DoD Cybersecurity Scholarship Program

The Center for Secure Information System and the Department of Information Sciences and Technology are soliciting applications for the 2024-2025 Department of Defense (DoD) Cyber Scholarship Program (CySP). Students selected as Cyber Scholars will receive a full scholarship including the following benefits:

• Full cost of tuition and required books and class materials
• Required fees (including health care for Ph.D. students)
• A laptop, which the student can keep upon termination of the scholarship period
• A stipend of $29,000 for undergraduate students and $34,000 for graduate students (Master's and Ph.D.)
• Internship opportunities and guaranteed employment with a DoD agency upon graduation

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on February 1, 2024.

Application Requirements

Applicants must meet the following requirements to be eligible for the scholarship:

• Must be 18 years of age or older.
• Must be a citizen of the United States at the time of application.
• Must be enrolled (or accepted for enrollment) at George Mason University for the 2024-2025 academic year.
• Must have at least one academic year remaining:
• And completed (by August 2024) at a minimum:
• the first two years of an undergraduate degree program; or
• a bachelor's degree program; or
• a Master's degree program.
• And be eligible to respectively:
• begin either the third or fourth year of an undergraduate degree program; or
• begin the first or second year of a Master's degree program; or
• pursue doctoral studies.
• Must be pursuing a course of study and/or have a declared major in one of the scientific, technical, or managerial disciplines related to cyber or with a concentration in cybersecurity.
• Must have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 out of 4.0 (undergraduate) or 3.5 out of 4.0 (undergraduate) (graduate), or an analogous rank based on a comparable scale.
• Must be able to obtain a security clearance if selected (but not required to obtain security clearance before applying).
• Must sign a written agreement obligating them to work for the DoD, as a civilian employee, for one calendar year for each year of scholarship assistance. This agreement is provided to the selecting agency for their records to ensure compliance with the service commitment.
• Must agree to serve in internship positions, if timing permits, with the selecting DoD organization during the time they are receiving scholarship support until they complete the course of study provided for by the scholarship. These internships will be arranged by the DoD organizations to occur during the summer or other breaks between school terms, as appropriate to the individual's circumstances and the institution's calendar. The internship does not count toward satisfying the period of obligated service incurred by accepting the DoD scholarship.

Students who are currently receiving funds from another scholarship program or who have a service obligation upon graduation are not eligible to apply for the DoD CySP.

Student Application Preparation Instructions

Detailed application instructions are provided in Attachment C: DoD CySP Application Background and Requirements. Applications missing any required documents will automatically be disqualified. We encourage students to submit their applications as early as possible and to contact us to receive feedback as they assemble their application materials. For inquiries, contact Dr. Albanese at malbanes@gmu.edu.

New Students and Returning Students who Applied Online in 2023

• Students who are applying to CySP for the first time are considered New Recruitment Students and must use the new DoD CySP online application tool. Returning DoD CySP Scholars who applied through the tool in 2023 will log-in to their original account and upload the required documents.
  • See the DoD Cyber Scholarship Application Quick Start Guide
• Students are responsible for submitting a complete application through the new application tool by 11:59 PM EST on February 1, 2024. Students will not have access to the application tool on February 2, 2023.

• Paper applications for new students will not be accepted.

Returning Students who Applied via Paper Forms in 2023

• Current DoD CySP Scholars who used paper applications in 2023 and are reapplying for an additional year of support will continue to use the paper application form provided by the DoD CySP Program Office.
• Current DoD CySP Scholars should save their application as a single PDF file (no PDF portfolios) including all documents in the order specified in the instructions and provide it to Dr. Albanese (malbanes@gmu.edu) by February 1, 2024. Students should use the following naming structure to save their PDF file: LASTNAME_FirstName_George_Mason_University_Returning.PDF. Applicants must deliver original paper transcripts in their sealed envelopes to the Department of Information Science Technology, 5400 Nguyen Engineering Building, MS 1G8, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, (Attn. Dr. Albanese) either by mail or in person. The Department of Defense needs to verify that the transcripts are not counterfeit. We recommend that applicants obtain multiple copies of their transcripts. They can deliver a sealed copy to us, and use another copy to scan it for inclusion in the PDF document.