Through the Foreign Affairs IT Fellowship, the U.S. Department of State is seeking to attract top-notch tech talent to the Foreign Service ranks that reflects the diversity of the United States. Women, members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service and students with financial need are encouraged to apply to this challenging and rewarding opportunity. Two ITM students have been selected for this program in the past, Akvile Kisis and Andreas Vassilakos. You can see a video of Akvile’s experiences in this program at https://www.faitfellowship.org/videos/akvile-travel-make-a-global-impact-and-have-a-unique-it-job/ . We are pleased to be one of only two institutions that has had more than one student selected for this program, and they are certainly looking for more from us. The program pays for the last two years of undergraduate education or for graduate education in information technology, with a stipend and two summer internships. Students completing the program serve for five years as Foreign Service Specialists in the U.S. State Department. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply, and applications are due February 15, 2020 update: midnight February 14, 2020. Full details can be found at https://www.faitfellowship.org/ and the application is at https://www.faitfellowship.org/how-to-apply/ . Andreas has generously offered to assist students in completing the application; you can contact him at avassilakos@hawk.iit.edu.
The U.S. Department of Defense is offering Cyber Scholarships to U.S. citizens who will be Juniors, Seniors, or graduate students in the fall of 2019. Because we are a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education, you may be eligible to apply. This is a one-year scholarship covering full books, tuition, and a $25,000 stipend for undergraduates or a $30,000 stipend for graduate students. The scholarships are renewable but require a new application each year. After graduation, scholarship recipients will work one year of federal service in a cyber security or digital forensics role for each year of scholarship support, or four years of military service. Applicants must be eligible for a security clearance. Applicants are not limited to students in the Department of Information Technology and Management but may also be students in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Business, but because of the nature of the application, knowledge of and a clear understanding of cyber security is a necessity. Please read the scholarship details document carefully and completely before filling out the application. An official transcript must accompany your application and should be attached, unopened, to the application. A complete printed and signed physical application must be delivered to the ITM Department office, Perlstein Hall suite 223 no later than 8:30am Monday February 17th so we can evaluate and include your scholarship in our funding request, which is due February 28th. When you submit your physical application, you will be given instructions for uploading a digital copy of your application in PDF format. Multiple files may be submitted as a .zip file but all files must be PDF files.
The application and full details of the scholarship are included below.
If you have read all of the materials and you still have questions, please contact Professor Ray Trygstad at trygstad@iit.edu. Please include “DOD Cyber Scholarship” as the first thing in the subject line of your email.
