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Frequently Asked Questions CAE/IAE Students
A: The DoD Information Scholarship Program provides scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in Information Assurance disciplines at a limited number of schools designated by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security as National Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAE/IAEs). Eligible students may be engaged in studies leading to a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree, or a graduate (post-baccalaureate) certificate. In order to establish a scholarship program, the CAE/IAE must submit a successful grant proposal. Students who receive scholarships are required to serve in internships as Student Career Experience Program Student Trainees with DoD during breaks in the school year. Accepting a scholarship carries with it an obligation to work for DoD as a civilian employee, or to complete a service obligation with the armed forces or the National Guard or Reserves after completing your course of study. Q: Who is eligible to apply for a DoD IA Scholarship? A: You are eligible to apply for a DoD IA Scholarship if you meet the following criteria:
Q: How much is the scholarship? A: The scholarship will provide the full cost of tuition, required books, and selected fees, lab expenses, supplies and equipment incurred by students selected for the program. Students will also be provided a stipend to cover room and board expenses: undergraduates will receive a stipend of $10,000 per academic year, and graduate students will receive a stipend of $15,000 per academic year. Disabled students may receive additional allowances. There are no allowances for dependents. You will receive a salary during your internship assignments that is in addition to scholarship assistance. Q: For what length of time will I receive scholarship support? A: Initial awards will be made for one year; second-year scholarship awards will be dependent on satisfactory academic progress, internship performance, and the availability of funds. Scholarship recipients who successfully complete the terms of an initial one- or two-year scholarship (for example, complete an undergraduate degree) may apply for a second scholarship of up to two years for completing an advanced degree or graduate certificate program. Q: Can I apply for a scholarship if I am not enrolled at one of the CAE/IAEs or their collaborating partner institutions?
A: No. In the future the program may be opened to other schools not in the CAE/IAE program. Q: What are the CAE/IAE collaborating partner institutions? A: The CAE/IAEs, in applying for grant funds to establish a scholarship program, may elect to collaborate with other accredited post-secondary institutions, including accredited post-secondary minority institutions. Check with the CAE/IAE point of contact to determine whether the CAE/IAE has elected to partner with one or more collaborating institutions. Q: How do I apply for the program? A: Obtain a copy of the IA Scholarship Application Background and Requirements with application. It can be downloaded at this web site (see menu at left). However, CAE/IAEs may impose additional requirements. Therefore, it is recommended that you obtain directly from the CAE/IAE point of contact the complete announcement and information about any school specific requirements and deadlines. Q: When is the application due? A: Because each CAE/IAE will establish its own due date for scholarship and Student Trainee applications, application deadlines may vary from school to school. It is important that you check with the CAE/IAE point of contact to determine the specifics of the CAE/IAE's scholarship application process and the CAE/IAE's deadlines for applications. DoD must receive all scholarship applications from the CAE/IAEs no later than February 28, 2006; as a result, CAE/IAE deadlines for applications are likely to be well in advance of the date DoD must receive them. Q: Why is the Scholarship Announcement also called a "Vacancy" announcement? A: Your application for scholarship assistance is also an application for a DoD (federal) job. Regulations require that DoD identify an opening now for you to be employed as an intern or as a full-time employee. As an Information Assurance Scholar, you will receive job experience in information security internships during breaks in your academic studies. Upon successful completion of your academic program and intern assignments, and when other conditions of employment have been met, you will be appointed to a full-time, permanent position in DoD in order to satisfy your obligation of employment with the DoD. Alternately, you may complete a period of obligated service as a member of the National Guard or Reserves. Q: How long do I have to serve in DoD to meet the required service obligation? A: If you elected to serve your period of obligated service as a civilian employee, you are obligated to serve in DoD in a full-time civilian position one calendar year for each academic year, or partial year, for which you receive scholarship assistance. DoD internships undertaken while you are completing your academic program do not count toward satisfying the service obligation. Q: Can I meet my pay-back obligation by joining one of the armed forces? A: You may elect to complete your period of obligated service by joining the armed forces, or the National Guard or Reserves. The armed forces may have a minimum service requirement that is longer than the service obligation you incur in accepting an Information Assurance Scholarship. If so, you are required to meet the service requirement of the respective branch of the armed forces that you join. The National Guard and Reserves require members to serve two calendar years for each academic year, or partial year, for which scholarship assistance was received. Q: What if I fail to complete my service obligation? A: In order to receive scholarship assistance, you must agree to reimburse the United States should you voluntarily