Over US$140,000 in grant opportunities available to students and faculty; candidates must apply by June 29th; second application period in September

London, UK, May 30, 2012 - The (ISC)²® Foundation, a charitable trust that aims to make the cyber world safer for everyone, today announced the first 2012 scholarship application period. The deadline for students and faculty to submit an application is midnight EDT on Friday, June 29th. The (ISC)² Foundation recently broadened the reach of its scholarship offerings by introducing the Harold “Hal” F. Tipton Memorial Scholarship to inspire future information security professionals and to expand the cyber security workforce globally. 

The (ISC)² 2011 Global Information Security Workforce Study found that demand for information security professionals is expected to increase to nearly 4.2 million by 2015, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.2 percent, creating career opportunities for those with the right skills. The (ISC)² Foundation scholarships are aimed at encouraging entry into the workforce to help fulfil this need. The Harold F. Tipton Scholarship will further the (ISC)² Foundation’s goal of developing scholarships and grants that unify the cyber security workforce at each level of academia.

“The late Hal Tipton was considered the grandfather of cyber security by many, thanks to his tremendous contributions to the industry, such as the CISSP CBK®,” said Julie Peeler, Foundation Director for (ISC)². “As cyber security threats evolve and have broad implications worldwide, it is critical that we offer scholarship opportunities to students interested in this field. It is our hope that our scholarship programmes will help build a new workforce capable of preventing, detecting and responding to attacks on information systems.”

The 2012 scholarship categories include:

    Women’s Scholarships: To inspire women to join the ever-growing field of information security, each year, the (ISC)² Foundation grants up to two scholarships totaling up to US$40,000.

    Undergraduate Scholarships: Aspiring information security professionals have the opportunity to ease some of their educational financial burden with the (ISC)² Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship, offering undergraduate students studying information security grants of up to US$5,000 per recipient.

    Graduate Research Project(s): Graduate students often need funding to conduct special research projects. Seed funding of up to eight grants will be given for up to US$3,000 per recipient.

    (NEW) Harold F. Tipton Memorial Scholarship: The (ISC)² Foundation Harold F. Tipton Memorial Scholarship was established to provide passionate, aspiring young information security professionals the means to follow the pathway to industry excellence, as constructed by the late Mr. Tipton.

    Faculty Certification Exam Vouchers: To encourage more academic participation in the profession and the certification process, (ISC)² will provide vouchers valid for one CISSP® or CSSLP® exam and, upon certification, the first year of membership dues.

The (ISC)² Foundation evaluates applicants based on academic excellence, passion for the industry, and financial need. The Foundation is actively looking for the best and brightest students studying information security to assist them in developing their professional careers. The first 2012 application period deadline is June 29th. The second 2012 scholarship application period will open in September, closing October 8th.

To apply, please visit:
https://www.isc2.org/scholarship-how-to-apply.aspx

For additional scholarship information, please visit:
https://www.isc2.org/scholarship/default.aspx