Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service

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The Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service (SFS) program seeks to increase the number of qualified students entering the fields of information assurance and cybersecurity and to increase the capacity of the United States higher education enterprise to continue to produce professionals in these fields to meet the needs of our increasingly technological society. The SFS program is composed of two tracks:The Scholarship Track provides funding to colleges and universities to award scholarships to students in the information assurance and cybersecurity fields. Scholarship recipients shall pursue academic programs in information assurance for the final two years of their bachelor's- or master's-level program; final three years of study where the student is receiving both the bachelor's and the master's degree; final three years in combined bachelor's and master's degree ("five year") programs; or for the final three years of research-based doctoral-level study. During the scholarship period, the students will participate in meaningful summer internships but doctoral students may be allowed to replace their summer internship with a research activity. In return for their scholarships, recipients will work after graduation for a Federal, State, Local, or Tribal Government organization in a position related to cybersecurity for a period equal to the length of the scholarship. A limited number of students may be placed in National Laboratories and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs).The Capacity Building Track provides funds to colleges and universities to improve the quality and increase the production of high-quality information assurance and cybersecurity professionals by providing support for efforts within the higher education system, as well as outreach to K-12 students with related interests. Professional development of faculty expertise in information assurance, cybersecurity or digital forensics can be funded under this track, as well as projects to increase interest in information assurance and accelerate the integration of information assurance, computer security or cybersecurity knowledge across the STEM disciplines; development, deployment, and evaluation of information assurance, cybersecurity and/or digital forensics curriculum guidelines leading to wide adoption nationally; evaluation of the effectiveness of cybersecurity competitions, games, and other outreach and retention activities; and other innovative and creative projects which lead to an increase in the ability of the United States higher education enterprise to produce information assurance and cybersecurity professionals.

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