terminate your employment or service before the end of your obligation period. Should you terminate your appointment under the Information Assurance Scholarship Program, or decline or refuse to honor your commitment for obligated service, you must reimburse the United States Government the cost of the scholarship assistance provided to you. Q: Are there other conditions I must meet? A: Yes. Before awarding you a scholarship or hiring you, the appointment agency will ask you to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment, or other DoD form to determine your suitability for federal employment and to authorize a background investigation of your suitability. The agency will also ask you to sign and certify the accuracy of all the information in your application. You will be required to obtain and maintain eligibility for a security clearance in order to receive financial (scholarship) assistance or an appointment under the Information Assurance Scholarship and Student Career Experience Program. Before awarding you a scholarship or hiring you, the appointing agency will ask you to complete certain forms to initiate the security clearance process. If you are a male over age 18 who was born after December 31, 1959, you must have registered with the Selective Service System (or have an exemption) to be eligible for a Federal job. On appointment, you will be required to sign an agreement to accept assignments that involve travel or changes in duty stations, assignments in different organizations and functional areas, and assignment in different geographic areas during your internship and while serving in any permanent, full-time position to which you are converted on program completion. Q: Can I get an internship without a scholarship? A: No. However, some of the Military Departments and DoD agencies have established cooperative education and internship programs that are unrelated to the IASP. You may wish to check the websites of various Military Departments and DoD agencies for information about these unrelated opportunities. The Office of Personnel Management's USA Jobs website may also provide information about separate cooperative education and internship opportunities within DoD. Q: How will my application be evaluated? A: Your application will go through a 3-step evaluation process. First, it will be reviewed and evaluated by your school (CAE/IAE). CAE/IAEs are required by DoD to conduct a preliminary screening of applicants for academic sufficiency, and to evaluate each applicant's knowledge and ability in certain competencies important to information assurance work. Each CAE/IAE will determine the exact procedure it will follow in conducting this preliminary evaluation. Second, after all applications are received by DoD, your application will be evaluated by DoD Human Resources officials. Each applicant's education (degree) level, academic achievements, work experience, and competency for federal appointment will be examined and applicants will be ranked for selection consideration. Finally, DoD agencies participating in the program will consider applicants certified for selection consideration and will make tentative selections. In-person or telephonic interviews may or may not be conducted as part of the DoD evaluation process. Q: What are the requirements for obtaining a security clearance? A: In order to obtain a security clearance, you will be required to complete an extensive security questionnaire and undergo a background investigation. Elements of this investigation include employment and law enforcement checks, questioning of references, and a personnel interview. Expect to be questioned about your family background, past work and life experiences, health, use of alcohol or drugs, financial affairs, prior record of arrests/convictions, foreign travel, and other pertinent matters. In addition, some DoD organizations may require drug testing, polygraph examinations and psychological reviews as part of the security clearance process. The Defense Security System (DSS) website provides answers to frequently asked questions regarding personnel security investigations. Q: When will I learn whether or not I have been selected to participate in the program? A: All applicants, successful and unsuccessful, should be notified of the status of their applications by May 2006. Q: What happens after I am selected? A: The DoD agency that wants to appoint you as a Student Trainee, or hire you, will contact you to extend a tentative offer of employment (contingent on satisfaction of all appointment prerequisites) and to initiate new-hire processing. You may be asked to travel to a location the agency specifies for processing, to include initiation of suitability and security clearance processes. (Travel costs will be covered through the CAE/IAE's scholarship program grant, or by the DoD agency.) After all preliminary processing steps are completed satisfactorily, you will be given a final offer of appointment and appointed as a Student Trainee or an employee of a specific agency. You will receive instructions about when, where and how to report for any new employee orientation and your intern assignments at that time. Q: At what federal grade level will I be appointed as a Student Trainee? A: This will vary. You could receive an offer of appointment at GS-4, GS-5, GS-7, or GS-9, depending on your qualifications (your academic degree level and/or work experience) and the needs of the DoD agency that selects you. Q: Who will arrange for my intern assignments? A: Your intern (experiential) assignments will be specifically tailored to your academic schedule. You, your school officials, DoD human resource officials, and your DoD agency supervisor will jointly coordinate and arrange for your intern assignments soon after your appointment. An agreement between DoD and your school will be negotiated specifying the general conditions for your intern assignments. Q: Where will I serve my internship and where will I complete my service obligation after I earn my degree? A: You will