Effective March 2002, the University at Buffalo (UB) has been designated as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE) by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Following this recognition, UB won a grant for full scholarship support to undergraduate and graduate students seeking degrees and graduate certificates in information assurance disciplines. The goal of this Information Assurance Scholarship Program is to support the development of information assurance specialists within the Department of Defense (DoD). This opportunity is available to all citizens of United States.

  Based on our success in 2002 06, we are now soliciting applications from qualified students at both undergraduate and graduate levels for academic year 2007 08. The qualifications and the steps to be taken to complete your application are described below. The Scholarship, which pays for the full cost of tuition, fees, books, lab expenses, supplies and equipment incurred by students selected for the program carries an additional stipend of $10,000 for undergraduate students and $15,000 for graduate students. Scholarship recipients will be required to participate in internships arranged by appointing DoD components during the years they are receiving scholarship support. On successful completion of both academic degree and internship requirements, the Student Trainees will be converted to permanent, full time status as federal employees.

Note the following with respect to this scholarship announcement.

1. Since the grant is highly competitive, there are no guarantees on the number of available scholarships nor is there any assurance at this stage if UB will be awarded any lines.

2. Students who receive scholarships will be required to sign a written agreement obligating them to work for the Department of Defense, as a civilian employee, for one calendar year for each year, or partial year, for which scholarship assistance is received. Scholarship recipients will also be required to serve in internship positions with DoD organizations during the time they are receiving scholarship support until they complete the course of study provided for by the scholarship. Internships, for both scholarship recipients and non scholarship recipients, will be arranged by DoD to occur during the summer or during breaks between school terms as appropriate to the individual's circumstances, the institution's calendar, and the structure of the employing component's student intern program. Internships will not count toward satisfying the period of obligated service incurred by accepting the Information Assurance scholarship.

 What is Information Assurance?

 For purposes of this program, the term Information Assurance encompasses the scientific, technical, and management disciplines required to ensure computer and network security including the following functions:

• system/network administration and operations

• systems security engineering

• information assurance systems and product acquisition

• cryptography

• threat and vulnerability assessment, to include risk management

• web security

• operations of computer emergency response teams

• information assurance training, education and management

• computer forensics

• defensive information operations

 Summary of Eligibility

 Students from the academic disciplines, with concentrations in information assurance, would include, but are not limited to Mathematics, Biometrics, Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Programming, Computer Support, Data Base Administration, Computer Systems Analysis, Operations Research, Information Security (Assurance), and Business Management or Administration.

For undergraduate students, you must be a junior in fall 2007 and should have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and for graduate students, you must be either starting your Masters program in fall 2007 (and should have obtained or have applied for admission to the graduate program) and should have a GPA of 3.2 or better in your undergraduate degree. All applicants must be citizens of the United States.

Where to Apply and by When?

You must send one (1) hardcopy original, two (2) paper copies of your application along with the University unique supplementary document (see below) and two (2) CD ROM copies (make sure that the CD ROM contains your transcripts and letters of recommendation) by February 9, 2007 to either of the following points of contact on campus:  

Applicants in the Engineering and Mathematics Disciplines should send the application package to:

• Prof. Shambhu Upadhyaya
  201 Bell Hall
  Department of Computer Science and Engineering
  University at Buffalo
  Buffalo, New York 14260

Applicants in Business Management or Administration, Law, Operations Research and Information Sciences should send the application package to:

• Prof. H. Raghav Rao
  325 Jacobs Hall
  Department of Management Science and Systems
  University at Buffalo
  Buffalo, New York 14260

University Unique Supplementary Requirements

 In addition to the above application, the applicants are also required to provide the following supplementary information:

(1) A cover letter containing the names of two references that you will be using in the main application with at least one from a current faculty member, and

(2) A statement of purpose (maximum one page long) in which you are required to give: (a) A summary of your vision of Information Assurance, (b) How this scholarship will help in fulfilling your academic goals, and (c) How you can contribute to solve the challenges faced by the nation in the area of Information Assurance.

You may find it useful to refer to published documents on the Internet at the various sites such as Department of Defense, National Security Agency, National Institute for Standards and Technology, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and National Science Foundation, to answer item (c) above.

Award Announcement

Student awards will be announced in the late May/early June 2007 time frame and grants will be awarded in July/August 2007.