The National Science Foundation Division of Graduate Education awarded the University of Texas at El Paso $1,990,265 on August 1, 2026, to establish the CyberAI Scholarship for Service program, which will prepare cybersecurity scholars with integrated competencies in artificial intelligence and cyber defense for federal workforce placement under the STEM Education (CFDA 47.076) program.
The program supports scholars across multiple pathways: an accelerated dual-degree program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a concentration in Secure Cyber Systems and a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence; a standalone Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence specializing in AI-enabled cybersecurity; and a Ph.D. in Computer Science focused on secure AI systems research. Scholars will complete curriculum covering adversarial machine learning, ethical hacking, software reverse engineering, quantum information science, and AI-driven threat analysis. Mentored applied research will be conducted through UTEP's Institute for Applied AI Innovation and National Security Institute, which operates a classified research environment. The program includes K–12 outreach in the El Paso region to build the national cyberai workforce pipeline.
Performance occurs in El Paso, Texas, with period of performance through July 31, 2029.