Purdue lands $2 million NSF grant to aid graduate students in information security field
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University has been awarded more than $1 million from the National Science Foundation to provide support for students seeking advanced degrees in information security. The award is for two years initially, with another $1 million committed for the subsequent two years.
Professors and CERIAS (Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security) directors Eugene H. Spafford, Melissa J. Dark and Victor Raskin submitted their proposal for "Preparing Cyber Security Leaders" to the NSF as part of the Scholarship for Service program. The program covers tuition, expenses and stipends for U.S. citizens to receive degrees in information security in return for mandatory employment in the federal government for up to two years.
Purdue has a noteworthy record of accomplishment in graduating high-quality students with expertise in information security, including students under a previous SFS award, Spafford said. This new award will enable several groups of students to pursue master's degrees in either computer science or the interdisciplinary information security program and conduct research associated with CERIAS at Purdue.
"CERIAS' reputation in the information security field is well known and earned," Spafford said. "We have many ongoing collaborations and provide services to key private and government contractors, and our students place well in the job market. This award will allow us to extend our offerings to this next generation of cybersecurity leaders."
Students studying under these scholarships also may take exams to prequalify them to return for doctoral study after their mandatory employment obligation concludes. Over the last dozen years there have been nearly 150 doctoral graduates affiliated with CERIAS - more than 25 percent of the production in the United States in information security.
Students already admitted to one of the two master's degree programs indicated may be eligible for the program and should contact one of the three listed faculty for details, or e-mail sfs-info@cerias.purdue.edu.
Writer: Jim Bush, 765-494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu
Sources: Eugene H. Spafford, 765-494-7825, spaf@purdue.edu
Melissa Dark, 765-494-2554, dark@purdue.edu
Victor Raskin, 765-494-3782, vraskin@purdue.edu
Related websites:
More information on the award:
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=1027493
More information on the degree programs:
https://www.cerias.purdue.edu/site/education/graduate_program/sfs/