serve your internship and may be employed in a full-time, civilian position with one of the Department of Defense Military Departments (the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, or the Department of the Air Force) or with another DoD component. These DoD organizations have installations world-wide. If you elect to complete your service obligation with the National Guard or Reserves, your service would be performed at any duty location to which you are ordered, world-wide. Q: Can I select the location for my Student Trainee job and permanent assignment? A: No. The application for the program allows you to specify a preference for up to three DoD components for your internship and permanent assignment. However, the Department of Defense cannot guarantee that your assignment preferences as an intern, or in any permanent position to which you are subsequently converted, can be honored. Your preferences for assignment as a civilian employee will be taken into account, along with other relevant factors such as mission, functional and staffing requirements, the exigencies of service, the availability of funds, and any hardships you may demonstrate. Q: What happens when I am in school and not participating in intern assignments? A: This may vary depending upon the DoD agency. If you are appointed to the SCEP program, you remain a federal appointee (Student Trainee) at the grade level at which you were appointed; however, when you are not actually working on an intern assignment, you will be placed in what is called a Leave Without Pay (LWOP) status. During these periods of non-work time, you do not receive a salary. Q: Will I be assigned a mentor? A:Yes. In addition to your regular supervisor, DoD will assign a mentor to you during the period of your Information Assurance Scholarship Program participation. The mentor's job will be to get to know you, provide you general guidance and support, help you to resolve any major difficulties you may encounter while completing program requirements, and give you professional, career-related advice during your program participation. Q: Will I really be given meaningful work during my intern assignments? A: Your intern assignments will be tailored to your grade level, your experience background, the work available at your DoD agency duty location, your academic studies, and your academic schedule. Every effort will be made by your DoD agency to ensure that all or nearly all of your intern assignments present you with learning opportunities that will allow you to contribute in meaningful ways to accomplishment of the hiring agency's performance goals and objectives. Q: Will I receive any non-academic training while I am participating in the Information Assurance Scholarship Program? A: Your employing DoD agency may direct you to undergo certain specialty training while you are a program participant, if necessary to perform your intern assignments, or to further your development in a certain area, if there is time available. Q: Well-qualified information technology professionals are in great demand in some areas. Does DoD pay bonuses to information technology workers? A:Bonuses are paid at the discretion of each DoD agency. On successful completion of the Information Assurance Scholarship Program, the agency that offers you a permanent job may also offer you a bonus if it chooses to do so. But, remember that you must serve a period of obligated service with DoD after attainment of your degree and successful completion of the program, whether or not you are offered a bonus of any kind. Q: If I decide to complete my service obligation as a civilian employee, what kind of permanent job will I get if I successfully complete the Information Assurance Scholarship Program? A: The kinds of permanent jobs available to you on successful completion of the Information Assurance Scholarship Program will depend on your academic background and experience, and the specific needs of the DoD agency that will employ you. Position assignments for personnel with IA backgrounds may be in such areas as Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) operations; system/network administration; computer network security architecture and engineering; research and development; modeling and simulation; system certification and information technology acquisition, to name a few. However, while you are guaranteed a permanent position on satisfactory completion of the program, you are not guaranteed any particular kind of job, grade level, appointment type, or tenure category. You should inquire of agency officials about any plans for your permanent placement when you are tentatively offered appointment. Q: Does DoD have a formal career program for information assurance professionals? A: The Deputy Secretary of Defense
has endorsed the concept of a DoD certification program for IA personnel. The
certification program for information assurance professionals includes certain
competency-based and role-based development. Your supervisor and mentor can
help you assess your education and experience background and prepare for
certification after you receive your appointment as a Student Trainee. If you
would like to know more about the competency-based and role-based models for
development of information technology and information assurance professionals,
the following two web sites contain specific information of interest:
