Mississippi State University and Amazon recently introduced a new scholarship opportunity for women and minorities majoring in cybersecurity and computer science.
Shahram Rahimi, department head of Computer Science and Engineering, primarily developed the Amazon Cyber Security Scholarship alongside Amazon.
Rahimi said Amazon awarded the new scholarship fund to MSU based on the merit of both the computer science and cybersecurity programs.
“We had a previous relationship with Amazon, and basically, their team looked into universities offering strong cybersecurity programs at the level of undergraduate and graduate,” Rahimi said. “We checked those boxes, so we started working together on this funding.”
The scholarship fund is expected to benefit MSU for many years to come through a strong partnership with Amazon.
“We hope to expand our relationship with them for further funding,” Rahimi said. “We’re closely working with their team to make sure this program stays successful, and we can continue to work together in the future.”
The cybersecurity program at MSU recently began in the fall of 2021, and the scholarship, along with the other funding received from Amazon, will aid the program’s growth.
Cindy Bethel, a professor in the computer science and engineering department, said the grant includes several different areas of focus for the program.
“It was a total of $50,000 that is split across different areas of focus,” Bethel said. “One is to provide support for students to participate in workshops, provide support for travel and to provide tuition support through scholarships.”
Due to cybersecurity being a recent addition to MSU, Assistant Coordinator for Computer Science and Engineering Angella Baker said the requirements for the scholarship will allow the program to continue to grow. So far, Baker said there has been a significant interest in the scholarship.
“Cybersecurity is pretty much a brand-new major. We have around 25 students in the cybersecurity program right now, and this is really going to allow it to grow and get more attention,” Baker said. “We’ve seen a lot of interested students, and we expect that to increase, especially over the next few years.”
The requirements for the scholarship also offer the program a wide array of students and encourage all backgrounds to pursue cybersecurity as a major.
“With so much focus being on diversity these days, I think it’s great that we have a scholarship that focuses on minorities and females because it creates more interest within the program,” Baker said.
Rahimi said the scholarship has allowed women and minorities who might not normally consider attending college or majoring in cybersecurity to confidently explore their options.
“We have many women and minorities in the state of Mississippi that do not come to college and major in these kinds of things for financial issues,” Rahimi said. “We wanted to target that issue with this find and offer financial support and also help them feel prepared and confident.”
Baker said the scholarship will also level out the playing field within a career path that is usually not female-oriented.
“Cybersecurity has typically been a white male-dominated field. Amazon is a large company that everyone knows about, and it is going to entice these women to take advantage of the opportunity,” Baker said. “It’s also going to provide the possibility of having a career with a company like Amazon after college.”
Bethel said the scholarship is coming at the perfect time, as she has seen increased curiosity for the major.
“There are going to be several workshops and information sessions held in April about these scholarships for those who are interested in the scholarship or just pursuing cybersecurity or computer science in general,” Bethel said. “MSU is one of the leading cyber security programs in the country, and we expect to see huge growth.”
Ultimately, the goal of the funding is to allow the cybersecurity program to grow. Baker said the grant will be a significant benefit for the program and its students.
“We’ve had so many students ask about cybersecurity. I really think that major is going to grow, and that’s what we really want,” Baker said. “This is going to be a huge benefit for both students and the programs that it correlates with.”
MSU supercomputers have been leading the competition since 1996. A super computation from MSU aided the John Glenn Mission in 1998.
