense and the security of our nation's critical information infrastructure. Scholarships cover full tuition, books and fees for two to three years of study. Students selected for the NSF SFS program are selected by the institution that has been awarded a National Science Foundation grant award. Students must compete for placement and complete a summer internship and serve in a paid position in a Federal, State, Local or Tribal government agency upon graduation.
2. Which costs do the scholarships cover? The program covers tuition, books, and fees for two to three years of undergraduate-, master's-, or doctorate-level study. In addition, undergraduate students receive a $27,000 stipend; graduate students receive $37,000. The SFS program also covers travel costs to an annual job fair/conference that all students are required to attend.
3. When, and for how long, can I get a scholarship? The scholarship is conferred during an undergraduate's junior and senior years. Graduate students are conferred the scholarship while pursuing a master's degree or PhD. Scholarships may be conferred for two years. A third year award may be available for students applying for funding for their senior year that commit to complete USA's School of Computing master's program or the PhD program. 
4. Do I incur an obligation by receiving this scholarship? Yes. You must serve at a government agency in an information assurance position for a period equivalent to the length of the scholarship or one year, whichever is longer.
5. Where will the jobs be located? Jobs will be located throughout the United States. However, many will be in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Therefore, participants will be required to be available for placement nationwide.
6. At what grade level will I be appointed when I serve the internship and when I am placed after graduation? The grade level at which you will be appointed depends on your qualifications at the time of appointment. In general, students with a bachelor's degree and superior academic achievement may be appointed at the GS-7 level. It is important to note that the pay rates for information technology professionals are higher than for other jobs.
7. Is the post-graduation employment commitment the only period of employment I am required to serve with the Government? No. You are also required to serve a10 week long internship between each funded year.
8. What responsibilities do I have to the program while I am still in school?
   • Attend the annual job fair/symposium.
   • Search for internship and post graduation opportunities.
   • Complete and submit a job search activity report to the program office quarterly.
   • View/edit resume and contact information quarterly.
   • Engage in other CyberScholar related activities as directed by the PI or program office.
9. Why is it important that I begin my job search early? It is very important that you begin your job search immediately for a variety of reasons. Students who receive scholarship funds for more than one academic year are required to serve an internship performing information assurance-related work. Internships are intended to enhance the students' information assurance knowledge by exposing them to field-related work experiences. For both internships and post-graduation commitment, most positions will require some type of security clearance and these along with the Federal hiring process can sometime be very time consuming.
10. What positions are open to me? Students can apply for any position that includes duties in Information Assurance at a Federal Agency, a National Research Laboratory, a Federally Funded Research Development Center, or other approved organization.

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USA School of Computing

150 Student Services Drive

Shelby Hall, Suite 2101

Mobile, Alabama 36688-0002

1 (251) 460-6390

For more information regarding USA School of Computing CyberScholar programs, contact the program coordinator, Ms. Angela Clark, at amclark@southalabama.edu. /251.460.7539.

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USA School of Computing

150 Student Services Drive

Shelby Hall, Suite 2101

Mobile, Alabama 36688-0002

1 (251) 460-6390