[Student] [Schools] [DoD Personnel] [Top] [Home] Q: What must I do to establish a scholarship program on my campus? A: To establish an Information Assurance Scholarship Program on your campus, you must compete for grant funds by submitting a successful proposal in response to the Grant Solicitation. Q: Will there be another opportunity for CAE/IAEs to apply for an IASP grant? A: Depending on the availability of funds, DoD expects to initiate annual Information Assurance Scholarship Program competitions. Q: What is required to submit a successful proposal? A: CAE/IAEs are required to advertise and manage a competition for scholarship applicants; conduct an evaluation of applicants' qualifications and abilities; and submit all the applications received to DoD, along with the CAE/IAE's assessment and recommendation of each proposed scholar's capabilities and potential. Institutions are also required to submit a basic (scholarship program) technical and cost proposal in response to the grant solicitation addressing the CAE/IAE's plan for establishing and managing the IA Scholarship Program if a grant is awarded. Basic proposals should cover the design and scope of the proposed program; unique qualities that might distinguish it from the approaches of other institutions; disciplines to be encompassed; and the institution's plan for administering and managing scholarship awards, stipends and other financial aspects of the program. Finally, the basic proposal should describe the process the CAE/IAE used to publicize the program, and recruit and assess student candidates. The solicitation also invites CAE/IAEs, as part of their response to the solicitation, to address two optional annexes: ANNEX 1 invites CAE/IAEs to partner with the Information Resources Management College (IRMC) of the National Defense University (NDU); ANNEX 2 allows CAE/IAEs to request funds for modest support for building the institution's capacity for research and education in information assurance. Q: What are the requirements for forming a Partnership with the Information Resources Management College (IRMC) of the National Defense University (NDU)? A: CAE/IAE institutions wishing to partner with IRMC must be willing to award a minimum of 15 graduate credits from the IRMC CIO Certificate Program (with NSTISSI 4011 Certificate) or a minimum of 9 credits for the NSTISSI 4011 Certificate only. The partnering CAE/IAE has final acceptance authority for students entering degree programs at their institutions. Q: What is the IRMC CIO Certificate Program? A: The IRMC CIO Certificate Program (Advanced Management Program Option) is a comprehensive, 14-week, full-time graduate-level program. All DoD civilian and military scholarship students will have completed the program with an information assurance concentration. The course is also offered through a combination of residential and distance-learning options. The CIO Certificate Program (Advanced Management Program Option) has been evaluated by the American Council on Education (ACE) and carried an ACE Credit Recommendation of up to 23 graduate credits. As part of the CIO Certificate Program, each successful student also earns a National Security Telecommunications and Information Systems Security Committee Standard 4011 Certificate for Information Systems Security Professionals. Q: What types of activities will be considered for support under ANNEX 2, Institutional Capacity Building? A: Types of activities CAE/IAEs may propose can include faculty development, curriculum development, laboratory improvements and/or faculty research in information security in order to develop a strong foundation for the Scholarship Program. Research areas of interest to DoD are related to the Department's "Defense in Depth" concept and the Information Security (INFOSEC) Research Council (IRC) "hard problem" list. CAE/IAEs are encouraged to consider these areas in submitting research capacity building proposals:
CAE/IAEs must address the extent to which the capacity to be developed supports an information assurance mission need of the DoD; the relation of the support requested to achieving the goals of the Scholarship Program; the specific elements of the Scholarship Program that will be enhanced or strengthened by the requested support; and the impact on the Scholarship Program of not receiving the support requested. Responses to ANNEX 2 of the solicitation, Institutional Capacity Building, are optional and will be evaluated separately from the institution's basic proposal in response to the solicitation
Q: Can my institution apply only to be an IRMC Partner school, or only to receive capacity building funds? A: No. An institution must submit a basic technical proposal to establish an institution-based scholarship program as required by the solicitation. Depending on the availability of funds, DoD may elect to make small program initiation awards to CAE/IAEs that have submitted outstanding proposals, and have managed the student recruitment and assessment process in an exceptional manner, but whose student candidates may not be selected by DoD for scholarship and Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) appointments. Because expectations are that the program will grow in future years, these program initiation awards are designed to enable institutions to complete planning for implementing a comprehensive scholarship program and be prepared to manage succeeding rounds of student recruitment. Similarly, DoD may also elect to make awards in support of the IRMC/NDU partnership described in ANNEX 1 of the solicitation, even if none of the CAE/IAEs' student candidates is selected for participation in the basic scholarship or SCEP program. The purpose of institutional capacity building funds, described at ANNEX 2 of the solicitation, is to support the development of a strong foundation for the Scholarship Program. Q: How will CAE/IAE proposals be evaluated? A: The primary criteria against which CAE/IAEs' basic technical proposals will be evaluated are: (a) the merits of the institution's proposed approach to designing and developing a robust scholarship program and the likelihood of its producing high quality information assurance scholars for DoD employment; and (b) the quality of the institution's process for promoting, advertising and evaluating students for scholarship and SCEP appointment, and the effectiveness of this process in producing well-qualified candidates for DoD selection. Other factors, of lesser importance, include the program's congruence with DoD requirements and relevance to mission needs; staff and faculty qualifications; adequacy of institutional resources; and reasonableness of the cost proposal. The