National Cyber Scholarship Application Terms - 2024
Last Updated: January 10, 2024
Students who score highly in the CyberStart America or Cyber FastTrack training programs in 2023-24 will be invited to apply for a scholarship award offered by the NCSF, or one of our partners, after the program closes in January.
Students will automatically be considered for any award for which they meet the eligibility criteria when they submit a scholarship application, subject to providing the necessary consent for their data to be processed by/shared with award provider.
Who can apply for a National Cyber Scholarship award?
To apply for a National Cyber Scholarship award, you must:
have registered for CyberStart America or Cyber FastTrack 2023-24 by January 11, 2024, and meet all the stated eligibility criteria to participate in one of those programs.
be a high school (or homeschool equivalent) or college student in the USA or a U.S. territory (or enrolled in a DoDEA high school).
have been invited to complete the Scholarship Application Form by the NCSF, based on your performance in CyberStart by January 11, 2024. Invitations will be sent by email to shortlisted individuals. The link in the email you receive will be specific to you, and should not be shared with any other individual, even if they have also been invited to apply for a scholarship.
Agreement
By applying for a National Cyber Scholarship award you agree the information you provide in your application is true and correct to the best of your knowledge, and that you will comply with our Policies and these Terms & Conditions. Failure to provide true information or to comply with our Policies and Terms may result in you becoming ineligible to be considered for any of the scholarships, prizes, or other rewards outlined in these Terms.
How your data will be used
An outline of what data we will collect, how we will use it, and who we will share it with is included in our Privacy Policy. The data will be held by the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation and CyberStart Limited for the purposes of managing the application process and awarding scholarships. More detailed information can be found in our full Privacy Policy.
Contact information
If you have any questions about these Terms or associated Policies, please contact support@nationalcyberscholarship.org.
National Cyber Scholarship Awards
National Cyber Scholarship Semifinalist
All eligible high school or college students scoring at least 20,000 CyberStart points through CyberStart America or Cyber FastTrack, who have made some challenge completion progress in the 2023-24 program, will be awarded a digital Semifinalist badge after the program ends.
Eligibility criteria:
High school (or homeschool equivalent) or college student in the USA or a U.S. territory (or enrolled in a DoDEA high school)
Registered for CyberStart America or Cyber FastTrack 2023-24
Minimum point score of 20,000 in CyberStart by January 11, 2024
National Cyber Scholarship Finalist
CyberStart players who qualify as National Cyber Scholarship Semifinalists will be invited to complete a short scholarship application by the NCSF. Anyone shortlisted for this invitation who submits the application will be awarded a digital Finalist badge after their application has been validated.
Eligibility criteria:
High school (or homeschool equivalent) or college student in the USA or a U.S. territory (or enrolled in a DoDEA high school)
Registered for CyberStart America or Cyber FastTrack 2023-24
Minimum point score of 20,000 in CyberStart by January 11, 2024
Shortlisted to complete a scholarship application, which is submitted by the deadline of January 30, 2024
National Cyber Scholar
The highest-scoring eligible CyberStart players who submit their scholarship application by the January 30 deadline will be awarded a scholarship to cover the SANS Foundations course and one attempt at the GIAC Foundational Cybersecurity Technologies (GFACT) certification, worth over $3000.
Eligibility criteria:
High school or college student in the USA
Registered for CyberStart America or Cyber FastTrack 2023-24
Minimum point score of 20,000 in CyberStart by January 11, 2024
Among the highest-scoring eligible CyberStart players
Does not already hold a GFACT certification (those who meet all other criteria but already hold this certification may be offered an alternative course scholarship)
Shortlisted to complete a scholarship application, which is submitted by the deadline of January 30, 2024
National Cyber Scholar with Honors
National Cyber Scholars from previous years who already hold the GFACT certification, (this must be declared on the National Cyber Scholarship application form), who meet the criteria to qualify again as Scholars in 2024, will be given the title “National Cyber Scholar with Honors”, and may be offered the opportunity to undertake a further SANS course or Academy program. Details of the specific courses available will be circulated to winners alongside the winner notification on January 31, 2024.
Eligibility criteria:
To be considered for the title of National Cyber Scholar with Honors, students must:
Have completed the SANS Foundations course and passed the GFACT certification exam
Meet all other criteria to be awarded the “National Cyber Scholar” title for 2024
Be shortlisted to complete a scholarship application, which is submitted by the deadline of January 30, 2024
Partner scholarship awards
A number of additional scholarship awards and prizes will be available to CyberStart America or Cyber FastTrack program participants who meet eligibility criteria specified by the partner organization.
Students will automatically be considered for any award for which they meet the eligibility criteria when they submit a scholarship application, if they have provided consent for their personal information to be shared with the organization offering the award.
Partner prizes may be awarded to an individual in addition to the standard NCSF awards listed above.
The Georgia CSA Task Force will be providing awards to recognize Georgia’s top students in the CyberStart America program (CSA).
Leapfrog Student Prizes
The top 5 Georgia students new to CSA with the highest point score by the CSA closing date (January 11, 2024) each receive a $500 cash prize.
The top 5 Georgia students returning to CSA (who have played in a previous year) with the highest point score by the CSA closing date (January 11, 2024) each receive a $500 cash prize.
Amazon Security Title I Prizes
The top 3 Title I schools in Georgia with the highest number of students participating* in CyberStart America by the CSA closing date (January 11, 2024) will each receive $3,000 to develop school-based cyber programming.
The top Title I school with the highest number of students participating will have three cash prizes available for the 3 students with the highest point scores by the CSA closing date (January 11, 2024).
Grand Prize CyberStart Winner - $500
Grand Prize CyberStart 1st runner up - $300
Grand Prize CyberStart 2nd runner up - $200
Top ACCESS Schools
· Top 1 prize winner @ 4 identified ACCESS Schools ($250 each)
· Top 1 runners up @ 4 Identified ACCESS Schools ($150 each)
· 3rd place prize @ 4 Identified ACCESS Schools ($75 each)
· Prize for 1 teacher from an identified ACCESS school with the highest participation at their school ($500)
Eligibility for the Georgia awards
These prizes will be awarded to the highest-scoring CyberStart America 2023-24 players in the categories listed above, who meet the following criteria:
Resident and educated in the state of Georgia (as stated on their CyberStart America registration form)
Completed and submitted the NCSF Scholarship Application Form by the deadline of January 30, 2024 (including school enrollment verification and parental consent, where required)
Consent provided for their name and contact information to be shared with the University of North Georgia for the purpose of administering these awards
An individual student can only win one single Georgia-specific prize per year across all categories and cannot win a Georgia-specific prize two years in a row – they may be eligible for additional awards via the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation or other sponsors.
More information on the Georgia prize initiatives can be found here: ung.edu/cyber-operations/cyberstart-georgia
The Virginia CSA Task Force will be providing awards to recognize Virginia’s top students in the CyberStart America program (CSA), which may include cash prizes, cyber training grants, and workshop invitations, as outlined here: https://www.cyberstartva.org
Eligibility for these awards
These prizes will be awarded to the highest-scoring CyberStart America 2023-24 players in the categories listed above, who meet the below criteria.
· The top 5 students in each of Virginia’s 8 regions will receive a $100 cash prize
· The top 100 Semifinalist qualifiers state-wide will be invited to a day-long cyber industry summit to be held at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, on April 28. This will include industry leaders in private industry, government, and education to offer insights on the job pathway for those interested in cybersecurity.