Department of Defense (DoD) Information Assurance Scholarship Program
The University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences is proud to offer an exceptional program that enables civilians to obtain a scholarship for a graduate degree with a concentration in Information Assurance, receive a salary while in school, and begin a career with an unlimited future. The Laboratory of Education and Research on Security Assured Information Systems (LERSAIS), founded in early 2004, is designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education and Research (CAE & CAE-Research) jointly by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The scholarship recipients will be selected by the DoD while the scholarship applications will be handled by LERSAIS. The scholarship will be for pursuing an MSIS/MST degree program through the information security specialization. The scholarship students will be in the program for up to two years. All accepted students will receive stipends plus support for tuition and fees, as well as room and board. Upon graduation, the students will be required to work for a DoD agency as a civilian employee for up to two years.
Scholarship Benefits
Each student in the program will be supported for up to two years. The specific benefits include:
- A stipend paid to the student per academic year
- The full cost of tuition will be covered by the scholarship as well as required fees and books.
- A sponsor who will maintain contact with the student throughout the scholarship period, and who will facillitate the student's entry into internships and eventual DoD employment.
Requirements and Eligibility
The following criteria must be fulfilled to be eligible for DoD-IASP support:
- All applicants must be United States citizens at the time of application and at least 18 years old
- Currently enrolled in, or accepted to begin, their first or second year of the MSIS/MST degree program
- A GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale
- Federal employment criteria may require security clearances (Note: if family members are not U.S. citizens, some agencies may be unable to process them through the required security clearances. DoD agencies make every effort to assign eligible students at an agency without such restrictions.)
- Completion of summer internship(s) facilitated by the NSA in a DoD agency
- Upon graduation, each student will be required to work for a DoD agency (ex. Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Technical Information Center, National Security Agency) as a civilian employee. The work requirement time period matches the supported time period.
Veterans are especially encouraged to apply.
Application Process
Each applicant to the DoD-IASP program should provide the following:
- Completed application form
- Statement of purpose and description of goals and motivations to pursue a career in Information Assurance and Computer Security
- Copy of transcripts of all college work outside of the University of Pittsburgh
- Two recommendation letters (more details can be found in the application information)
Please send application materials to:
Shabana Reza
Re: IASP Program Application
510 Information Sciences Building
University of Pittsburgh
135 North Bellefield Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
shabana.reza@pitt.edu
