Scholarships

WPI students pursuing a career in cybersecurity may consider applying for the following government scholarships. You may apply to one, or both. If you apply to both, the DoD CSA scholarship must be your priority: if you receive both, you are obligated to accept the DoD award.

CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS)

If you’re a U.S. citizen and would be willing to work for the government for a few years after graduation, you could have 1 to 3 years of your degree fully funded by the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program. Undergraduates can apply in the winter of their sophomore year, at the earliest, for a scholarship beginning in their junior year. Graduate students are also eligible to apply. You must be studying cybersecurity in Computer Science, ECE, or a related field. The application deadline is February 28. Visit the URL above (in blue letters) for detailed information on SFS.

DoD Cyber Service Academy (DoD CSA)

If you’re a U.S. citizen and would be willing to work for the Department of Defense for a few years after graduation, as a civilian employee, you could have 1 to 5 years of your education (including one or more degrees) fully funded by the DoD Cyber Service Academy. This scholarship is similar to SFS in eligibility, benefits, and service obligation. The primary differences are:

      1.  CSA recipients do not conduct a job search (they receive a job at a DoD agency along with their scholarship);
      2.  CSA recipients can potentially receive more years of funding (5 years, compared to 3 for SFS);
      3.  CSA recipients must re-apply each year for scholarship renewal (this is a formality and almost always results in renewal); and
      4.  The stipends are slightly different: the CSA stipend is $29,000 for undergraduates and $34,000 for graduate students, while the SFS stipend is $27,000 for undergraduates and $37,000 for graduate students.

In recent years, the national acceptance rate for applicants to the CSA scholarship has ranged from 14% to 20%.

Note: CSA scholarship funding is contingent on both a successful application from the student and a successful grant proposal to DoD from the WPI faculty and staff who will administer the award.

2026 Application:

The 2026 application is now open. The DoD CSA program is accepting applications from WPI sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students studying cybersecurity for full scholarships for the 2026-2027 academic year. Applications are submitted online via 2 forms on the DoD CSA website and separate emails to the DoD CSA program office. The link and instructions are below in the CSA Application section. The application deadline is February 17, 2026. Please email Beckley Schowalter (bwschowalter at wpi dot edu) if you have any questions or to discuss the application process.

Benefits:

    • Full tuition and fees
    • Monthly stipend during the academic year that totals $29,000 for undergraduates or $34,000 for MS/PhD students
    • Employment at a DoD agency (plus a summer internship, prior to graduation) in cybersecurity or information assurance
    • Coverage of WPI Student Health Insurance
    • Reimbursement for textbooks (up to $1,000) and a laptop (up to $1,650)

Service Obligation:

    • CSA recipients agree to work for DoD and are given a job at a DoD agency; recipients must be willing to move anywhere in the country
    • After graduating, recipients work for DoD for the same number of years for which they were funded (e.g., a two-year scholarship = two years of required DoD employment)
    • Applicants may express a preference for a particular DoD agency, but placement there is not guaranteed

To be eligible, you must be:

    • A U.S. citizen
    • At least 18 years old
    • Enrolled for full-time academic study
    • Studying a technical or managerial discipline related to cybersecurity
    • A rising junior or senior with a GPA of 3.2 or higher, OR: a grad student with a GPA of 3.5 or higher
    • Able to obtain a security clearance (clean disciplinary record)
    • Free of any service obligation to another employer
    • Registered for the U.S. Selective Service (for males age 18+)

2026 CSA Application:

There are four steps to the application process (full instructions are below): (1) request a letter of recommendation from a faculty member, (2) fill out two forms on the DoD CSA website, (3) send two separate emails to the DoD CSA program with your transcript and cyber competitions, and (4) email additional materials to the WPI committee that oversees DoD CSA applications from WPI students. All steps must be completed no later than 12:00 p.m. EST on February 17, 2026. Instructions are below.

Instructions for Steps 1 & 2:

    1. Download an unofficial copy of your transcript from Workday, including your most recent grades (from B Term).
    2. Email a faculty member to request a reference. Give that person these recommendation instructions and a deadline of February 17, 2026 (or earlier). The recommender must be a professor who has had you in a Computer Science or other relevant class. The professor will email their reference letter to the national DoD CSA office.
    3. Fill out the two forms on the DoD CSA application site. [If this link brings you to a 404 error, click on the round shield logo in the upper left corner. This will bring you to a new page, where you’ll see “If you’re a CSA applicant, CLICK HERE.” That will bring you to the application page.] Read everything on the landing page down to the bottom of the CSA New Recruitment Application section. When you have a 2-hour window of time and are ready to fill out the entire application in one sitting, click on the Application Part 1 form and fill it out. Then continue by opening the Application Part 2 form and filling it out. Use the same personal address in both forms so the DoD can link both of your forms.

Instructions for Step 3:

Send two separate emails to the DoD CSA program office (osd.mc-alex.dod-cio.mbx.dod-csa@mail.mil), as follows, and copy Beckley Schowalter on each email (bwschowalter at wpi dot edu):

    1. Email your current, unofficial transcript to the program office with this Subject line format: [Your Full Name] — Worcester Polytechnic Institute — Unofficial Transcript.
    2. If you have participated in any cyber competitions, email a document to the program office describing those competitions and any data that you have about your results (i.e., documentation of participation and final standing). This can include Capture-the-Flag competitions, cyber exercises, or other relevant experience. Use this Subject line format: [Your Full Name] — Worcester Polytechnic Institute — Competition Documentation.

Instructions for Step 4:

    1. Write a Statement of Interest for the WPI faculty and staff who will review your application. This is a 1- to 2-page document describing your experience and interest in cybersecurity, your broader career goals, aspects of DoD work that do (and do not) interest you, and why are you are applying for this scholarship.
    2. Print and sign the top portion of the WPI Record Release Form.
    3. Print and sign this Obligation Acknowledgement Form.
    4. Email these three files to Beckley Schowalter (bwschowalter at wpi dot edu) before the deadline.

For More Information:

Contact Beckley Schowalter, bwschowalter at wpi dot edu, FL 243