Cybersecurity Scholars Program

1. Lead a Cybersecurity Scholars Project:

The purpose of the Cybersecurity Scholars Project is for the scholar to gain meaningful experience leading a multidisciplinary team. To satisfy this requirement, a student must engage with the same project, focused on a defined Cybersecurity area (e.g., Critical Infrastructure, Protecting Institutions, Educating, or Community Outreach), for at least two semesters during their upperclassmen years. In rare circumstances, students may change their project after one semester with instructor’s permission and propose a new project (the duration of the new project will be two semesters). The project is intended as a capstone experience within the CSP and may be satisfied through one of the following two mechanisms:

• Leading a team within the Cyber Scholars to deploy a product or service for a real-world client. Students who lead CSP project teams are strongly encouraged to contribute as members into 1-2 projects led by other scholars. Students will register for CPEG 302 for 0 credits each semester.
• ELEG 366 - Independent Study Credit(s): 1-6
• CPEG 302

• (students register for 2 semesters)

• or

• Six credit hours of independent study (300 or 400 level), or equivalent number of hours in a Cybersecurity focused internship(s), with approval from the program director. In the former case, the students will be advised by UD faculty in an area that aligns with the scope and goals of Cybersecurity, while in the latter case, the hiring manager will coordinate with the student and the CSP director to define the scope of the internship. Students are also allowed to combine a corresponding number of internship hours with 3 credit hours of independent study to satisfy this requirement. In this case, a 3 credit hour course is equivalent to 120 hours of internship experience.
• ELEG 466 - Independent Study Credit(s): 1-6

2. Complete 6 personal growth contracts:

The very nature of the CSP program facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration between students from different backgrounds and majors. To support this goal, CSP students must complete a minimum required coursework that involves technical expertise and collaborative experiences. This requirement is satisfied by completing 6 contracts between the individual student and the director of the Cybersecurity Scholars accomplished via CPEG301 by registering for one credit per semester. This contract represents the individualized expectations for the semester.  The course is judiciously developed to enable interdisciplinary collaboration related to Cybersecurity and entails the following:

• The scholars meet with the instructor once a week and engage in problem based learning. Each lecture introduces a new topic in cybersecurity, followed by hands-on collaborative learning experiences.
• The scholars continue to work on the weekly topic outside the classroom and report their progress in the next class meeting
• Example topics in the CPEG301 curriculum include, but are not limited to:
  • Creating cybersecurity business plans for startup companies
  • Organizing hackathon and cyber workshops
  • Developing a cybersecurity workbooks for small businesses
  • Performing security audits for local companies
  • Developing security policies for small and medium size organizations
  • Examining legal cases that focus on cybersecurity related topics (including intellectual property theft, ransomware, anonymity etc.)
  • Analysis of cyber intelligence news and current events
  • Analyzing white papers published by defense think tanks
  • Developing a coding curriculum for middle and high school students
  • Developing cybersecurity awareness campaigns for local businesses

• CPEG 301 - Cybersecurity Scholars Credit(s): 1 (taken for 6 cr.)