Title
CyberCorps(R) Scholarship for Service (SFS)
Agencies
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Description
Cyberspace has transformed the daily lives of people. Society's overwhelming reliance on cyberspace, however, has exposed the system's
fragility and vulnerabilities: corporations, agencies, national infrastructure, and individuals continue to suffer cyber-attacks. Achieving a truly
secure cyberspace requires addressing both challenging scientific and engineering problems involving many components of a system, and
vulnerabilities that stem from human behaviors and choices. Examining the fundamentals of security and privacy as a multidisciplinary subject
can lead to fundamentally new ways to design, build, and operate cyber systems, protect existing infrastructure, and motivate individuals to
learn about cybersecurity. The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Acts for 2018 and
2021, and the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, authorizes the National Science Foundation (NSF), in coordination with the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to offer a scholarship program to recruit and train the next generation
of cybersecurity professionals to meet the needs of the cybersecurity mission of federal, state, local, and tribal governments. The goals of the
CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service (SFS) program are aligned with the U.S. strategy to develop a superior cybersecurity workforce. The
program goals are to: (1) increase the number of qualified and diverse cybersecurity candidates for government cybersecurity positions; (2)
improve the national capacity for the education of cybersecurity professionals and research and development workforce; (3) hire, monitor, and
retain high-quality CyberCorps® graduates in the cybersecurity mission of the Federal Government; and (4) strengthen partnerships between
institutions of higher education and federal, state, local, and tribal governments. While all three agencies work together on all four goals, NSF’s
strength is in the first two goals; OPM’s in goal (3); and DHS in goal (4).
The SFS Program welcomes proposals to establish or to continue scholarship programs in cybersecurity. A proposing institution must provide
clearly documented evidence of a strong existing academic program in cybersecurity. In addition to information provided in the proposal
narrative, such evidence can include ABET accreditation in cybersecurity; a designation by the National Security Agency and the Department
of Homeland Security as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE), in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO) or in
Research (CAE-R); or equivalent evidence documenting a strong program in cybersecurity.
Service Obligation: All scholarship recipients must work after graduation in the cybersecurity mission of a federal, state, local, or tribal
government organization, or certain other qualifying entities, for a period equal to at least the length of the scholarship.
The SFS Program also supports efforts leading to an increase in the ability of the United States higher education enterprise to produce
cybersecurity professionals. Funding opportunities in this area are provided via the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace - Education
Designation (SaTC-EDU) and other programs (see the section "Increasing National Capacity in Cybersecurity Education" for more details.)
More Information
https://nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/solicitations/pubs/2023/nsf23574/nsf23574.pdf?VersionId=SQsc.WS2L38Q9bq93W2ZMndVakGYtp5e
Submission Limits
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1
Each performing organization is limited to one (1) proposal per annual SFS competition. Institutions with an active SFS scholarship project
must wait at least (a) until they are within 24 months from the current SFS award’s end date, and (b) until they have used at least 70 percent of
their budget, before submitting another SFS proposal.
Potential PIs are advised to contact their institutional office of research regarding processes used to select proposals for submission.
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 1
An individual must not participate as PI, Co-PI, or Senior Personnel on more than one (1) proposal submitted to the same deadline
Deadlines
| Internal Notice of Intent |
Apr 19, 2024 |
| Notification of Internal Competition |
Apr 20, 2024 |
| Internal Pre-proposal |
May 10, 2024 |
| Results of Internal Competition |
May 24, 2024 |
| Agency Notice of Intent/Pre-proposal |
N/A |
| Agency Proposal |
Jul 15, 2024
|
|
Office of the Vice President for Research
