The US National Science Foundation’s Directorate of STEM Education today announced the first awards under the CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service (CyberAI SFS) program, marking a significant expansion of NSF’s longstanding Scholarship for Service initiative. The awards support colleges and universities that are preparing the next generation of professionals to tackle new cybersecurity challenges at a time when artificial intelligence is transforming both cyber defense and cyber risk.
The CyberAI SFS program expands the traditional scope of cybersecurity education to reflect the increasingly interconnected relationship between AI and cybersecurity. Funded projects aim to prepare students not only to use AI to strengthen cybersecurity operations, including threat detection, incident response and digital forensics, but also to develop AI systems that are resilient, secure and able to withstand evolving cyber threats.
The fiscal year 2026 competition attracted proposals from colleges and universities across the country. Following NSF’s rigorous performance review process, the selected projects stood out for their potential to advance education and workforce development while addressing pressing national priorities at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity.
“Through the CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service program, NSF is investing in the talent needed to secure today’s digital infrastructure and AI-powered technologies and improve the nation’s ability to address evolving cybersecurity threats,” said Brian Stone, NSF director.
The honorees reflect a shared commitment to developing professionals with expertise in AI and cybersecurity, skills that are increasingly important to protecting federal systems, critical infrastructure, defense, health care, energy and other sectors critical to the nation’s security and economic well-being.
Many of the projects present innovative educational models that bring together disciplines that have traditionally been taught separately. Students will engage in integrated courses that include AI-powered cyber defense and cyber physical systems security, equipping them to navigate the rapidly evolving CyberAI landscape.
The awards also emphasize experiential learning as a cornerstone of job preparation. Through faculty-supervised research, virtual cyber training, security labs, internships, capstone experiences, and partnerships to address real-world government and critical infrastructure challenges, students gain in-depth technical knowledge and skills in addition to practical experience.
Combining scholarship with strong mentorship, career development, and partnerships across the public sector, funded projects will strengthen direct pathways into service in federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments. Together, they will continue to build a sustainable pipeline of CyberAI experts ready to support the missions of government agencies and protect the country’s increasingly AI-powered digital and technology ecosystem.
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The award-winning institutions and their projects are listed below:
- Arizona State UniversityArizona: CyberAI SFS: AI-Augmented Cybersecurity Scholars Program.
- Augusta UniversityGeorgia: CyberAI SFS: Government Ready Experts in Resilient CyberAI (AUGER CyberAI).
- California State University, San BernardinoCalifornia: CyberAI SFS: Building a Federal Workforce Pipeline of AI-Enabled Cybersecurity Experts.
- Michigan Technological UniversityMichigan: CyberAI SFS: Building the Future Cybersecurity and AI Workforce.
- New Jersey Institute of TechnologyNew Jersey: CyberAI SFS: Secure computing with AI.
- Old Dominion UniversityVirginia: CyberAI SFS: Preparing future CyberAI LEADERS through AI-integrated training and applied learning experiences.
- Texas A&M UniversityTexas: CyberAI SFS: Building an AI-Powered Government Workforce.
- University of Central FloridaFlorida: CyberAI SFS: Training Florida’s federal CyberAI workforce in secure AI in space, defense, and modeling and simulation.
- University of New HavenConnecticut: CyberAI SFS: Building an AI-enabled cybersecurity workforce through integrated BS/MS pathways.
- University of Rhode IslandRhode Island: CyberAI SFS: Multi-Pathway CyberAI Scholarship for Service.
- University of West FloridaFlorida: CyberAI SFS: Future Operations, Resilience and Career Ecosystem (CyberAI SFS FORCE).
- The University of Texas at DallasTexas: CyberAI SFS: Training the next generation of AI-literate cybersecurity workforce for offense and defense.
- The University of Texas at El PasoTexas: CyberAI SFS: Building an AI-integrated cybersecurity workforce.
- Vanderbilt UniversityTennessee: CyberAI SFS: Secure and Trustworthy AI Research and Training Program (STAR).
https://www.nsf.gov/news/nsf-announces-first-awards-advance-ai-cybersecurity
