National Cyber Scholarship Program (General)

National Cyber Scholarship Program

Overview: The National Cyber Scholarship program empowers America's future Cyber Stars by awarding more than $2 million in scholarships and $13.8 million in cybersecurity training to high school and college students. This is a comprehensive initiative to identify and develop talent in cybersecurity careers and close the critical skills gap in the cybersecurity industry.

Mission: Help the United States close its critical cybersecurity skills gap by identifying and developing extraordinary cybersecurity talent with advanced training.

Geographic Scope: United States (national)

Focus Areas:

Cybersecurity talent identification and development

Youth pipeline building for cybersecurity careers

Free intensive training in cybersecurity fundamentals

Financial support for cybersecurity education

Eligibility:

High school students (11th-12th grade for scholarship eligibility)

College students

U.S. citizens/students attending U.S. colleges

Program Components:
The program includes three integrated pathways:
1. Identifying Aptitude: CyberStart America (high school) and Cyber FastTrack (college) for discovering hidden talent
2. Nurturing Potential: Free intensive training via SANS Institute (partner)
3. Empowering Excellence: Financial scholarships for top performers

Award Tiers (2021 structure):

Scholar with Honors: Top 30 students nationwide, $3,000 college scholarship each

Scholar: Top 540 eligible students, $2,500 college scholarship each

Finalist: Top 862 students, free access to Cyber Foundations Academy

Semifinalist: 5,117+ students who met qualification criteria

Award Details:

Scholarships can be used at U.S. colleges of student's choice

Training includes free access to SANS certification courses

All awards include support, mentoring, and career guidance

Organization: National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF), 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit, Texas, US

Partners:

SANS Institute (world-class cybersecurity training)

CYBER.ORG

iKeepSafe (FERPA privacy certified program)

Center for Internet Security

Cyber Talent Institute

Contact: support@nationalcyberscholarship.org

Related Information:

College credit available for NCSF scholarships at participating institutions

FERPA privacy certified for CyberStart America

Integrated pathway approach: CyberStart America → National Cyber Scholarship Competition → Cyber Foundations Academy