Van Hollen, Cardin Announce $5 Million for UMD Cybersecurity Scholarships

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) today announced that University of Maryland (UMD) College Park has been awarded a $5,046,316 grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service Program. This funding will provide scholarships and internship opportunities for 36 students in UMD's Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES) Program, the first undergraduate honors program in cybersecurity in the United States.The ACES Program aims to meet the challenge of educating the students for the cyber workforce through a unique, multidisciplinary education. The University of Maryland is a National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence in Research.

"Now more than ever we need to adequately prepare our students for the jobs of the future. Fortunately for Marylanders, UMD is leading this charge," said Senator Van Hollen. "This funding will prepare Maryland's best and brightest to compete for opportunities in the cyber sector and will help grow our state's cyber workforce. I'm proud to see this well-deserved recognition of UMD's ACES program, and I will continue to support efforts to improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education and create good paying jobs across our state."

"Maryland is at the epicenter of cyber technology innovation. These funds will help our state continue that trend of excellence and ensure that the University of Maryland is able to keep training a technologically savvy workforce with the skills to meet our national security challenges," said Senator Cardin. "I'll fight to ensure that every student, in every corner of Maryland, receives the resources they need to thrive and pursue well-paying jobs."

CyberCorps: Scholarship For Service is a unique program designed to increase and strengthen the cadre of federal information assurance professionals that protect the government's critical information infrastructure. This program provides scholarships that may fully fund the typical costs incurred by full-time students while attending a participating institution, including tuition and education and related fees. Additionally, participants receive stipends of $22,500 for undergraduate students and $34,000 for graduate students. The scholarships are funded through grants awarded by the National Science Foundation.

The NSF is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare and to secure the national defense." The NSF is the funding source for approximately 24 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing.

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