At a time when cybersecurity attacks are more frequent and damaging, the National Science Foundation has awarded $2.2 million to the Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute to support a graduate-level degree program that teaches students how to recognize and protect against digital threats.

The grant will be allocated over five years as part of the Federal CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service Program. The program provides students with scholarships covering tuition, fees, and required books, as well as a stipend. In return, the program requires that after graduation, the students work for a federal, state, local, or tribal government in a job related to computer security for a period equal to the duration of their education scholarship, which includes a summer internship.

At Johns Hopkins, the five-year NSF grant is expected to support three or four students annually as they complete the Information Security Institute’s three-semester Master of Science in Security Informatics (MSSI) degree program. This program offers students an option to simultaneously earn a dual degree in computer science, applied math and statistics, health sciences or national security studies.

The first scholarships will be available for students beginning their MSSI degree studies in the spring 2016 semester.

Excerpted from The Hub. Read the complete story here.