Center of Academic Excellence Designations

The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) jointly sponsor the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) program. The goal of the program is to reduce vulnerability in our national information infrastructure by promoting higher education and research in cyber defense and producing professionals with cyber defense expertise. NSA’s CAE in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO) program supports the President’s National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE): Building a Digital Nation, and furthers the goal to broaden the pool of skilled workers capable of supporting a cyber-secure nation.

See the NICE One-Pager to learn more about the NSA/DHS CAE designations

MSU currently holds the following CAE designations:

• CAE in CD Education (CAE CDE),
• CAE in CD Research (CAE-R),
• CAE in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO)

Institutions that receive a CAE-C designation have met the rigorous requirements set forth by the sponsor of the program, the National Security Agency (NSA). The NSA awards CAE-C designations to institutions that have committed to producing cybersecurity professionals that will reduce vulnerabilities in our national infrastructure. Upon graduation students who successfully complete all requirements for the NSA validated MSU CAE Cyber Operations Program of Study can request a certificate of completion for their records.

• Dr. George Trawick: gtrawick@cse.msstate.edu
• Dr. Sudip Mittal: mittal@cse.msstate.edu