DSU students win CySP scholarships

October 4, 2021

Two Dakota State University students have been awarded scholarships from the Department of Defense Cybersecurity Scholarship Program (DoD CySP).

CySP is designed to encourage the recruitment of the nation’s top cyber talent and the retention of DoD personnel who have the skills necessary to meet DoD’s cyber requirements and help secure the nation against threats of information systems and networks.

Benefits for the students include paid tuition and fees, a computer and book allowance, internships, and a stipend ($25,000 for undergraduates, $30,000 for graduate students). A major advantage to this scholarship is that students receive a full-time job offer as civilian contractors with a DoD Agency upon graduation.

“To have this scholarship with internship options and a job while still in college is a huge thing,” said Dr. Kyle Cronin, CySP Director at DSU.  It’s also exciting for students from across the country to find DSU, and receive nationally competitive scholarships, he stated.

“It’s good to see the successes that students here can have, and the reach that they can get, both on the scholarship and career side. These are two more to add to the list of big accomplishments that we see here,” Cronin said. 

One of the CySP students is Evan Read, from Derby, Kansas; he will graduate with his master’s degree in cyber defense in May 2022. The second student, who chose not to be identified, is majoring in Cyber Operations and Network Security and Administration. About a dozen Dakota State students applied for the scholarship.

Having a job secured after graduation was “a huge weight off my shoulders,” said Read. “I was already dreading to send out job applications.” He will also have the opportunity to try a variety of roles.

“I like so many different aspects of cyber, and I will spend my first year rotating positions, from offensive security to malware analysis, to see what I really like and where I want to go from there,” Read said.