About
CREST (Cybersecurity Research and Education for Service in government) is a CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service (SFS) program at the University of South Florida funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). CREST SFS program is a prestigious opportunity for domestic USF students (US citizen or lawful permanent resident of US).
CREST is open to students who are enrolled in Colleges of Engineering and Muma College of Business at University of South Florida with a strong interest in cybersecurity. SFS recipients will receive internship opportunities prior to graduation, professional development, and employment placement assistance. Upon graduation in return for their scholarships, SFS recipients must work in a position related to cybersecurity for a Federal government organization in the United States for a period equal to the length of the scholarship. The program's goal is a full student placement in government cybersecurity positions with at least 70 percent of scholarship recipients securing placement in the executive branch of the Federal government. Typically, undergraduate and Master’s students can be funded for up to two years, while Ph.D. students can be funded up to three years. The ultimate goal of the CREST SFS program is to help in the cybersecurity education and workforce development of the US Government.
Colleges and universities participating in the SFS program are selected by the National Science Foundation through a competitive process. University of South Florida participates in the SFS program through the generous support of NSF due to USF’s strong existing academic programs in cybersecurity education and research.
Scholarship Benefits
- Full tuition scholarship (up to 2-3 years depending on degree program)
- Academic-year stipends of $27,000 per year for undergraduate students and $37,000 per year for graduate students.
- A professional allowance of $6,000 per academic year for SFS Job Fair and other travel, conferences, research materials and supplies, a laptop, books. professional training and certifications, etc.
- Participation in a targeted job fair and other professional-development events for SFS scholars
- Participation in the CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service Job Fair, where SFS recipients meet Federal government employment recruiters
- Participation in other professional-development events for SFS scholars (trainings, seminars, workshops, conferences, etc.)
- Summer internships, typically paid, with a Federal government organization
