Purdue University Receives Over $1 million NSF Grant

03-14-2011

Purdue University has been awarded over $1 million from the National Science Foundation to provide support for students seeking advanced degrees in information security. Professors Eugene H. Spafford, Victor Raskin, and Melissa Dark submitted their proposal for "Preparing Cyber Security Leaders" to the NSF as part of the Scholarship for Service program. This scholarship 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.

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."

This new award to Purdue University will fund three cohorts of students to pursue MS degrees in either Computer Science or the Interdisciplinary Information Security program, and conduct research associated with CERIAS at Purdue: the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security. 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.

 

Source: Purdue University 

More information on the award can be found on the National Science Foundation website.

More information on the degree programs can be found on the CERIAS Website.