KENT – Cybersecurity professionals safeguard important, online data, helping protect businesses, private citizens and the military. However, there currently aren’t enough workers trained in that field to meet the significant demand.
To help fill that critical shortage, WGU Washington has announced the WGU Cybersecurity Scholarship. The legislatively endorsed, online university will award up to ten scholarships – worth up to $5,000 each – to eligible, new students enrolling in the B.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance or M.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance programs.
Washington state is facing a significant shortfall of cybersecurity professionals. According to research published by CyberSeek, more than 6,300 cybersecurity jobs are unfilled due, in part, to a lack of qualified workers. Among those openings, nearly 5,400 are in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area.
WGU Washington is a leading educator of cybersecurity professionals – with nearly 300 students currently enrolled in and nearly 100 having graduated from relevant bachelors and master’s degree programs. WGU Washington’s cybersecurity curriculum is designed with input from industry experts and leading IT employers to meet current U.S. Department of Homeland Security and National Security Agency guidelines. Graduates work for leading companies and organizations across the state and around the world, including at the highest levels of the federal government.
WGU Washington uses an innovative approach to degree attainment called competency-based education, which measures learning rather than time spent in class. Students earn their degrees by demonstrating mastery of the subject matter they need to know to be successful — real-world competencies developed with employer input. Designed to meet the needs of adult learners, competency-based learning makes it possible for students to accelerate their programs, saving both time and money.
The WGU Cybersecurity Scholarships will be applied at the rate of $1,250 per six-month term – renewable up to four terms. The deadline to apply is December 31, 2019.
