CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service

The CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) program, administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in partnership with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is a federally authorized initiative designed to address the growing need for cybersecurity professionals within the public sector. Enabled by legislative mandates such as the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 and the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the SFS program plays a critical role in strengthening the nation’s cyber defense by offering scholarships to students pursuing education in cybersecurity and related fields. These scholarships are offered through accredited U.S.-based institutions of higher education with demonstrated excellence in cybersecurity education and are aimed at cultivating a diverse and highly qualified cybersecurity workforce for government service. The primary objectives of the SFS program include increasing the number of qualified cybersecurity professionals for government service, enhancing the educational capacity of institutions in this domain, ensuring the effective employment and retention of SFS scholars, and fostering productive partnerships between academia and government entities at all levels. Proposals may focus on establishing new scholarship programs or renewing existing ones. Applicants must clearly demonstrate the strength of their academic cybersecurity program through formal designations such as ABET accreditation or recognition as a Center of Academic Excellence by the National Security Agency. Scholarships awarded under this program cover up to three years of support for undergraduate and graduate students. Financial provisions include an annual stipend of $27,000 for undergraduate students and $37,000 for graduate students, full tuition and education-related fees, and a professional development allowance of $6,000 per academic year. This allowance may be used for attending job fairs, conferences, acquiring research materials, and obtaining professional certifications. Recipients are required to complete a paid summer internship and, upon graduation, must fulfill a government service obligation equal in duration to their scholarship support. Institutions applying for SFS funding must outline a comprehensive project plan detailing the selection, support, and tracking of scholarship recipients. This includes initial and exit counseling, maintaining records of employment, academic progress monitoring, and ensuring compliance with federal service obligations. Institutions must also address program sustainability, strategies for broadening participation, and collaboration with government agencies. Proposals are evaluated based on intellectual merit, broader impacts, quality of the academic program, experiential learning opportunities, diversity initiatives, and institutional capacity. Eligible institutions include U.S.-accredited higher education institutions with campus locations within the United States. Community colleges are eligible only as sub-awardees under a four-year partnering institution. Applicants are limited to one submission per institution per competition cycle and must meet timing and budget expenditure requirements if reapplying. Individual principal investigators may participate in only one proposal per cycle. Proposals must be submitted via Research.gov or Grants.gov in accordance with NSF’s Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide. The application deadline for the FY 2023 cycle was July 17, 2023. For future cycles, the deadline is set for July 15 annually. The estimated number of awards ranges from 12 to 16, with approximately $20 million allocated for new awards in FY 2024. Applications will be reviewed based on NSF’s merit criteria, and awards are issued as continuing grants over a five-year period. Interested applicants can contact the program at [email protected] for further inquiries. Additional resources, application guidelines, and administrative requirements are available on the NSF website. The next anticipated application cycle will begin in July 2026.