The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Pace University a $2.5 million grant to support cybersecurity students at the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, the university said Monday.

The grant is an extension of a previous CyberCorps program at Pace that received $1 million from the NSF from 2010 through this summer. The new funding will run for five years.

This new NSF funding will support 3-4 cybersecurity students annually, assist student research in cybersecurity, and direct outreach programs like the GenCyber program for high school teachers, Pace said.

The Pace University Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. Image: Pace University.
The Pace University Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. Image: Pace University.

The specific project supported by the grant is “A Multiple Pathway Approach to CyberCorps– Renewal,” directed by Pace professors Li-Chiou Chen, Joseph Ryan, Darren Hayes, and Andreea Cotoranu. The project extends the CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service (SFS) program at Pace.

The CyberCorps program “prepares graduates to excel in cybersecurity tasks in specialty areas such as information assurance compliance and auditing, network security administration, and digital forensics,” the university said.

The GenCyber workshop for high school teachers is a two-week full-day program that introduces fundamental concepts and topic areas in cybersecurity and pedagogical methods, the university said. It is supported by the NSF and National Security Agency (NSA) GenCyber Program. The 2015 program was held in July.

“With the continuous support from the NSF, Pace’s CyberCorps program is expecting to produce the next generation of cybersecurity professionals who can fit into the workplace with not only their computing expertise but also practical hands-on skills and problem-solving capabilities,” program director Professor Li-Chiou Chen said in a statement.

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“Less than five years ago, no one was concerned about cyber security. Today, the FBI is recognizing it as the number one threat to our security. Hackers have the ability to enter our secure systems, such as power and electric, and shut it down. This grant is a major step toward securing our country,” Ryan, chair of the university’s master’s degree in the specialty and co-principal investigator on this grant, added.

Students who receive a scholarship through the grant then go on to work in government agencies for a specified period of time upon graduation, Pace said. The grant supports eligible cybersecurity scholars who are current Pace students, transfer students from community colleges, and new graduate students at other universities.

Pace previously has been designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE) by the NSA and Department of Homeland Security since 2004.