Missouri S&T received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to reduce threats to cybersecurity by training the next generation of cybersleuths.

The grant will fund 16 “Scholarship for Service” master’s and Ph.D. students who will specialize in cybersecurity. The project is part of the U.S. government’s CyberCorps Scholarship for Service. Colleges and universities can earn the grant only if they are certified by the National Security Agency as a National Center of Academic Excellence for Information Assurance Education. Missouri S&T was the first institution in the state to achieve that designation and has held the title since 2007.

“Cybersecurity is often taken for granted by Internet users,” says Dan Lin, an assistant professor of computer science who leads the program. “If we didn’t have it, we would be lost. Banking, shopping and more would be impacted; it is not just something like social media concerns.”

Lin hopes to use this grant to promote experiential learning opportunities. The program will also help the department recruit and retain more women and minority students.