primary criteria for evaluating the IRMC ANNEX will be (a) the merits of the institution's approach and the ability of the CAE/IAE to meet the conditions imposed by DoD for the IRMC partnership; and (b) the potential benefit of the program to DoD students and to meeting DoD mission needs. Capacity Building ANNEXES will be evaluated primarily on the merit of the initiatives proposed and their relationship to laying a strong foundation for the scholarship program; and (b) the potential benefit to IA Scholarship students and to DoD mission needs of the proposed capacity building enhancements. Q: What is the CAE/IAE role in managing Information Assurance Scholarship Program student participants? A: Officials of successful CAE/IAEs will have a mutual, coordinating role with DoD officials in managing the program participation of students. Successful CAE/IAEs will be responsible for monitoring and mentoring the academic progress of participating students, for administering the payment of scholarship funds to students, and for accounting for funds allocated. DoD will be responsible for appointing successful scholarship applicants as Student Trainees; for arranging for and mentoring their experiential learning through intern assignments; for the travel and payment of salary for student participants; for appraising the performance and progress of students as interns; and for arranging for the permanent position assignments of successful students who elect to complete their service obligations through civilian employment. Both CAE/IAE and DoD officials will have important roles in communicating with one another regarding the academic and experiential progress of participating students. Q: When will DoD make arrangements for the experiential learning (intern/coop assignments) of scholarship recipients? A: Federal regulations regarding the Student Career Experience Program (formerly known as the cooperative education program) require that DoD and the participating school negotiate a formal agreement to clarify respective roles and responsibilities, and to guide the experiential development of students. Thus, soon after the selection and appointment of scholarship students, successful CAE/IAEs will be contacted by DoD officials to initiate discussion of a formal agreement and to develop an experiential learning plan for each participating student. It is expected that DoD scholarship program managers, human resources officials, supervisory officials, and assigned student mentors will, variously, have key roles in discussion and negotiation with CAE/IAE representatives. The designated CAE/IAE point of contact, faculty, experiential program administrators, and participating students are expected, variously, to have key roles in development of the agreement and experiential learning plans. Since some participating students may have intense experiential learning schedules, encompassing all or nearly all holiday breaks in the academic calendar, as well as summer periods, it will be important that discussion and negotiation of agreements and experiential learning plans be concluded as expeditiously as possible following student appointments. Q: How can I get a copy of the grant solicitation and more information about the program? A: You may click on Grant Solicitation to download a copy of the solicitation. The National INFOSEC Education and Training Program Office at the National Security Agency is the central point of contact for information regarding the program. The staff can be reached at (410) 854-6206. Q: What is the relation of the DoD Information Assurance Scholarship Program to the National Science Foundation Federal Cyber-Service Scholarship Program? A: The NSF Cyber-Service Scholarship Program provides scholarships to students who are obligated to serve as civilian employees in a variety of federal departments and agencies upon completing their course of study. The DoD Information Assurance Scholarship Program, while similar in some respects to the NSF Federal Cyber-Service Scholarship Program, is a separate program authorized by section 922 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, Public Law 106-398, and codified at chapter 112, title 10, United States Code. Its purpose is to recruit and retain information security professionals specifically for employment in the Department of Defense. The DoD Information Assurance Scholarship Program is sponsored by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration (ASD (NII)) who has delegated responsibility for executing the program to the National Security Agency (NSA). NSA, as executive agent for the program, will provide all program, financial, human resources, and administrative management support necessary to ensure its implementation within the Military Departments and other Defense agencies. Q: Are there limitations on program funding? A: Yes. Funds are available to support continuation grants, a small number of new grants, and approximately 30 new scholarships, and 20 continuation scholarships in Academic Year 2006-2007. Small program initiation grants may be awarded to CAE/IAEs that submit outstanding proposals but whose student nominees are not selected for scholarships. Funding to support a CAE/IAE's capacity building request may be limited to $200,000 or less. Q: When are grant proposals due? A: Grant proposals must be received by DoD no later than 4 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, February 28, 2006. Q: When are student applications and CAE/IAE assessments of student candidates due to DoD? A: Student applications and CAE/IAE assessments must be received by DoD from the CAE/IAEs no later than 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, February 28, 2006. Q: When will grant awards be announced? A: DoD expects to announce grant awards by early summer 2006. Q: Will there be another opportunity to submit proposals for DoD IA Scholarship Program Funds? A: Yes. Pending availability of funds, DoD anticipates conducting annual Information Assurance grant and scholarship competitions.
