Interested in pursing a Masters or Doctorate? If you are, then you should read on.
The Information Assurance Scholarship Program (IASP), now in its third academic year, is a relatively new program that is expected to grow in the coming years to meet the increasing demands for information technology professionals with an information assurance focus. IASP was authorized by Chapter 112, Title 10, United States Code, to respond to DoD's recognized dependence on information technology for warfighting and the security of its information infrastructure.
This year, DoD will focus on enabling qualified civilians and military members to participate in both full-time and part-time study to complete master's degrees or to begin full-time doctoral programs in information assurance disciplines.
Department of the Navy (DON) civilian and military members may apply for IA scholarships through their Service chain-of-command to the DON CIO. Detailed instructions on the DON nomination process for a scholarship are available at www.doncio.navy.mil/ and general information is available at http://dodcio.defense.gov/Home/Initiatives/InformationAssuranceScholarshipProgram(IASP).aspx.
The institutions offering full-time academic programs leading to a master’s or doctoral degree are the Information Resources Management College (IRMC) of the National Defense University (NDU) in cooperation with IRMC’s partner universities located throughout the United States, the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). Part-time academic programs leading to a master’s degree are available only through IRMC and selected partnering institutions. These part-time programs may be completed in residence or via distance learning. Partner universities continue to grow as the program matures. The DoD IASP Web site http://dodcio.defense.gov/Home/Initiatives/InformationAssuranceScholarshipProgram(IASP).aspx.
The cost of tuition, fees and books at IRMC and IRMC's partnering institutions, and at NPS and AFIT will be covered by the program. Additionally, TDY expenses are funded for students attending the full-time IRMC program. Any other TDY and/or PCS costs must be covered by the nominating component. Participants will continue to receive their military pay or civilian salaries from their component throughout the course of study. In the future, DoD may expand the program to include associate and undergraduate degrees, and certificate programs, as permitted by the statute.