SFS@BAMA: Shaping the Next Generation of Cyber Professionals

该项目旨在通过从亚拉巴马大学的三个学术课程中招募不同的学者来满足国家对训练有素，全面的网络安全专业人员日益增长的需求：计算机科学，犯罪学和刑事司法，以及管理信息系统。跨学科项目利用了三个学术课程的互补优势，并建立在大学与地方，州和联邦政府组织的现有关系。学者们将从计算机科学中获得深入的技术知识，从犯罪学和刑事司法中了解网络犯罪的社会和行为方面，并掌握这些概念如何适应管理信息系统的组织环境。 由于学者将接触到通常不会在各自的学术课程中提出的主题，他们将毕业于比同龄人更全面的网络安全教育。 此外，他们将做好充分准备，以应对当今网络环境中的挑战，并成为未来网络安全劳动力的领导者，从联邦政府的职位开始。亚拉巴马大学被指定为国土安全部和国家安全局网络防御研究学术卓越中心。该项目利用了当前网络安全教育和研究计划的优势，以及与联邦、州和地方政府组织的现有关系。该项目将有助于缩小所需的高素质网络安全专业人员数量与目前可用数量之间的差距，每个项目年向来自计算机科学，犯罪学和刑事司法以及管理信息系统课程的特殊和多样化的学生颁发六项奖学金。除了完成所选专业的核心网络安全课程外，入选的学者还将参加其他两个学术领域的课程，作为其核心课程的一部分。计算机科学系提供了一个网络安全集中的课程，为学生提供有关网络安全的许多方面的技术内容的深度。犯罪学和刑事司法部门提供了在美国，它专注于应用社会和行为科学的原因和网络空间犯罪的后果的研究少数网络犯罪学未成年人之一。管理信息系统计划还提供核心网络安全课程，重点是网络安全概念在企业环境中的应用。此外，学生将获得教师指导，专业发展机会，并支持他们追求暑期实习和毕业后的全职工作。该项目由CyberCorps®奖学金服务（SFS）计划支持，该计划资助建立或继续网络安全奖学金计划的提案，并与美国国家网络战略保持一致，以培养一支上级网络安全人才队伍。毕业后，奖学金获得者需要在联邦，州，地方或部落政府组织的网络安全工作与他们的奖学金支持相同的时间。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

This project seeks to address the growing national need for highly-trained, well-rounded cybersecurity professionals by recruiting a diverse set of scholars from three academic programs at the University of Alabama: Computer Science, Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Management Information Systems. The trans-disciplinary project leverages the complementary strengths of the three academic programs and builds on the University’s current relationships with local, state, and federal government organizations. Scholars will develop deep technical knowledge from Computer Science, an understanding of the social and behavioral aspects of cyber-crime from Criminology and Criminal Justice, and a grasp on how these concepts fit within organizational contexts from Management Information Systems. Because scholars will be exposed to topics not normally presented in their respective academic programs, they will graduate with a more well-rounded cybersecurity education than their peers. Furthermore, they will be well-prepared to take on the challenges in today’s cyber environment and to serve as leaders in the cybersecurity workforce of the future, beginning with positions in the federal government. The University of Alabama is designated as a Department of Homeland Security and National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research. This project leverages the strengths of the current cybersecurity education and research programs as well as existing relationships with federal, state, and local government organizations. This project will help close the gap between the number of highly qualified cybersecurity professionals needed and the number currently available by awarding six scholarships each project year to exceptional and diverse students drawn from the Computer Science, Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Management Information Systems programs. In addition to completing the core cybersecurity courses within their chosen major, the selected scholars will take courses from the other two academic domains as part of their core curriculum. The Computer Science department offers a Cybersecurity concentration consisting of courses that provide students with a depth of technical content about many aspects of cybersecurity. The Criminology and Criminal Justice department offers one of the few Cyber Criminology minors in the United States, which focuses on applying social and behavioral sciences to the study of the causes and consequences of crimes in cyberspace. The Management Information System program also offers core cybersecurity courses that focus on the application of cybersecurity concepts in a corporate environment. In addition, scholars will receive faculty mentoring, professional development opportunities, and support as they pursue summer internships and full-time employment following graduation.This project is supported by the CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service (SFS) program, which funds proposals establishing or continuing scholarship programs in cybersecurity and aligns with the U.S. National Cyber Strategy to develop a superior cybersecurity workforce. Following graduation, scholarship recipients are required to work in cybersecurity for a federal, state, local, or tribal Government organization for the same duration as their scholarship support.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.