[Student] [Schools] [DoD Personnel] [Top] [Home] DoD Civilian Employees and Military Members Q: What opportunities for Information Assurance Scholarships are available for DoD civilian and military personnel? A: There are 4 different opportunities for DoD personnel:
A: Eligibility requirements for each opportunity are as follows:
A: The DoD Components will nominate qualified civilian employees and military personnel for IA Scholarship opportunities. Civilian employees are to contact their component training offices regarding procedures to apply for this educational opportunity. Military officers interested in the program should contact their Service's point of contact for officer professional development and must have their community manager's permission to participate in the program. Enlisted participation requires appropriate endorsement from cognizant enlisted personnel managers. Enlisted participation varies by Service. Q: What programs are open to enlisted military personnel? A: Enlisted personnel program options are continually evolving by Service and by education institution. Service members should check with their IT enlisted personnel managers to determine current Service requirements. Currently, enlisted may attend AFIT or the Naval Postgraduate School on a full-time basis to obtain a master's degree. Q: What are the IRMC Partner Universities and where are they located? A: IRMC Partner Universities are those CAE/IAEs that have agreed 1) to participate in the IASP retention program; and 2) to grant graduates of IRMC's CIO Certificate Program (with an IA Certificate) either 15 transfer credits or nine credits toward completion of a selected masters' degrees or doctorates in information assurance disciplines. At the current time, 19 CAE/IAEs have credit articulation agreements with IRMC. These institutions are George Mason University, Georgia Tech, James Madison University, Johns Hopkins University, Mississippi State University, New Mexico Tech, Northeastern University, Pace University, Polytechnic University, Syracuse University, Texas A&M University, Towson University, the University of Dallas, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, the University of Maryland University College, the University of Nebraska Omaha, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and the University of Tulsa. (See the Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE/IAEs) for a complete list of these institutions.) Q: If I am accepted to attend IRMC, am I automatically accepted at one of the Partner CAE/IAEs to complete my master's degree? A: Once you successfully complete the IRMC program, you must also be accepted at a Partner CAE/IAE conditional on your ability to meet minimum admission standards for the graduate program in which you will enroll. CAE/IAE Partners may require submission of additional application materials and documentation of academic achievements, including Graduate Record Exam scores and official transcripts from other institutions you have attended. The final acceptance/enrollment decision is made by the partnering institution. Q: What will the scholarship cover? A: The scholarship will cover the full costs of tuition, required books, and selected fees, laboratory expenses and related academic costs at IRMC, IRMC's partnering institutions, NPS and AFIT. Participants will continue to receive their military pay or civilian salaries through the course of study. Q: Will DoD fund travel (TDY) and/or Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs if I must move? A: TDY funding for the IRMC 14-week Advanced Management Program, if necessary, is covered by the program. Any other TDY and PCS costs for military and civilian students who must relocate are to be covered by the nominating Component. Accordingly, students must negotiate the terms of this support and acquire approval from their individual Components. Q: I have already completed the CIO Certificate Program and/or the NSTISSI Standard 4011 Certificate at IRMC. Can I apply to complete an advanced degree at one of the Partner Unversities? A: If you completed both the CIO Certificate Program and NSTISSI 4011 Certificate in FY02 or later, you are eligible to apply to complete your master's or doctoral degree at one of the Partner Universities. Q: What is my service obligation if I receive support to complete an advanced degree? A: Civilian and military service obligations may vary. Your component officials will determine the length of time you will be required to serve to meet your obligation. Q: I already have a master's degree in an Information Assurance field, but I have not taken the IRMC prerequisite CIO Certificate Program. May I receive DoD support under this program to complete my PhD? A: DoD civilians and military officers with master's degrees who wish to pursue a PhD must complete the IRMC prerequisite in order to be eligible to transfer to a PhD program at an IRMC partner institution. They also may apply to attend the Naval Postgraduate School or the Air Force Institute of Technology. Q: When are applications for DoD personnel due? A: Nominations for January 2006 class convenings are due November 1, 2005. Nominations for July through September convenings are due by February 3, 2006. Q: How will DoD personnel be selected for these opportunities? A: The Components will use the procedures they normally employ to select military personnel for special assignments or to compete opportunities for long-term training