Scholarship for Service

Eligibility and Obligations

Eligibility

Students interested in participating in the Scholarship for Service program must be:

  • A United States citizen or permanent resident able to meet security clearance and background check requirements
  • An enrolled full-time undergraduate student at Cal Poly Pomona with a preferred major in the departments of Computer Science, Computer Information Systems or Electrical and Computer Engineering. Also, accepting enrolled full-time Masters student in Computer Science and relevant areas with a strong technical (computer science/engineering) backgorund in the undergraduate degree.
  • Will be graduating within a year or two
  • A GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale
  • Able to meet federal/state/local/tribal job selection criteria

Competitive students will also have:

  • Excellent academic performance as demonstrated by a high GPA
  • Prior experience in cyber security and information assurance
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills

Obligations

Scholars of CPP-SFS program will have the following obligations:

  • Complete the cyber security academic curriculum and extra-curricular activities for personal and professional development under the guidance of the program director and faculty advisory council
  • Work for a US federal, state, local, or tribal agency (including approved government research facility such as JPL, Aerospace Corp.) immediately after graduation, for a period of time equal to the period of scholarship funding
  • Participate in summer internships with a US federal, state, local, or tribal agency (including approved government research facility such as JPL, Aerospace Corp.) in each summer during the scholarship period
  • Participate in conferences, workshops and job fairs organized by the CPP-SFS program and Office of Personnel Management
  • Reimburse the scholarship if the scholar withdraws from the program or fails to fulfil the service obligation for government employment
  • Undergo background investigations to obtain security clearances required by the internships and post-graduation employment