for civilian employees. Once the Components have completed their own internal selection processes, they will forward their nominees and alternates to NSA, where finalists will be selected and forwarded to the appropriate DoD school (IRMC, AFIT or NPS) for final decision. Q: When will I learn whether or not I have been selected? A: Service components/agencies should be notified of candidates' acceptance for January 2005 class convenings NLT November 16, 2005; notification of acceptance for July through September 2005 class convenings will occur NLT April 14, 2006. Q: What will be my job assignment when I complete my degree? A: Each Component and military service may establish its own post-development assignment policies for civilian employees or military personnel who complete long-term training programs. You should discuss your options with your civilian personnel or military service officials. DoD encourages components to make use of the new skills developed through long-term training and place returning employees in positions that enable them to utilize these new capabilities upon completing their course of study. Whether this occurs, however, is determined by your Component. Q: What is the NSTISSI 4011 Certificate? A: The Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) has defined the minimum course content for the training of information systems security (INFOSEC) professionals in the disciplines of telecommunications security and automated information systems security. These standards are published in National Security Telecommunications and Information Systems Security Instruction No. 4011. The curricula offered by the Information Resources Management College, the Air Force Institute of Technology and the Naval Postgraduate School have been certified compliant with the National Training Standard for Information Systems Security Professionals. DoD personnel enrolled in the IRMC CIO Certificate Program (Advanced Management Program option with NSTISSI 4011 Certification), the Naval Postgraduate School or the Air Force Institute of Technology programs described above will receive the instruction required by the NSTISSI Standard, and will be awarded the NSTISSI 4011 Certification upon completing these programs. [Student] [Schools] [DoD Personnel] [Top] [Home]
During the Academic Year 2004-2005, the DOD estimates that it will be awarding twenty-eight (28) scholarships (via grant awards) for a period of one year to designated Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. 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:
Relevant academic disciplines, with concentrations in information assurance, include, but are not limited to:
The announcement allows students to apply for a dual opportunity: the Information Assurance Scholarship Program and the Student Career Experience Program Opportunity. Scholarship recipients will be required to participate in internships arranged by appointing DoD components during the years they are receiving scholarship support. To facilitate internship arrangements, scholarship recipients will be appointed as Student Trainees by DoD components under the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP). This authority is commonly referred to as the "cooperative education program." Upon successful completion of both academic degree and internship requirements, the Student Trainees will be non-competitively converted to permanent/conditional, full-time status as federal employees without further competition. Non-Scholarship SCEP Students: It is unlikely that all CAE/IAEs that submit proposals will be selected for grant awards. To ensure that this circumstance does not inadvertently discourage prospective student applicants for SCEP opportunities with DoD information assurance programs, the announcement of the Information Assurance Scholarship and SCEP recruitment opportunity will provide for SCEP appointments with and without scholarship assistance. In this way, otherwise eligible SCEP candidates, whose universities fail to receive institutional grants to establish scholarship programs, may still be considered and selected for Student Trainee appointment, but without scholarship assistance. To be certain that students are made aware of these conditions of recruitment and employment, scholarship and SCEP applicants will be required to state whether they are also willing to be considered for SCEP appointment without scholarship assistance. SCEP authority will also allow prosepective federal employers to offer prospective applicants the recruitment incentive of conversion to permanent, full-time employmetn without further competition, upon successful completion of academic and internship program requirements. SCEP selectees will be vaiously appointed at General Schedule (GS) grades GS-04,05,07 & 09 (approximatly $20322-$44783) based on individual qualifications and the needs of the appointing DoD components. STUDENT OBLIGATIONS Students selected to participate in the Defense Information Assurance Scholarship Program 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. They 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. These internships will be arranged by DoD to occur during the summer or during breaks between school terms as appropriate to the individual's circumstances and the institution's calendar. The internship will not count toward satisfying the period of obligated service incurred by accepting the Information Assurance scholarship. Students will be required to accept or decline the scholarship by 30 June 2004. Non-acceptance by this date will mean the scholarship will be offered to the next available student. Upon being selected as a scholarship recipient, students will receive appointments as "Student Trainees" (organizational title: Information Assurance Scholar or other, comparable component-specific, work-role title) under the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) or other appointment authority, which allows DoD to develop flexible schedules for required internships. The students will be required to complete a security investigation questionnaire to initiate the process for a background investigation in preparation for their internships and as a condition of future employment with the Department of Defense. Drug tests or other suitability processing will occur as appropriate. The students will also be required to sign an agreement stating that they will accept assignments requiring travel or change of duty stations as interns or employees. Individuals who voluntarily terminate employment during SCEP appointments or before the end of the period of obligated service required by the terms of Chapter 112, title 10, United States Code, will be required to refund to the United States, in whole or in part, the cost of the educational assistance provided to them. Undergraduate scholarship recipients will be required to maintain a 2.5 out of a 4.0 grade point average, or the equivalent; graduate students will be required to maintain an overall 3.0 out of a 4.0 grade point average, or equivalent. Failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress will constitute grounds for termination of financial assistance and termination of internship appointment. CAE/IAEs will be responsible for monitoring student progress and will notify the DoD Program Manager should any student scholar fail to attain minimum academic standards required for continuing scholarship support. Except for small achievement awards, not to exceed $2,000 in any academic year, a student may not accept simultaneous remuneration from another scholarship or fellowship. Graduate programs may include a reasonable amount of teaching or similar activities as are, in the institution's opinion, contributory to the student's academic progress; however, the development of students, not service to academic institutions, will govern the assignment of these activities. Eligibility for Scholarship and SCEP Appointment 1. Eligibility for Scholarship and SCEP Appointment. CAEs shall verify documentation of the eligibility of each applicant for scholarship and appointment and shall exclude from further evaluation any applicant unable to meet the following minimum administrative requirements: a. The applicant has been accepted for enrollment, or is currently enrolled, as a full-time junior or senior undergraduate, graduate, or graduate information assurance certificate program, student in the CAE. (1) begin either the third or fourth years of an undergraduate degree program; c. The applicant provides a signed declaration of intent to be considered for a Student Trainee appointment with scholarship assistance, or, to be considered for a Student Trainee appointment whether or not a scholarship is offered. (1) Provide all documentation necessary to complete a suitability review for federal appointment. f. The applicant is a U.S. citizen at the time of application. 2. Academic Sufficiency. The CAE shall review the application materials, and conduct such verification as may be necessary to establish the following standards of academic sufficiency. CAEs shall exclude from further evaluation (and provide an endorsement of "Not Recommended" for) any applicant unable to meet the following academic requirements: a. The applicant is pursuing a course of study and/or has a declared major in one of the scientific, technical or managerial disciplines related to computer and network security that are enumerated under Section VII.A.1 above. (1) The applicant's transcript(s) from all institutions of higher education attended. 3. Knowledge and Ability. The CAE shall document its evaluation of each applicant meeting administrative and academic sufficiency requirements against the following competencies, using a 5-point scale of values, to assess and report on each of the six competencies below. The rating scale is: No Knowledge or Ability (One), Basic Knowledge or Ability (Two), Intermediate Knowledge or Ability (Three), Advanced Knowledge or Ability (Four), Superior Knowledge or Ability (Five). Evaluations of the following factors shall be based on the supplemental application material provided by the candidates, letters of reference, and any additional information provided by the applicant in response to CAE requests made for this purpose. a. Knowledge of the techniques of the information technology and/or information security (assurance) discipline, including encryption, access control, physical security, training, threat analysis, and authentication. 4. Center of Academic Excellence Endorsement. CAEs shall provide an endorsement of each applicant meeting administrative and academic sufficiency requirements that is based on its overall evaluation of all applicant materials, including the competency evaluations described above. CAEs shall indicate only one of the following four levels of endorsement for each applicant: a. Not Recommended
For more information please contact: Dr. Andrew Sung |
